jerseydrew

Thinking of selling the vette but am always worried about getting screwed. What is the safest way to handle a large money transaction?

Adam_W

I recently asked this question in another part of the forum.

Cashier's checks can be forged, keep that in mind.

Reasonably safe and usually acceptable: meet up at local branch of buyer's bank. Watch him/her purchase a cashier's check and hand it to you. You do paperwork/bill of sale on the spot. Only way the cashier's check can be "stopped" is if they claim it was stolen or lost or damaged and there is a process to doing that, and the money gets held up by the bank.

Ideal way: you tell them to meet you at the bank with cash, and you deposit it right there. Most buyers don't want to do that, but if you give them a significant discount off your price, they might go for it. Much safer than them handing you cash in their bank or in a parking lot for obvious reasons.

geebutbut

wire transfer?

Adam_W

Do you know how long it takes for a wire transfer to go through? This seems like a good way to do it, as long as the buyer doesn't mind waiting the amount of time it takes for seller to confirm that payment was received.

CaDreamn

Depending on institutions it takes minutes. Some banks will hold funds until the next morning.

ilovemyredhotc6

I just went through this. Seller would only take cash, which caused a huge headache. Bank to bank wire transfers can be transmitted same day, are inexpensive, and are fraud proof. Make sure to have a signed sales contract before buyer initiates wire transfer and seller should not sign over title until wire transfer has completed as confirmed by the bank.

175rgr

I've bought and sold probably about 12 cars in the last 4 - 6 years. If you just use common sense and are a decent judge of another persons character you really have nothing to worry about. The most important thing is make the sale personal. Talk to the individual over the phone or meet in person more than once. Don't just communicate by email and get as much information as possible. Ask for a copy of their drivers license and offer up a copy of your information as well for their security about your car. Buying and selling cars has become pretty much second nature to me and after buying multiple times sight unseen i feel very comfortable purchasing cars from the RIGHT people. Its all about the personality, and usually with cars like ours they mean more to the other person than just something to get them to and from work, and cars are their passion as well as yours. Share stories with the person and tell them everything you know about the car your selling and find out why they are buying, the more personal the sale the smoother it goes. Most people I've bought or sold vehicles to i still talk to every once in a while, they either contact me and ask me how the vehicles been or i hit them up about a vehicle i sold making sure everything is still A-okay and offer up any assistance if im able.


Your chances are very slim to none by getting ripped off if you just like stated before multiple times, make the sale personal, get to know them and don't just email! It takes alot of brass to show your face in public areas and offer up information and falsify checks for a 50 thousand dollar car. And remember, if your selling, the car is still yours till you have the money in hand, if you feel uncomfortable at any time you can simply just say no its not for sale anymore.

Oh and by the way: I'm selling a corvette on the forums with a buyer lined up for next week, and next week im looking to purchase a car off of these forums sight unseen 700 miles away and have it shipped to me, if that makes you feel any better.

I know i started rambling and probably lost track on what I was trying to say so if you have any questions about it or concerns feel free to PM me or give me a call nine1two sixfive6 fourfour05 and ill let you know what ive done in the past.

Wire Transfer: Anything over 15k can be held for up to 10 days not likely but its a federal government rule put in place to stop the purchase of highly illegal things that cost alot of money, i.e weapons, drugs, etc.... so keep that in mind, i released the last car i sold to the gentlemen while my bank was still holding the wire transfer, i felt i trusted him.

Bank Check: If he is financing the vehicle and his bank hands him the check and not you its also okay. Just call his bank and speak with the loan officer if you are hesitant about the legitimacy of the check.

Certified Check: Same thing, its going to be coming from his bank, so call and confirm he has funds available (they wont allow him to get the check if he doesn't).

Paypal: I avoid paypal like the plague, ive had bad experiences with the company in general in the past but....... it is an available option. If you go through paypal keep in mind your funds can be held up on paypals end if a dispute is filed as well as alot of fees that go up with the amount of money transferred.

S.C. vette

175rgr; your comments are spot-on!

Black 03 Z06

Interesting timing on this thread. I too thank you for the information.

It is a scary world out there.

not08crmanymore

A suitcase full of US 100 DOLLAR bills..who would expect someone to be carrying around 30-40 grand in cash??

ferravette

Just went thru this on a sale just short of 6 figures.

Wire transfer woud be the best bet. If your bank is also his bank the transfer takes minutes. If the banks are different it takes about 2 hours for the transfer but it will show as pending until the next day.

I called my bank and spoke to a management person who informed me that in order for the wire transfer to be reversed I would have to approve it. Also it was a FEDWIRE transfer.

So I let the buyer pick up the car a few hours later,

Hope this helps.

McCall38

I just sold my 2008.
I showed the buyer the car, put it back in the garage, drove the buyer to his bank and stood with him at the tellers window while the teller made up the cashiers check.
Then we drove back and I signed the title over and released the car to him.

kstine98

Wire transfer. Safe for all parties, easy And cheap.

Advanced101

What if you still owe money on the car and the selling amount is higher?

For instance, you owe 20 and you are selling the car for 40?

kstine98

Wire the money to your bank with the title is held. Call the bank to tell them the transaction is occurring so they have the title in hand, and are ready for the transaction to occur. Obviously, this works better with local community banks, since they are more flexible. The key is to have everything set up ahead of time so there aren't any glitches. Many times banks have the physical title located off-site.

jedblanks

Based on your avatar, I would say a plethora of cash. But I'm not exactly sure what a plethora is. I would like to know.

hawkgfr

Make the transaction though YOUR financial institution and his....by fax...while both of you are at YOUR place.

Adam_W

Going with them to their bank to watch their bank process a cashier's check sounds common and seems fairly safe except:

- their bank may not have a branch close to you, e.g. out of state buyer

- theoretically, they could mess things up by going to another bank branch right after the sale and putting a stop on the cashier's check. They may have to sign an affadavit or other paperwork indicating that the cashier's was either damaged, lost or stolen, and then the money gets held up for a period of time before they can get it back, so it's unlikely they would attempt this (e.g. when the money didn't clear after 2-3 days processing then you could go back to their bank and dispute it). However, it's a possibility.

Wire transfer is not instant, so if they are okay waiting for it to clear (may take a day or so) and show up in your account, then it works. But if they fear you will get the money and then not give them the car, then it won't work.

RobsVette04

Certified check made out to you, from the buyers bank, while you are watching the transaction.

Second option, have the bank wire the funds directly into your account. Again, you would want to be there while this is done.

I just sold mine, and I took the buyer to the bank and watched him get a certified bank check made out to me.

Homer3D

When I sold my 2005 to a private buyer, I asked the buyer to meet me at my bank. We went to the teller together, I gave the teller my bank account number and the buyer handed the teller the cash. Teller counted and confirmed the amount and deposited it directly to my account. Cash never physically touched my hands. Once complete, I signed over paperwork and the deal was done.