I bought my last two cars via SEPA, the first from an individual, the second from a dealership. Both were used, but still significant sums. In both cases I of course had a signed contract in hand before sending the money, and have done a bit of due diligence on my business partner (I met the private individual at their home address, and checked out how long the car dealership has already operated there and whether there were any signs of imminent bankruptcy). And of course I got hold of the vehicle immediately after the transfer went through (which is guaranteed in a single business day nowadays; when I bought the first car it was still in the area of 2-3 days).

As for the $1000 TV, I would probably pay that at an electronic payment terminal with a debit card. If buying from a retailer, that's usually the way to go, no matter how small.

In many EU countries, you'd buy that tv using a debit card if at a physical retailer. Online, credit card purchases are the default.

Buying a used car form an individual might happen in cash. Some countries will not allow cash transactions over 3000€. So depending on the price, it might also happen with a SEPA transfer.

Most people would use a card for the TV, at least in person (online it’s very country dependent; probably card in the UK or Ireland, but could be SEPA, something like SOFORT or various other things in Germany, say). Not necessarily visa/mc; many countries have national networks, which are typically cobrandec with visa/mc.

Car could be SEPA (or equiv in non-Eurozone countries), bank draft, or even cash, though cheque is possibly less likely due to fraud concerns. Some people do it by actually physically going to a bank with the seller, I think (I don’t drive, so have never done his myself).

For in person stuff, where you live plays a role too; only a minority of countries currently have SEPA Instant, though that should change soon. For everyone else, it’s a day or so delay from when you send the payment in the bank app.