My preference would be to use a company in the US -- shameless plug aside. The seller's preference was also to use a known third entity. It's nothing against Transpact.com, I just don't know them and $41K is a lot of cash to send to someone you've never heard of...let alone in another country. The seller seems legit, too...and my gut actually tells me that the whole thing is above board based on all of the information I have on him -- but this would add-in another element of uncertainty that I'd rather not do at this point.

-Eric

 

Let me start by saying I am NOT offering my services as I don't want to get involved but I, as a lawyer, have been an escrow agent in a used car transaction before. A few years ago a guy from Canada was buying a vintage Datsun in Sacramento and I held the money. I charged approximately 10% and it probably wasn't enough. Worked out fine for everybody but I didn't like it since I am not set up to run that type of business. However, there probably are other attorneys who don't mind doing this type of service. I would think the minimum cost would be $3,000 or $4,000 but that's just a guess.

 

Yeah, I know -- I was hoping to avoid lawyers for that very reason. Adding 10% to the deal just doesn't make sense -- even if we split the fees.

I know someone in the area (who is currently traveling, otherwise he would have looked at the car for me) who I can trust and would probably agree to handle the payment part for me. I could send him the check and have him exchange it for the title...IF the seller had a similarly situated friend (or independent 3rd party). I don't get the impression that he does and so therein lies the problem. I'll be talking to him again tomorrow to figure out the work around. Heck, I'd probably take a leap of faith and trust the Mgr. at Stevens Creek but I can't imagine them agreeing to put themselves in the middle of it.

-Eric

 

Sounds to me too much drama over this particular car. Too many hurdles to jump. Why not start eyeing another vehicle to purchase instead?

 

Fly out pick up the car and drive it back.

 

Find me a loaded, low mileage 2004 C4S Cabriolet for $41K in the northeast...or anywhere. Most come up for about $48K.

Btw, no drama from me -- just asking for ideas on how to solve a problem.

-Eric

 

Fly out and inspect/buy the car then ship it back. Should cost about the same as 4-5 oil changes.

 

Eric:

A couple of things. First of all, a dealer is not going to pay sales tax when they buy a car for resale. If that were the case, there would be no benefit to having a used car license. That will NOT impact on the value or sale price of the car. You should be able to find a bank to act as an escrow agent. Who is your local bank? Do they have a correspondent relationship with a bank in the seller's community? If so, bingo. You should be able to get that done. I certainly wouldn't pay $3K - $4K to a lawyer to do the escrow deal.

Then, there are a lot of long distance car sale scams out there. When I bought my TT, I ran into a couple of them. Just be careful. If someone you trust (like a Rennlister) has looked at the actual car, and signed off on it, you're a long way to getting this done. But, do yourself a favor, if ANYTHING starts to look flaky about it, walk away FAST. It isn't worth putting $40K at risk on a long distance transaction. Trust me, as you get closer to completion, the deal will be harder and harder to walk away from. That can get expensive.

larry

 

Thanks, Larry.

All good advice. If things get the least bit wonky, I will pull away fast. No worries about that. I'm encouraged by everything I'm finding along the way. A Rennlister DID check out the car for me -- took lots of pictures. The seller has also been very reasonable and upfront about everything with the car. The closest thing to pressure I've seen has been the fact that someone (Brian) from Sonnen was out to look at the car before me. Now, maybe that was a sales ploy.

I've got Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and a number of other large national banks in the area so I'll call them tomorrow.

-Eric

 

Amazing-
Willing to put $40K+ on the line, but not invest a few more dollars to have an attorney involved........but I am not surprised, how many times have I seen people buy houses and not want to spend any money on thier own counsel to protect their interest.

Don't get me wrong, please, as I am not saying that the seller or the buyer is not intelligent or capable. Both have more than enough "savy" to put this together, but, in this case, given the concerns about location of the parties and the vehicle, the title, access to the car, shipping., etc., the parameters of the deal can be crafted by the parties and reviewed by counsel...... yeah, why spend a few grand for potential peace of mind? Hey, its only money........Good luck Eric is "sue esponte" a play on "sua sponte?" Then, I'd guess you'd be on your own.

 

You've come to conclusions based on facts not provided.

I don't have a problem investing a few more dollars. I simply stated my preference not to increase the cost of the transaction by 10% by using an attorney...which is why I was asking for alternatives (e.g., escrow). $410 be would an incremental cost; 10% or $4,100 isn't. If it's the only feasible way of doing the deal, I might give it some more thought but I'm still exploring use of a national bank or similar service. I have friends who own auto dealerships on the East Coast -- at least one of them recommended a bank to do this. As I stated, I was just looking for suggestions.

You've also suggested that I have concerns about the "location of the parties and the vehicle, the title, access to the car, shipping, etc." none of which is really true. I've had the vehicle preliminarily checked, the seller is taking care of the paperwork on the title and will have a clear title at time of sale, and shipping is already figured in (as is PPI). Even the location of seller is becoming less and less of a concern as his background/story fleshes out; it's a logistical problem that we're working through. Please don't read other people's statements as my own.

-Eric

 

Call a local dealership and see if they will help. Some will and some wont. Selerl might have to sell the car to the dealer for your sales price. They tack on a fee and then sell it to you. Might be able to get better finacing this way too.
I would do that before I got a lawyer involved.

 

It's worth a try. There are several Porsche dealers in the Bay Area. They might want $2,500 for their trouble/risk but might be worth it to give you peace of mind.

 

Not sure about the two states in question, however here we would be able to apply for a duplicate title and transfer the car through the Bill of Sale rather than needing the actual title for the transaction. We would collect transfer fees and file the title request from your state and you would receive the title in the mail.

 

I don't know if that would work in CT. I can check with the DMV but I think we still have the document transfer problem -- when/how it's released.

-Eric