Needs some advice please..selling a car

MMiller · 03-20-2014, 06:11 AM

Thought I would check the Pelican Braintrust...

What is the best way sell a car out of ones driveway these days? I have my 911 for sale and have an interested out of state buyer. We have worked out most of the details except for how to exchage funds that minimizes risk for both parties.

The amount is too large to really expect cash. He is not really comfortable doing a wire transfer days in advance of picking up the car and title. I don't want to accept a cashiers check..

Is an on line escrow account the way to go? If so can someone make a recommendation? A quick search and it seems escrow.com is well thought of..

Thanks in advance for suggestions

regards,

VincentVega · 03-20-2014, 06:15 AM

Both sides need to assume some risk or go to a bank together and have them cut you a check or do a transfer.

weseeeee · weseeeee's Garage

I purchased a M Benz from a guy and we went to the bank together where he deposited the check after they verified it was valid.

asphaltgambler · 06:33 AM

I have much experience in this area. You should expect all cash, period. It's the American way. I sold my 70 Chevelle SS in the fall for $45K.....Cash. I personally been involved on even larger deals = all cash. I have the marker pen to identify whether the bills are real or not. You are the seller- you have control.

Then deposit the cash in $8K increments over some period of time for obvious reasons.

If this is a no go for either of you, do wire transfer. It's as easy as Paypal really once you have an account setup. I have one such account that I keep a $25.00 balance and is not tied to any other accounts I have which minimizes risk. The fees are pennies, actually and the funds are usually available the next business day

asphaltgambler · 03-20-2014, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weseeeee

I purchased a M Benz from a guy and we went to the bank together where he deposited the check after they verified it was valid.

A check is still a check and there some very (good) sophisticated fraudulent examples including certified / cashiers check. Cash is King folks

t-tom · 03-20-2014, 06:45 AM

Go to your bank and have them open an escrow account, have his bank wire the money to your bank and have them put it in the account. When he shows up to pick up the car go to the bank have him sign off as being happy with the purchase you sign off as being happy with the sale. Everybody's happy happy happy. Its pretty easy to do. I sell 6-10 cars a year on ebay and have never had a problem.

widgeon13 · 03-20-2014, 06:53 AM

The fellow that sold me my current Pcar went to Fidelity with me and we both had accounts so we just did a fund transfer on the spot. Sweet.

onewhippedpuppy · 03-20-2014, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

I have much experience in this area. You should expect all cash, period. It's the American way. I sold my 70 Chevelle SS in the fall for $45K.....Cash. I personally been involved on even larger deals = all cash. I have the marker pen to identify whether the bills are real or not. You are the seller- you have control.

Then deposit the cash in $8K increments over some period of time for obvious reasons.

If this is a no go for either of you, do wire transfer. It's as easy as Paypal really once you have an account setup. I have one such account that I keep a $25.00 balance and is not tied to any other accounts I have which minimizes risk. The fees are pennies, actually and the funds are usually available the next business day

I agree, but large sums of cash tend to make people nervous. I bought a boat for $20k cash a few months ago and the buyer was nervous as hell about it. I highly prefer cash, but have done cashier's checks where we meet at the bank and verify funds prior to completing the transaction.

Wire transfer is quick and easy, and there's no need to set up an account. He can transfer the money via phone from your driveway after seeing the car in person. The only caveat is that it must be during normal bank hours, and wire transfers don't process on Saturdays.

JavaBrewer · JavaBrewer's Garage

Last two car transactions were with cashiers checks from local banks. Agree on details, head over to bank where they cash the check. Done.

biosurfer1 · 03-20-2014, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

A check is still a check and there some very (good) sophisticated fraudulent examples including certified / cashiers check. Cash is King folks

If you remove Nigerian and other obviously fake cashiers checks, I wonder if there are more fake checks/cashiers checks or bills.

It's not hard at all to verify a cashiers check from a bank. The phone number and account info are printed right on the check and it took me all of 5 minutes to verify the last time I sold a car. Went to B of A, cashed it and was on my way.

asphaltgambler · 03-20-2014, 07:28 AM

^^^^^^^You would be surprised^^^^^^^^^^

BeyGon · 03-20-2014, 07:34 AM

a couple ways it could go, have him bring a cashiers check on a major bank, made out to him, when he comes for the car you both go to the bank, he cashes it and hands the money to you. Or have him wire transfer the money that day to your bank, they will tell you when it is in your account and you can give him the car.
Cash is better. I sold my Corvette to a guy on a Sunday, I told him no checks, he said is cash ok, he had the 36k in cash.

MMiller · 03-20-2014, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeyGon

a couple ways it could go, have him bring a cashiers check on a major bank, made out to him, when he comes for the car you both go to the bank, he cashes it and hands the money to you.

Great guys....thank you for the thoughts. I'm surprised we are all still all over the board on this process

So no one has gone the escrow route?

I may just do what Dean suggest....seems straight forward enough and the deal is scheduled for a weekday

thanks again

wportervt · wportervt's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Panerai

Great guys....thank you for the thoughts. I'm surprised we are all still all over the board on this process

So no one has gone the escrow route?

I may just do what Dean suggest....seems straight forward enough and the deal is scheduled for a weekday

thanks again

I used escrow.com when I purchased my 911 a little over a year ago. Fees weren't too bad and the transaction went smoothly. Cash is obviously king and would probably be preferable if the transaction is done face to face, but I was buying remotely so using escrow worked out well.

911SauCy · 911SauCy's Garage

CASH... The ONLY Secure Way.

Sold my wife's car last fall for cash...guy told me he was nervous, I told him I wouldn't do the deal otherwise.

We met at a police station to do the deal.

My police buddies see some incredibly real, fake cashiers and certified checks.

My uncle's business partner did the $ transfer thing for a $48k Lexus SUV. Everything went well, guy took the car, he was happy. 3 weeks later the bank called saying the fund transfer was not legit and the account it initially drew from was fraudulent... He was out the $, took a year to get the insurance company to agree upon a "stolen" claim.

june82000 · june82000's Garage

I just bought a car using a bank draft from my credit union and I have done this before more than once. It allows me, the buyer to negotiate the price on the spot after seeing the car. There's a spot on the draft to fill in the VIN and dealer info. I sign it like a check and they can go straight there to cash it or deposit it into their account. If it's a private party sale then they require a check be printed with all the pertinent details including the sellers name. Cash is always good but don't forget that there are alot of fake bills floating around. If someone gives you a handful of cash - especially $40k worth and the bank checks them (and they will) and half end up being counterfeit then you are stuck holding the bag. If doing all cash then I recommend having the purchaser follow you to the bank to make sure the bills are legit as they are deposited into your account. Cash is king, but counterfeit bills are a reality these days so be careful.

onewhippedpuppy · 03-20-2014, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 911SauCy

My uncle's business partner did the $ transfer thing for a $48k Lexus SUV. Everything went well, guy took the car, he was happy. 3 weeks later the bank called saying the fund transfer was not legit and the account it initially drew from was fraudulent... He was out the $, took a year to get the insurance company to agree upon a "stolen" claim.

Are you sure that was a true bank to bank wire transfer? For a wire transfer the sender must have a valid bank account with the balance to be transferred, and the recipient must have a valid bank account for the money to be transferred to. The funds may take a few hours to actually transfer, but the balance is held by the sender's bank upon time of transfer. As the recipient, your bank can normally confirm within a few minutes that the transfer is valid and in progress. I'm not sure how you would defraud that system.

Scott Douglas · Scott Douglas's Garage

When I sold my SC we made the deal on Sunday.
Met at the bank on Monday morning, I watched the check being drawn (Cashier's Check), he handed it to me, I gave him the keys and promptly went to my bank and deposited the check. I believe funds were available the next day.
Easy peasy.

911SauCy · 911SauCy's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Are you sure that was a true bank to bank wire transfer? For a wire transfer the sender must have a valid bank account with the balance to be transferred, and the recipient must have a valid bank account for the money to be transferred to. The funds may take a few hours to actually transfer, but the balance is held by the sender's bank upon time of transfer. As the recipient, your bank can normally confirm within a few minutes that the transfer is valid and in progress. I'm not sure how you would defraud that system.

I'm just sharing a nightmare story I heard, don't know specific details...but do know a grown man was feeling very badly about being duped for lot$a $

onewhippedpuppy · 03-20-2014, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 911SauCy

I'm just sharing a nightmare story I heard, don't know specific details...but do know a grown man was feeling very badly about being duped for lot$a $

That would definitely bring me to tears.

I'm more curious than anything. I tend to prefer either cash or wire transfer when I sell a car because I've always thought of them as being the safest approach.