How to protect myself?

[charmer006]

I have a buyer driving from Louisiana to Jacksonville to look at my car...He is a serious buyer and said he is bringing money with him and if he likes the car then he is gonna take it back with him....He said he wants to pay half in cash and the other with his financial institution..I think like a line of credit...the good thing is there is a lein on my car so I wouldnt have to give him the title...but if i give him the car and the line of credit or check is bogus...then im screwed...what do i do?
Josh

 

[big-n-italian]

the distance they are driving is not YOUR problem. it is relatively inexpensive to ship a car.

wait till all the CASH clears the bank before you release the car and give them your keys. they should understand this. if not - TOUGH, and a possible indication of a "problem with the buyer.

 

[Timmer]

Have his financial institution wire the second half to your bank. Once your bank gives you the confirmation that it has been completed, he can't change his mind.

 

[MoparMan]

Actually, if sent via the Fed (which is what is commonly referred to as "wiring funds") the sending financial institution can send a same-day reversal request for the funds on the day they were sent or a prior-day reversal request days later. It is up to the institution that initially received the funds to decide if they want to honor the reversal request.

That being said, Tim's advice is solid and I would consider wiring of funds to be the safest. Most do not realize how to reverse a wire transfer of funds and most financial institutions would not send the reversal request without checking into it first.

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Have the funds wired, for extra safety call his institution and explain to them what is going on and have them put a note in the record that you are a party to a long distance transaction and wish to be contacted first if any changes occur.

 

[plumcrazy]

nobody takes my car till all checks are cleared and cash is in my hand.... PERIOD.

 

[Peter-RedGTS'98]

This is strange. Who does it? - travels with >$20k and pays for a car this way. There are financial institutions to carry transactions in a convenient and safe way.

 

[DrumrBoy]

I agree...if you take 20 large out of the mattress and put it in a briefcase for a road trip, and you actually have or can secure more cash, then why not take the full amount with you on your long journey to ensure you're not turned away for a preventable reason?

 

[IEATVETS]

If it smells like fish............................

 

[HLN A55]

Just remember that any deposit amount over $10k in cash has to be reported by the bank . . .

 

[twinturbo3150]

This is strange. Who does it? - travels with >$20k and pays for a car this way. There are financial institutions to carry transactions in a convenient and safe way.

I carry 20k every where I go, just in case I need to buy something. We all got to carry some pocket change, for that unexplained urge to buy, buy, buy.

 

[Warfang]

This is strange. Who does it? - travels with >$20k and pays for a car this way. There are financial institutions to carry transactions in a convenient and safe way.

I carry 20k every where I go, just in case I need to buy something. We all got to carry some pocket change, for that unexplained urge to buy, buy, buy.

Wasn't that what OJ said?

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

I was going to buy a red 2001 RT/10 with 9k miles in Michigan. I bought a plane ticket and planned on driving it back if all checked out. Was planning on wiring money. After I bought the ticket, the seller turned into a crackpot. Since I was going on a holiday weekend, the wire transfer would not show in his bank till the following Tuesday. He had a field day with me on the issue and I passed on his car in the end wasting my money on the tickets.
I informed him I was cancelling by e-mailing him pics of me with the Viper I bought locally from a dealer at a great buy also. I also suggested he take medication since he was turning into a schitzophrenic.

 

[Jim Hodel]

I just drove from Portland to LA to buy a car (94 Z28) and brought a cashiers check made out to the owner. The check was from Wells Fargo.

We went to the owner's Washington Mutual bank and they deposited the check, the owner signed the title, and I drove away in the car. It seemed pretty simple.

I probably would have gone to a Wells Fargo bank to have them verify the check, but Wa Mu handled it for him. Before I made the trip, I talked to my local branch, and called the branch in LA to make sure they could validate the check if necssary.

Jim

 

[Gus Strakes]

Wire for the balance is the only way to go. If he has the funds in his financial institution, or has the line of credit established, this should be no problem for him. The wire should be complete, and you should have a fed wire Number given to you by your bank (this is the acknowledgement / receipt that the funds are in your account) before letting the car leave your possession. I'd even go so far as to ask him to deposit the cash in his account before he leaves La., then initiate the wire for the whole amount after he checks out the car and decides to buy it. Then you two go out and have a nice meal, by the time the meal is over the wire should be complete and the funds in your account. If he has to apply for the line of credit (or a car loan) with his financial institution, letting him take possession prior to that would be a huge risk, one that I would not take, even if I knew the buyer. By the same token, he also has risk, since he has to be assured that you will pay the car off, and provide him with a clean title at the time he takes possession, or soon after. I'd prepare some time of contract / agreement to this effect to give him reassurance that he will get a clean title.

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

No way would I accept 20k cash, unless it was at a bank who accepted it as genuine and deposited it on the spot. Even so, why would this guy want to travel around with that? Cashier's checks are perfectly OK. The check is made out to you. You call the bank before hand and confirm that the funds have been set aside to honor the check, and that only the bearer of the check can get the money. When I bought my car, I had two checks, one for the seller, and one for the financial institution holding the lien. The seller got his check, we jointly went to the post office and mailed the 2nd check, and he signed a bill of sale confirming the sale to me. The bill of sale was an official Indiana State doc. This is needed because he does not have the title, the loan company does.

I also confirmed with the finanacial institution what the payoff was on the loan, so the check would release the lien. Once the lien was released, the title was mailed to the seller. The seller then signed it, and sent it on to me. There is an element of trust involved on the buyer's part. But the seller had confirmation that the checks were good, and the title does not get signed off until the money is in hand.