redvet

Pardon my ignorance (if I am), but I have a question I'm hoping someone can answer.

When you sell a car “long distance,” how do you ASSURE that you will receive valid payment? I have heard that cashier’s checks can be counterfeit, etc. So what is the best and safest way to receive payment to make sure you don’t get ripped off?

JJKJ

I've sold 3 cars and an engine worth as much as some cars online recently. Each one I established a good rapport with the buyer via phone contact. I always responded to their questions quickly and with as much detail as possible. I gave them my full contact info including home phone, cell phone and address. None of them had any problems with me asking that they send certified funds and allow me 3-5 days for the check to clear before having the car picked up.

It's all about having confidence in the other party. If they seem open and responsive, then they'll also be understanding about you not releasing the title before the funds clear.

hcvone

I have sold several cars on the Forum, most payments were personal checks, when the check cleared I called them and they sent for the transport, the last two were sold without the buyer ever coming to look at the cars, but I been around forever, where am I going.

sabastian458

I have sold 1 and bought 1 from long distance and have had my bank transfer the funds between the other party and I (using the other party's prefered bank) costs about $30ish to do 1 transaction.

It works really well if the other person has a lien, you dont want to send them the payment and not get a title. So I send the full amount to the bank, they take theirs and issue a lein release for the title, and the cut the other party the difference.

2010drive

Wire transfer is the easiest way.

4SELLL

Wire

Top_Fuel

Any check (personal, certified, bank, etc) is essentially a worthless piece of paper until it has been deposited AND cleared. Although it is 2011 and everyone does electronic transfers, the banking industry still takes upwards of 10-14 days to clear a paper check!?!?

A lot of people who haven't bought or sold a car in the last 15 years don't know this, and honest and well-intended buyers can get confused when you tell them you won't accept anything short of a direct wire transfer if they expect to pay for the car and drive it away the same day. But that's the only way you can protect yourself these days.

I don't know that anyone has figured out how to fraudulently do a wire transfer, although I'm sure thieves are working on it as I type this.

tuxnharley

Sure - they earn interest on our money during that period of time. Just another way they have figured out to rip off the consumer!

RJRSW

I have sold two Vettes long distance in the last year and making sure you have the money in hand before releasing the car is very simple.

Tell the buyer you want a cashier's check drawn on a bank that has a branch near you and walk into that branch with the check and tell them you want to cash it. They will verify that it is indeed a real check before they would cash it.

The last one I did a couple of months ago worked out great. The manager of the bank that it was drawn on called the bank branch in Missouri that issued it and verified it was real. At that point you can cash it, have them issue another one to you directly if you do not want to carry the cash. Either way you have your money with no chance of getting ripped off.

cvette98pacecar

[QUOTE=redvet;1578237253]Pardon my ignorance (if I am), but I have a question I'm hoping someone can answer.

When you sell a car “long distance,” how do you ASSURE that you will receive valid payment? I have heard that cashier’s checks can be counterfeit, etc. So what is the best and safest way to receive payment to make sure you don’t get ripped off?[/QUOTe

Wire transfer. Takes less than 15 minutes if done first thing in the morning.
I bought my Callaway ZR1 in May flew in at 9AM wire transferred the funds once I checked the car and was driving home by 10AM.

ZO6NTHEWIND

This is posted in the "Cars For Sale' section......?

jnx911

Exactly!

HIRISC

Safest way for buyer is to use an escrow service. You send the escrow service the money, the seller ships the car, you receive/inspect the car and they release the funds to the seller.

I've used www.escrow.com a couple of times for car buys. The are the ONLY escrow service I would use/trust. They are recommended by eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/escrow.html

If you don't use a middle-man (escrow), and you don't want to arrive in person with cash, the seller will end up bearing the majority burden of trust.

A wire is good for the seller.. cannot be retracted once it hits. Doesn't mitigate any trust concerns on the side of the buyer (aka, is the car junk? is there a car?, etc.), assuming you're not in-person.

Per comments above, fly in, review the car, go to the bank and perform a wire transfer. Done.

G/luck.

ohfiver

Wire transfer.....period

philip_g

cashier's checks are fine, you can always call the bank and verify that it is not forged or fraudulent.

some people are too paranoid, you do realize you don't sign the title over until payment clears, right? Some years ago I had an 05 lined up to buy, I was financing some of it so the bank was going to draw a cashier's check with the loan amount plus the portion from my accounts. I had to fly in on a saturday, pick up the car sunday, and drive back, it just so happened my bank branch is open a short time on sunday so I verified he could call and verify the check and they said it was fine. He wouldn't do it because he had never heard of a bank open on sunday and had never heard of US Bank

worked out best for me, got an 07 for the same price 2 weeks later and the seller wasn't a DB.

97ramsst

Cash...I dont care if its $3000 or $30,000...CASH. I give you the car and the title and you give me CASH...or if I am buying vise versa. If you dont have the title and we cant go to the bank and get it then I dont buy it. I have bought and sold over 50 cars online and thats the only way I do it. If the buyer doesnt want to deal in cash then we cant do business...and I have never met a seller that wouldnt take it!

If your worried about counterfeit money then meet at a branch of your bank and they will run it through their machine and count it for you.

philip_g

ooooooookay

I'd bring gold but that pesky government outlawed buying things with gold.

Thrash

I insist on Euros, $$'s aren't worth the paper they are ...

Tide Will Roll!

I used a cashiers check. Overnighted a $500.00 deposit and all the contact info for the bank manager.
Scanned the cashiers check for the remainder of the balance and sent that along with all the banks info. Delivered the check when picked the car up.

As far as carrying that much cash. I doubt could have made it through the airports with that much cash

Bert

Roll tide!

SRQStingray

I had a friend get paid for his Vette in gold. Since then, a couple of years ago, the gold has nearly doubled in value.