Chicago Bob

back seat?

F4Gary

Yes. LT3 is the back seat option.

KrautV8

lol and ALL 3 of them were complete fools. u can hide so much by driving urself a passenger wont EVER notice, even major damage like the car tilting to one side bc the whole frame is squeezed.
I would NEVER buy a car im not allowed to drive by myself. the only thing I bought without having a ride at all was a collectors motorcycle (u can check a bike much better by looks then a car) but I demanded to see the enginge running.
One time someone wrote in the ad "only test drive if u put buy value in cash" I did not do it but in person he saw that I was serious (like wtf, u dont trust me and expect me to put down ALL the cash into ur hand and demand me to trust u completely? "never" I said)

and to topic:
In my experience as 37y old car guy selling much fast cars from Corrado VR6 (was fast in that time),BMW M3, to 2 vettes, 911 turbo and rly much more I cant even say if I had ANY guy come to me who I thought he just wanted to "tire kick" as u say in the states (im from germany though) - I dont think the mentality of people is that much different and I also think that if u really have such a "tire kicker" come to u u will recognize it pretty fast. Plus I am pretty sure tire kickers go far more likely to dealerships than to private sellers (I also went to Audi and Benz for test driving which could be considered "tyre kicking" to compare models - but thats part of an official car make dealers job imo - at the end I bought an Audi from private so they still get their value out of it...)
And btw there will be also serious buyers who drive the car but DONT buy it, I drove 5 M5s and bought not a single one though I wanted to have one and had cash in hand (bought my first vette then instead of the E39M5) - and like others said, thats part of selling the car.

jriley9922

My 2 cents.... I say only I (as the owner) am driving it for the initial visit/viewing.

If they are serious and come back to "close the deal". I will let them drive it then. More often than not, the deal is closing with a certified check.
So if they show up with that check.. That means they went through the process (takes like 30 minutes not including getting to/from bank... can only do in person) of getting the check, willing to freeze those funds in their back account, and pay whatever administration fee of like $30 bank charges.

A lot of hassle for a tire kicker. That also is an easy way of proof of funds. 2 birds for 1 stone.

If they've done that and seem to be a decent human being.... Then usually let them drive it... And/or take it themselves to a shop for a PPI.

KrautV8

so how tf shall a potential buyer decide to "close the deal" or not if he does not even know how the car handles, feels, drives??
what u do is u expect the buyer to "tire kick" before he comes to u somewhere else.

Slick61

When I bought my Backdraft Cobra, I did not drive it til 3 days after it was delivered to my garage... after registration and insurance were all in place. When I went to look at it, I drove nearly 7 hours to see it. The owner took me for a ride. He offered to let me drive it... which I appreciated, but declined. I said I would drive when it was mine. It IS surprising what you can pick up from the passenger seat. I made a cash offer, which was accepted a few days later. I may finance my my daily drivers, but not my toys. Once you get beyond about 5 years old, it becomes increasingly difficult to finance used cars anyway. When I sold the Cobra 8 years later, it was bought sight-unseen by a guy in Nebraska. Two weeks after the check cleared, I called him & told him to arrange pickup. That took another 3 or 4 weeks. We were both happy. When I went to look at my '04 C5 Z06, again, the owner took me for a ride... and again, he offered to let me drive it after a while... which I did... tho I already knew I was going to buy it. Both purchases were done via wire transfer (both cash offers)... and in both cases, the owner drove it to my house. We then went to my credit union together & I transferred the funds. With the vette, I then drove the owner back to his home. I guess it's all a matter of what you're comfortable with. Stick to yer guns.

lilcuda

Keep in mind that a "certified check" (really a cashier's check) can being forged as well. Many banks will hold half of the funds back until it clears due to increasing fraudulent checks. My bank did it to me in March when I sold my Z28. Held half the funds for 7 business days, which works out to 10 days. The buyer had to reschedule the transport company because of this. Do not release the title or the vehicle until after the check has cleared. Or better yet, do a wire transfer.

oldC5Rfan

Up front tell them the ONLY way they drive the car is after they put the purchase price , in cash into your hand , otherwise it will be a test RIDE and you will put the car thru some paces

SteveJewels

A certified check is a personal check where the bank 'certifies' there are sufficient funds to cover the check at the time they verify it. A person can empty their account after the finds are verified.

A cashiers check is one drawn on the bank's account not on a personal account. The bank withdraws the funds from the person's account so the presenter of the check no longer has access to those funds in their account.

1994SuperSport

BaT isn't as sure thing as it used to be, the website has changed over the years from a more "here's what I found in the backwoods for cheap" to a really pompous place. The "prospective" buyers on BaT ask a TON of questions, and it will take a seller significant time to go through them (esp the specific photo request ones). I will say though, if you have a top 10% condition car in a niche classic market, you will get top dollar there.

But if you have even a scratch, slight wear on the seat, or a single bolt with surface rust, you will get bombarded with questions with non bidders who are mainly looking to be nit picky or difficult.

lilcuda

My point was that cashier’s checks are being forged and as a result, banks are now putting holds on them, so releasing a car to someone who pays with a cashier’s check is risky. I will only do wire transfers from now on.

1994SuperSport

Wires aren't necessarily secure, you are giving the person your bank account number and routing number (in addition to your name and address but that's on the title so that's moot).

Tbh, meeting at the bank is a decent solution if you are worried about a fake cashiers check. I ended up having to do that on a car purchase because I wasn't quite sure how to spell the persons name. So we met at the bank and I had him spell his name on the paper you pre-fill in the lobby for a withdrawal.

Vate

>>>Tbh, meeting at the bank is a decent solution<<<

Agree 100%. And not just "meet at the bank", but stand together in line, meet with the banker together, etc., so that the seller sees the process of withdrawing the funds.

Wire transfer is also a good option. Yes you do have to give up your personal information, including ABA routing number and account number, but all of that is at the bottom of a paper check anyway. I keep a 'no fee' checking account with $1000 in it, at a different bank, for any transactions like this, which is an 'air gap' of sorts to my main checking/savings account. When the money hits that account, I move it into another account.

lilcuda

I have an account at my bank that is used strictly for this situation. It has a minimum balance requirement of only $300. If I am selling a car, I give the buyer this account #. I then transfer the funds ASAP to my other account. This way I’m only risking the $300. If I am buying, I transfer the funds into this account and the send the wire from there.

In this day and age, many transactions are not going to be local to you. You may not have the option of going to the bank with the other party.

Ron_Attleboro_MA

I think about this myself. I am going to question prospective buys and I will take them for a test drive.
No one is driving until they agree to the price and put a $100 deposit. They can take a long test drive prior to putting the full $$ in my bank.

LilNutSac

Same way Kia Autosport used to:
DO YOU HAVE A JOB???
DO YOU HAVE $99???

ClarkN

The best way to avoid tire kickers is to sale it to me. If you are interested/ready to sale please let me know details. Thanks so much.

Dalannex

I buy and sell toys online all the time. To me it’s pretty easy to tell if somebody is a serious buyer or not after a short talk. And if it’s an 18 year old buying their first whatever it is I may decline to sell. (I had this happen with one of my 250 hp turbo nitrous snowmobiles… kid didn’t know anything about sleds, first one for him, and i felt it to be potentially bad so I declined to sell).

I also take checks all the time. I snap a picture of the buyers drivers license, and call the bank on the check to verify funds. Never been a problem.

Now that I said all that there’s one thing that you people selling things need to QUIT DOING! After a deal is made in an online sale pending final inspection and agreements are made to meet and finalize the sale, do not wrap up by saying “make sure you bring cash”. I’m not about to haul around thousands or tens of thousands of dollars cash money. I’ll walk away from a deal when that happens.

-Justin

streamliner

Fed Up

Yep, if they try to stuff some guy in the back hatch area, I'm driving away. Not saying bye.