Car Selling Scams?

[vesnyder]

I am selling a car over the Holidays and wanted to make sure I am not getting scammed. As of now we are waiting for the buyer to electronically transfer funds into our account which we will use to pay off the loan and transfer him the title. No car will transferred until title is issued from the bank. What should I be aware of? I was reluctant to provide him personal banking account information, but it is just information that is included on every check. Anything I am missing?

Thanks

[wildthing]

He has your name and address, and your routing and checking account number. I hope you have his too, and he checks out with a basic Google search.

The safer bet would've been for you to have receive a bank check that YOU deposit yourself.

[Balisong]

Just don’t ship the car until your bank has the funds.
Don’t fall for the “shipper arrived early”, “bank said funds will be there soon” etc

[vesnyder]

Thanks guys! I am suspicious when somebody buys a $30K+ car sight unseen. But this market is unlike one we have ever seen before. We sold a Toyota that we purchased just about a year ago for $1k more than we bought it for!

I received notice that the bank received funds and are "pending". Shipper will be here in 1-3 days. Selling a car a couple years ago from an obvious scam buyer I received a supposed "bank" check that took my bank a week to tell me it was bogus. I am suspicious of bank checks unless I visit the bank with the buyer.

[rwest]

If they pick up the car, but you hold the title until the funds clear, would the car then be considered stolen? Then it is criminal rather than maybe being civil if payment bounced and they had title?

[dennisO]

A status of Pending is typical for bank transfers until the transfer is completed. I would be not release car to him until Your bank says the transaction is completed AND you have full access to the funds. Shipper arriving in 1-3 is worrisome, since the status is still pending. Be careful- the dirtbag scammers are getting better.

[Rodsrsr]

Originally Posted by dennisO

A status of Pending is typical for bank transfers until the transfer is completed. I would be not release car to him until Your bank says the transaction is completed AND you have full access to the funds. Shipper arriving in 1-3 is worrisome, since the status is still pending. Be careful- the dirtbag scammers are getting better.

This^^^tread very cautiously. Sometimes the bank will release the funds to your account before the check actually clears, and if the check subsequently bounces they'll debit the amount right back from your account. The whole process should take over a week. 1-3 days from the shipper is extremely worrisome.

[M5guy]

When I sell a car, I have my bank set up a temporary account for fund transfer. The money arrives in temp account, gets moved to my real accounts, temp account gets closed, and seller does not have any of my valid banking information.

[mepstein]

I just call the bank manager, he tells me I’m good and I release the car, engine, etc. The reason I call him is the bank people have access to a lot more info than you or I. I worked at a bank and there is a lot more info that they see than we can on our account page.

[mrbeverlyhills]

I usually have the buyer pay the lien holder direct and then get a refund from them post sale.

Alternatively, you can ask the bank manager (if you are local and known) to open an escrow account.

[pmax]

Cash is king.

Good luck there.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by M5guy

When I sell a car, I have my bank set up a temporary account for fund transfer. The money arrives in temp account, gets moved to my real accounts, temp account gets closed, and seller does not have any of my valid banking information.

yep, an escrow account of sorts. your bank would be happy to work with you now then later when you've been scammed.

[Munky King]

I just sold my car in a similar way, but I was lucky in that there was no lien on the car.

When the shipper called me, I told them I would call them back, as soon as the bank had ensured the funds had cleared. They said they understood and waited.

Know that if someone sends you a wire, they can technically still pull the funds back if they claim it was the wrong amount delivered.

I honestly don’t envy you, having just been there myself!

Good luck!