Does anyone remember back when gas stations, who operate on very tight margins, used to charge a % or per gallon fee cc payment? How'd they get away with that?

Besides the cost of card transaction processing, you also have more recourse on cc to deny payment. It is a riskier transaction for the merchant than a bank draft or finance contract.

In the end, the cc company can and likely will do nothing. What the dealer will or will not accept for payment is part of the deal - and like everything about a vehicle purchase is negotiable. The simple fact is you don’t have the right to purchase something if the seller doesn’t want to sell it to you in that manner. You’re a grown up – if they can’t work the deal you want, get up and move to the next dealership. In reality, people just get tired of the ordeal and will give up and agree to whatever just to finish the whole thing. But that is your decision. Me – I agree whipping the cc out is a good way to get freebies that are worth more than the miles.