Anyone recommend an escrow service?

[Sox Fan]

I look at BAT regularly and have bid on quite a few cars but never have won an auction. In the event that I do end up buying a car there, can anyone recommend a reputable escrow service?

The idea of wiring money and then having the seller hopefully ship a car makes me a bit nervous.

[juanbenae]

having such a great plan may create such a pain in the ass factor for even a legit seller they may move to the next buyer. what you need is the money sitting in an escrow account that can ship money immediately to a legit bank account with a account & routing numbers.

work with your bank to see if they can help you through this so a seller can be paid at the auction close with little hassle at a legit account. essentially have the money in a secured by your bank escrow account that you can pull the trigger on with their assistance in a second.

ive shared a bank with two sellers over the years and although it was not an auction is was easy peazy.. also believe BAT vets sellers pretty thoroughly as you don't hear a ton about shenanigans from there like ebay.

[Rick Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

also believe BAT vets sellers pretty thoroughly as you don't hear a ton about shenanigans from there like ebay.

I don't think they vet sellers in any way. I don't recall being better at all when I went to sell my car.

Also when you win an auction you immediately get an email with a few suggestions for settling smoothly, where it says "most deals that fail to close it's because blah blah", which suggests that in fact a very significant portion of winning auctions end with fails.

[JMS935]

Originally Posted by Rick Brooklyn

I don't think they vet sellers in any way. I don't recall being better at all when I went to sell my car.

Also when you win an auction you immediately get an email with a few suggestions for settling smoothly, where it says "most deals that fail to close it's because blah blah", which suggests that in fact a very significant portion of winning auctions end with fails.

Are you saying that it’s common for the winning bidder to pay BaT the 5% fee and then walk away from the deal prior to closing?

[nathanbs]

Buy from a reputable on BAT. There are some on there like 911R that have many transactions. Sort of the same as don’t buy from the person on eBay that has zero feedback

[Unobtanium-inc]

As a seller I have to say when people start talking about escrow services, held checks, or my favorite, joint bank accounts I get nervous. Buying a car is very simple, you pay for the car, the car ships. Amazon doesn't send you a laptop until they are paid, nor should they, and nor should someone selling a car. If you are nervous about doing a remote deal on a car then get on a plane and seal the deal in person, or if you don't have time to do that then I suggest you make a list of car dealers within 100 miles of you and give them your wish list for a car.
In this day and age simpler is better, always.

---Adam

[Rick Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by JMS935

Are you saying that it’s common for the winning bidder to pay BaT the 5% fee and then walk away from the deal prior to closing?

I think in those cases buyers dispute credit card charges.

[JMS935]

Originally Posted by Rick Brooklyn

I think in those cases buyers dispute credit card charges.

That’s sounds like a losing proposition. What’s their argument? They were the high bidder and then failed to follow through with the transaction for whatever reason. I don’t see them getting their money back in that scenario.

[991gts6s]

Never,,I mean Never have ever heard of a seller agreeing to Escrow with their car..lol.
Almost a 100% guarantee way NOT to get the car you want guy..

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Rick Brooklyn

I think in those cases buyers dispute credit card charges.

You dodged the underlying question regarding the assertion you made. Do you think there are a high percentage of no sales on BaT after auction end? Do you have any evidence to support that?

[1979-930]

This has been said every time one of these threads comes up. But I would fly out and inspect the car myself before any money was transferred.
At that point a direct wire is not an issue. Risk a couple thousand verses buying a turd that needs $20k or more.
The ability to back out would be the only benefit to BAT. You can't do that at Mecum or any auction house.

[JMS935]

Originally Posted by 1979-930

This has been said every time one of these threads comes up. But I would fly out and inspect the car myself before any money was transferred.
At that point a direct wire is not an issue. Risk a couple thousand verses buying a turd that needs $20k or more.
The ability to back out would be the only benefit to BAT. You can't do that at Mecum or any auction house.

How do you figure? I would argue that BaT is the single worst auction house to buy a car from and then back out, as it’s the only one where you pay the commish immediately upon close of auction. If you back out of buying a car on BaT you are out the 5% juice guaranteed. If you back out of buying a car at any of the conventional auction houses you aren’t out anything, all they have is a bank letter stating you have the funds, that is it. If you get cold feet post auction, BaT will be the most expensive one to do so at. Now granted, maybe the other auction houses won’t issue you bidder credentials again after that, but BaT might handle it the same way too.

[trader220]

Its messy backing out of a deal from any legit auction house.

I have sold nearly a dozen cars on BAT and yet to have anyone back out. Every single buyer has paid me upfront and then I either arranged shipping or they did. Now, I have also followed up with every buyer, after they received the car and a month or so later. I sold a Ferrari 308 to a guy in France via BAT and it was a very positive experience. He wired the money to me a couple days after the auction and I helped him arrange shipping. I have a standing offer to visit anytime.

BAT takes the 5% right away, in fact they play a hold on your CC for the amount you bid right away, as in before the auction even ends. I think that function keeps most of the buyers legit.

I have seen a small number of buyers back out. BAT keeps their fee and they'll work with you to relist. They also are clear on the new listing that the buyer backed out because of ghosting and not having anything about the car being the reason.

BAT does not really vet the sellers and you'll find a small number of auctions which have been closed during the auction because the crowd uncovered issues with the car or the title or something else. They don't vet the buyers either, aside from taking a credit card and as soon as you bid they confirm the 5% funds are available and place a hold on them.

Some people may walk away from a few hundred dollars for whatever reason.

[Sox Fan]

[QUOTE=Unobtanium-inc;10226873]As a seller I have to say when people start talking about escrow services, held checks, or my favorite, joint bank accounts I get nervous. Buying a car is very simple, you pay for the car, the car ships. Amazon doesn't send you a laptop until they are paid, nor should they, and nor should someone selling a car.

Appreciate everyone's thoughts. Not sure I would say it's the same as buying a laptop from Amazon though. I know Amazon is a legit business and I purchase from them all the time. An out of state individual I have never met is a totally different proposition.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by Unobtanium-inc

As a seller I have to say when people start talking about escrow services, held checks, or my favorite, joint bank accounts I get nervous. Buying a car is very simple, you pay for the car, the car ships. Amazon doesn't send you a laptop until they are paid, nor should they, and nor should someone selling a car. If you are nervous about doing a remote deal on a car then get on a plane and seal the deal in person, or if you don't have time to do that then I suggest you make a list of car dealers within 100 miles of you and give them your wish list for a car.
In this day and age simpler is better, always.

---Adam

This ^

I just don't get anything else from my perspective. I have bought & sold loads of out of State cars. The buyer pays, they get the car.

Send me a bank wire. I have my routing & account number available. Send me a check. I will wait for it to clear. Bring me cash. I will gladly accept.

Why would anyone want to make an easy process hard?

[Rick Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

You dodged the underlying question regarding the assertion you made. Do you think there are a high percentage of no sales on BaT after auction end? Do you have any evidence to support that?

I don't have any evidence, and I don't think I stated that was the case in definite terms, only my opinion based on the fact that when you win an auction or you sell the car you receive an email containing this text:

"Tips below to assist in finalizing the transaction.

Make contact with the buyer ASAP.
Always try to remain calm, friendly, and polite. The #1 reason we see car deals fall apart is not the car; it is disrespect or bad attitudes from the buyer or seller.
Provide a factual Bill of Sale when taking payment.
Provide a photocopy of the title if requested to justify payment.
Do not release the car or the actual title until you have full payment in hand.
We suggest Wire Transfers for payments."

In my view, if there wasn't a material number of trades failing to settle, there would be no reason for bat to refer to a "#1 reason we see car deals apart"

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

This ^

I just don't get anything else from my perspective. I have bought & sold loads of out of State cars. The buyer pays, they get the car.

Send me a bank wire. I have my routing & account number available. Send me a check. I will wait for it to clear. Bring me cash. I will gladly accept.

Why would anyone want to make an easy process hard?

I just got an $11k check from a gearbox customer through my business on a special order job and an $xy,000 check for my personal Carrera for a private sale. Neither party questioned it. They will get what they paid for.

[JMS935]

I’d agree with you Rick, I would probably infer the same thing. But with that said, it’s probably not all that common of an occurrence either. That is a strange email to be sending out to both parties for sure. If the seller has any direct part in the transaction not closing, then you’d think that BaT would need to compensate the winning bidder their 5% fee that they already paid. As that email also infers that some of these failed deals are a result of the seller backing out for whatever reason.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Rick Brooklyn

I don't have any evidence, and I don't think I stated that was the case in definite terms, only my opinion based on the fact that when you win an auction or you sell the car you receive an email containing this text:

"Tips below to assist in finalizing the transaction.

Make contact with the buyer ASAP.
Always try to remain calm, friendly, and polite. The #1 reason we see car deals fall apart is not the car; it is disrespect or bad attitudes from the buyer or seller.
Provide a factual Bill of Sale when taking payment.
Provide a photocopy of the title if requested to justify payment.
Do not release the car or the actual title until you have full payment in hand.
We suggest Wire Transfers for payments."

In my view, if there wasn't a material number of trades failing to settle, there would be no reason for bat to refer to a "#1 reason we see car deals apart"

Those suggestions make sense, especially if a first time buyer has jumped in the BaT pool. I see no reason to think sales are failing and require guidance to prevent it

[Unobtanium-inc]

[QUOTE=Sox Fan;10227401]

Originally Posted by Unobtanium-inc

As a seller I have to say when people start talking about escrow services, held checks, or my favorite, joint bank accounts I get nervous. Buying a car is very simple, you pay for the car, the car ships. Amazon doesn't send you a laptop until they are paid, nor should they, and nor should someone selling a car.

Appreciate everyone's thoughts. Not sure I would say it's the same as buying a laptop from Amazon though. I know Amazon is a legit business and I purchase from them all the time. An out of state individual I have never met is a totally different proposition.

Like I said, if you are unsure about buying a car from far away, a plane ride is money well spent for peace of mind. But I think if you make a deal too complicated most sellers will go to the next in line, and when selling Porsches there is usually a line. Just friendly advice if you're serious about buying a car you really want, it would be a shame to be ready to buy and lose the deal because you scared the seller.

---Adam