Was I out of line? - car sale related

[jhynesrockmtn]

I have a 356 for sale, listed in a few of the regular spots. A man from France contacted me in mid May very interested. We agreed on a small deposit and set up some tentative dates for him to travel from Lyon France to Spokane WA. The deposit was due May 31. The wire got a bit complex as it had to go to my Edward Jones account through JP Morgan. My local bank can't do international wires.

The wire was initiated June 2 but was not showing up in my account several days later. I emailed my concerns. They were met with, "the bank says it can take a week or more". Fast forward to June 10 and my person at Edward Jones goes to the wire department with his paperwork and confirms the wire was not initiated correctly. A few days prior, the guy had sent me his travel itinerary. This was despite me voicing concerns a few times that the wire was not showing up.

After it was confirmed the wire was not going to hit my account anytime soon, I emailed him and said the deal was off unless he could get me the deposit in two days. I sent the information my Edward Jones person supplied me with.

He emailed yesterday again insisting the wire was inbound and he was planning to show up at my house on June 24. Now I'm pissed. He basically just keeps telling me to be patient and all will be fine. Some of this may be language barrier, but my youngest daughter, who travels frequently as a private aircraft flight attendant, and was just in Monaco for the F1 race told me it is typical French behavior to be somewhat of a "bully" in situations like this.

I emailed back with a very blunt, the car is not available, do not show up at my house. He then sent an email acknowledging he understood.

Did I overreact? I hate selling cars!!

[RANDY P]

Hope he has a travel plan while he's here. Tell him to only contact you once confirmation at his end you have your money.

Do not let him force you into a move. His problem not yours. You get your money then he gets the car.

rjp

[ryans65]

He's probably a broker stringing you along with the wire nonsense until he finds an overseas buyer for your car. I'd cut him off and find a real buyer.

[dad911]

No, you set reasonable requirements, and he didn't perform.

[Tobra]

Wave goodbye

[HobieMarty]

No money received, in hand or account, no deal, end of story. You did the right thing.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[juanbenae]

Does he have your home address? From what you've indicated he might, if so, you did the right thing. Remember, the French hate Americans, even after we bailed them out during WWII....

If he does not have the address, and you have no other buyers lined up let him fly over here and meet him at the financial institution of his choice to complete the transaction. Offer him storage for a fee until the shipper can collect it.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

Why was the wire transfer delayed?

The instructions were a bit more complex due to the account being at Edward Jones. I am guessing the translation from English to French made it worse.

[cabmandone]

All he needed to do is send you a copy of the wire confirmation. Some buyers are reluctant since it includes routing and account information. Sending to EJ doesn't make it much more complex then a standard wire. If the buyer didn't have a USD account, it can be problematic when wiring due to currency conversion.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

All he needed to do is send you a copy of the wire confirmation. Some buyers are reluctant since it includes routing and account information. Sending to EJ doesn't make it much more complex then a standard wire. If the buyer didn't have a USD account, it can be problematic when wiring due to currency conversion.

His wire confirmation is what my Edward Jones person used to try to track it down. They sent me information indicating it wasn't initiated correctly per their instructions to him. He just kept ignoring that fact insisting that the wire was on its way, and therefore he was flying over. I finally just got very blunt and said do not come, I am not selling you the car. It was the only thing that finally got his attention.

[Jeff Higgins]

Probably more straightforward to sell a French car to a German.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

His wire confirmation is what my Edward Jones person used to try to track it down. They sent me information indicating it wasn't initiated correctly per their instructions to him. He just kept ignoring that fact ........

Willful ignorance. He knew.

When I bought a car long distance, I wired funds to an account I set up(in my name) at seller's bank.

We met at bank, I looked over the truck, we went inside and transferred the money, and I drove it home.

[unclebilly]

I’ve been on both sides of this.

I have wired money that didn’t show up immediately and this caused a bunch of stress for me. I did everything correctly but the teller screwed up and this delayed things.

When I sold my 930 on BAT, the sellers bank blocked his wire because they thought it could be extortion. He is a high profile criminal lawyer and had to explain to them that he was just trying to buy an antique car.

If he did legitimately wire the money, I’m sure he’s scrambling trying to stop the wire (and may need you to cooperate with this).

When I sold the chump car, I sold it to a guy that was owed money by Magnus. I refused to unload the car from my trailer at the port until the funds were in my account. He had Magnus transfer me the funds directly (and he did immediately).

[dad911]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

However, the money was still sent…

.....

Not as I read the story, 11 days after it was due, it still hadn't cleared.

The deposit was due May 31......... June 10 and my person at Edward Jones goes to the wire department with his paperwork and confirms the wire was not initiated correctly.

Multiple notice to fix:

This was despite me voicing concerns a few times that the wire was not showing up.

Buyer is either a scammer or finding a buyer for a flip.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Originally Posted by Arizona_928

I’ve sent $ internationally for vehicles. I was warned many times by the teller that once the money is sent, I’m not getting it back. As a buyer, that receipt is proof that the money was sent…

International wires are far from instantaneous transactions… my understanding is that all go to NY and are sent off from there periodically (or at least it was when i sent $ to japan).


I’m not sure it’s fair to ask anyone to fix something that can’t readily be fixed. Sounds like it’s the sellers bank’s issue.


What is the issue with the wire?

No issue on my end. My contact at Edward Jones provided both me, and then forwarded to them, information indicating their Bank had initiated the wire inorrectly. The information on what account it was to get credited to at Edward Jones was incorrect.

The deposit to hold the car was only $1,000. If it does end up in my account at some point, I will of course send it back to them.

They were sent multiple emails to check on the wire, including the one on the 10th with specific Instructions indicating that their Bank did it wrong. They never once indicated that they had checked anything on their end.

I understand International wires can take longer. But in no way should they take two weeks and counting.

[Baz]

Why not lt him come and look at the car. If he wants it - he gives you cash in hand - or goes with you to your bank and they confirm the money is in your account - and verified by your bank.

I would just tell him to pay with cash. That's how I did the deal on my Boxster. The buyer didn't even count it. He said he trusts me. I'm sure it was counted later but short story long - that's how it's done.

Cash is king!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Since the car wasn't going anywhere without being paid for in full, why the deposit to begin with? To save the car for him until he can come and see it?

[Deschodt]

Seems dramatic.... for a deposit. I mean why not let the guy come see the car like you would any local person calling you? The fact the deposit did not land means if the car sells before he comes, too bad so sad for him.. If he shows, likes it, the car stays in your possession, now with a cash deposit from him until the full price wire lands...

Just to be a devil's advocate, it's possible the guy tried to wire you, the bank situation on *your* end seems like it's a complicated pass thru of some sort which I don't even understand (I use BofA and wire from my browser all the time), he invested $2000 + in a plane ticket, and now you're saying "don't even come to my house"...

Not saying you're wrong, we have no idea, just "it's possible". What kind of 356 ? wanna swap for my early 911 ? I have super good wire transfer skills ;-)

PS: having occasionally frequented french car forums (looking for an alpine110 at the time), the reputation US cars seem to have is that they were restored with tons of bondo and definitely require a personal visit with a magnet. Dunno why, there are good resto shops everywhere, possibly some brokers sent a lot of crap cars at some point and gave us that reputation.

[Bill Douglas]

Sounds odd. I bought a car in England from New Zealand about 30 years ago and the seller had the money the next morning.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Sounds odd. I bought a car in England from New Zealand about 30 years ago and the seller had the money the next morning.

that's impressive.. I've done a few wire transfers back and forth from US to Europe this year, I'd say 3-5 days is reasonable depending on when it's initiated.. If a friday, forget the w/e ! Never ever seen it same day - unless it's from my US account to my euro account via Wise (online service) and even then the funds are on hold for a day I think.