groovzilla

**appreciate the moderators letting me cross post this issue as it will be of help if anyone sells their car in the future. i have posted it on several of the forums because many owners who don't wander around this forum :

all,

sold my 996 2 weeks ago after several responses on pelican. buyer came up from california but because we had 8" of snow, was not able to drive the car.

he gave me a sizeable non-refunable deposit and flew back up last night to test drive today. whats ironic is today it is 60 degrees and pure sunny skies!

test drive went A+ and we came back to my house to do business.

he gave me a cashiers check from his credit union and the car went back in my garage for shipper pickup next week. buyer left and i leave the house and stroll down to my bank which is only minutes from our home and my teller tells me that the check cannot be honored.

w-w-w-wwhat?

the teller pointed out that in order for any cashiers check to be issued by a credit union or bank that is over $10K, 2 signatures are required by the bank staff...this check only had 1 bank signature.

soooo i phoned the buyer, he came to my house immediately and we agreed that he would wire the money into my account monday when he gets home.

just wanted to mention this because the outcome could have been upsetting if the buyer wasn't an honest guy and the car left my possession ...it was an honest mistake on the buyers part but a foolish overlooked error on his credit unions part.

fronesis47

This raises a broader issue that I've been wondering about: how, in general, are folks conducting private party transactions for used cars these days? It is my understanding that there are TONS of fraudulent cashier's checks circulating these days, and that even if you put the money in your bank (and your bank shows the credit) you might find out weeks later that it was a counterfeit check.

So it doesn't seem to me that it's safe to give someone the car after they've given you a cashier's check, even if you've "deposited" that check in your account. Or am I missing something?

The only ways I can think to do this are:

1) as groovzilla is doing here: the buyer wires the money and then the seller gives up the car. But that does require a LOT of trust on the buyer's part.

2) the buyer and seller go to the buyer's bank; the buyer has the bank issue a cashier's check right there to the seller. This way the seller knows the check is legitimate. This requires the buyer and seller to both me near a branch of the buyer's bank.

3) cash. This gets tough for expensive pcars...

SiberianDVM

I used escrow.com last week for a $10k purchase of a 84 911. I paid the $177 fee gladly in exchange for a little piece of mind. It went very smoothly. If I had had more experience with it, I may have tried to negotiate the seller paying half the fee.

pu911rsr

There is a lot of BS about cashiers checks, all the bank has to do it pick up the phone and call issuing bank to see if check is legit. A wire transfer is easy and inexpensive.
Phil

911 Crazy

Nice signature!

BlackSpyder

Not sure it's all BS though... Even if the teller does "verify" the check it does not mean funds have transfered yet or that they talked to someone quailified at the other bank ( Look around your bank these days....staffed by a bunch of 12.00 an hour kids) Funds can take as long as 24-36 hours to transfer....which is pleanty of time for the buyer to cancel said check. Bottom line Cashiers checks are really no better than a personel check. They are not a guaranteed form of payment. Wire transfer or wait for funds to "clear" your bank is the only way to go. Yes it is hard to sell out of a driveway these days! Hang out out a Watch forum site and read of all the guys who have been scamed. For watches costing under 5K lots of Paypal deals over 5K it's wire transfers or cash. The motto in that world is buy the seller not just the watch....same applies to these car deals.. YMMV

regards,

Mike

fronesis47

Yes, that was my understanding as well. If I take a cashier's check and let the buyer drive off with the title, I could be in HUGE trouble. It sounds like either the buyer has to trust the seller (by wiring the funds first and waiting for them to clear) or they have to use something like escrow.com that protects both parties.

UberXY

I do wire transfers now, buying and selling, but have grown to prefer doing escrows thru a lawyer. If the other party balks at escrow, I am inclined towards not doing the deal and moving on. On wire transfers: my bank is good about setting up a temporary account for me to do one transaction, after which the account is closed. Prevents future mischief, however unlikely that might be.

jakeflyer

As stated in an above post, Cashiers Checks can be cancelled. A Postal Money Order, Cash, Wire Transfer are the only sure ways when you sell a car. I will not take a deposit on a sale. I will hold the item for two days for the buyer to bring cash.

On a buy I like to pay cash and leave with the item. I have lost a deposit twice with the item being sold to someone else. Once things were “stolen” off the car when I paid for it and came back to get it the next day.

Make you know all the details about a title from the state that issued it. Liens, rebuilt totaled cars, proper signature by correct parties, notary required?, any and all sale documents. A hand written bill of sale may be worthless when you try to transfer the car in the state you live in. Best to get the papers signed for the state it is titled in and ALSO in the state you are going to register it in.

mooty

wire xfer
upon clearing my bank, i release item.
u dont like my terms, we dont do business.

cashiers chk "used" to be guaranteed form of pmt.
now so anymore.

dshepp806

Yeap,..wire only,..(my call)...based upon any conditions.....

Doyle

Ed Hughes

Seems like if I was taking a check, I'd scan it pretty well, and then would see where it clearly states 2 sigs are needed.

But, I typically do the transaction at their bank or mine.

Eharrison

I'd be more concerned about the check having everything blacked out.

Last time I sold a car we did cashiers check and we did it at my bank. I guess with cashiers checks you need to follow your instincts on who you are dealing with (and still potentially get burned).