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Old 06-18-2016, 10:10 AM   #21
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OMG. People are determined to get this thread closed again.

Why can't we talk about something else, like redduck discussing the color of the van, or the van buyer's attire?

Was he clean-shaven, or wearing a mustacle? A beard? Was he bald, or how he parted his hair?
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Old 06-18-2016, 10:14 AM   #22
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Interesting. My dentists office offers a 5% cash discount. Not CC, or check, but cash. I bring cash. He's a legit business person. I suspect the cash discount is because checks can bounce and CC's charge fees. I recently paid $199.50 in cash for my son's filling. It would have been $210. As far as I know, the dentist isn't laundering money... he takes insurance (but we don't have dental insurance), he does billing... he doesn't advertise the cash discount - I had to ask if there was one - and then discussed exactly what it meant (no checks). His office manager explained it was a discount for ensuring he was paid in full with no risk. Apparently about 10% of the checks they receive bounce.

I have no reason to believe my dentist is laundering money.
I owned and operated a tavern. I cashed payroll checks and personal checks, literally 1000s of them. The bounce rate was nil. Maybe 5 in total.

Convenience stores also do a lot of cash. If they deposit $10K in cash, they fill out forms. If they deposit regular amounts less than 10K, and it looks suspicious like structuring, they get their bank account closed and get reported to the Feds via a suspicious activity report.

That is why cash is king. No one knows about it until it gets in the bank.

I am sure your dentist is reporting all that cash... A 5% cash discount vs. a 3% credit card fee.
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Old 06-18-2016, 10:43 AM   #23
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When I ran a charity thrift store, lots of local small business folks came in and paid cash for materials.
We deposited lots of cash from that store, and I never had any questions from the bank. It was a mostly cash business but we did take checks and credit cards as well.
The barbershop where my friend is an apprentice is all cash. The two old guys who run it (been around 50+ years), I figure who knows what's on or off the books there!
We pay cash for all our Craigslist cars, but I did take a check for the sale of our boat (relative of a friend) and also accepted a check for our old RV. We held and mailed the title once the check cleared. I did call the bank to make sure guy had an account there.
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Old 06-18-2016, 10:58 AM   #24
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generally the white vans have the interior set-up of a service van, not a passenger van. I think of the service vans I see on the road at least 90% of them are white.
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You bought a brown painter's van (blue carpet layer's, green drywaller's...)? What are you? A bad undercover cop? It would be like a cowboy with a porkpie hat or a doctor in sweatpants.
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OMG. People are determined to get this thread closed again.

Why can't we talk about something else, like redduck discussing the color of the van, or the van buyer's attire?...
I had no idea that white vans were different inside from vans of other colors, so I learned something from this thread.

But, I also have to re-think something: I keep meeting this one guy in a bar. He dresses up like a cowboy but always wears a porkpie hat.
After reading this thread, I'm not sure he is really a cowboy. However, he does drive a white van and often brags that he paid cash for it. So maybe he really is a cowboy.
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Old 06-18-2016, 11:12 AM   #25
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I had no idea that white vans were different inside from vans of other colors, so I learned something from this thread.
Here's another fun fact.

While at Mega-motors, I had an assignment in product development on their full-size van. That van was available in 13 shades of white!!!

These were the basic cargo vans typically ordered by commercial outfits for package delivery, carpet installations, painting, repair and service, etc.

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Old 06-18-2016, 11:42 AM   #26
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I had no idea that white vans were different inside from vans of other colors, so I learned something from this thread.

But, I also have to re-think something: I keep meeting this one guy in a bar. He dresses up like a cowboy but always wears a porkpie hat.
After reading this thread, I'm not sure he is really a cowboy. However, he does drive a white van and often brags that he paid cash for it. So maybe he really is a cowboy.

Most of the child snatcher vans come in white so the businesses can easily paint their names on them or so the Free Candy lettering shows clearly.

Where can I find a PorkPie hat these days?
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Old 06-18-2016, 11:49 AM   #27
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Where can I find a PorkPie hat these days?
Where else: https://www.amazon.com/Mens-Crushabl...ds=porkpie+hat
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Old 06-18-2016, 11:50 AM   #28
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Where can I find a PorkPie hat these days?
There's a bunch of porkpie hats for sale on Amazon, many of which you can get in two days time if you use prime.


edit: Darn. REWahoo beat me to it.
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Old 06-18-2016, 11:55 AM   #29
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Am I the only one that thinks $6500 cash just really isn't that much?



Sent via mobile device. Please excuse any grammatical errors.
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Old 06-18-2016, 12:08 PM   #30
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Agreed. But when a BUSINESS does a transaction, cash is not preferable. A $6500 cash transaction borders on money laundering. The BUSINESS also needs to pay sales tax on any purchases, whether it is a vehicle, a couch or a lawn mower - even if purchased from a private individual.

The government loses the ability to track income and expenses if you use cash.
There is categorically zero wrong legally with paying in cash. It is not illegal to deposit cash. You can even deposit $9,000 at a time a few times in a row and it's not illegal structuring ($10k being the limit where you must file Treasury paperwork). I've deposited a series of $8-9k cash deposits, I mentioned to the teller what I was doing and said I wanted to make sure they and I are in compliance in case they need to file a SAR. They said it was fine at the level I was working at.

You just can't split a transaction into multiple parts to get below $10k to avoid the reporting requirements - that's a violation of federal law (learned that in law school!).

This was a one off transaction, below the $10k threshold so zero risk of it being illegal in any way, shape, or form. Maybe the buyer gets called by his bank, and I assume he tells them the truth - bought a van on craigslist, here's the buyer's name and # if you want to verify, here's a photocopy of the transferred title.

As for tax compliance, when you register the car and have a new license issued, our state assesses a 3% use tax (= sales tax basically) based on NADA/KBB value, not actual sales price. So the guy is going to pay 3% of $6000-7000 or whatever the tax office carries this make/model/year at. No way to avoid it, though maybe you can protest that it's an old, crappy vehicle, broken down, worth less, etc. But I don't recall that being an option.

As for the government losing the ability to track income and expenses with cash payments - that may be true, but there is a very clear paper trail that a college intern at the IRS could track (again, assuming he actually withdrew the $ from BofA which the envelope said when he handed it to me).
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Old 06-18-2016, 12:11 PM   #31
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Am I the only one that thinks $6500 cash just really isn't that much?
Nope...... On the contrary, I was surprised that folks were suspicious of someone paying cash in that amount.
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Old 06-18-2016, 12:13 PM   #32
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Fuego says: "White construction vans are hot is what I conclude based on all the interest." (end quote)
+++

I don't know anything about the construction business...

"Hey, redduck, add that to the list."
"It's already on the list."

...but the color of the van (let's say white is a color) was mentioned several times (ok, at least once) in the now-deceased thread. Would a green or blue or brown van be less desirable? Anyhow, why would a white van be so desirable?
I can't hardly recall seeing this Ford work vans in any color but white. At least when I was researching comps to price this one, they were all white. Any other color is probably a custom job.

I don't know if they are configured differently inside, but these are mostly sold as cargo vans without seats inside. The new van then gets upfit with interior shelving/cabinets, a passenger cage to keep stuff from sliding into the front seats, and usually a roof rack for ladders or materials.

I think some other posters mentioned the white color making it easy to see lettering and signage applied to the van. Probably a lot of truth in that - easy to make the signage highly visible on a light colored van.

White construction van is like a red caboose or yellow taxi. It just seems like that's the color they always are.
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Old 06-18-2016, 12:16 PM   #33
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Originally Posted by redduck View Post
Fuego says: "White construction vans are hot is what I conclude based on all the interest." (end quote)
+++

I don't know anything about the construction business...

"Hey, redduck, add that to the list."
"It's already on the list."

...but the color of the van (let's say white is a color) was mentioned several times (ok, at least once) in the now-deceased thread. Would a green or blue or brown van be less desirable? Anyhow, why would a white van be so desirable?
Just drove past ford dealership. All vans on street side were white. I think the reason is simply that white doesn't show dings, and you never wash it.
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Old 06-18-2016, 12:19 PM   #34
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Nope...... On the contrary, I was surprised that folks were suspicious of someone paying cash in that amount.
That dollar amount didn't surprise me at all. For higher priced cars ($12-15k+), I might expect buyers to offer something safer like a cashier's check drawn on a bank while I watched. But can't imagine it being a big deal for lesser amounts. It's not like we're trading cash in a back alley at night (with the lightning flashing overhead).

We were inside a bank, covered with camera surveillance, middle of the day, bright outside, not in a dangerous part of town.
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Old 06-18-2016, 12:20 PM   #35
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OMG. People are determined to get this thread closed again.

Why can't we talk about something else, like redduck discussing the color of the van, or the van buyer's attire?

Was he clean-shaven, or wearing a mustacle? A beard? Was he bald, or how he parted his hair?
Drivers of white vans have receding hairline, wear a do-rag, and have a stubble.
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:05 PM   #36
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Am I the only one that thinks $6500 cash just really isn't that much?



Sent via mobile device. Please excuse any grammatical errors.
No. We received $4000 cash for a sailboat over 10 years ago.
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:56 PM   #37
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Speaking of white vans, I have never owned one. But my class C RV is built on what is called a cut-away van with rear dually, as all class C's are. And they are all white, whether GM or Ford.



My chassis is a GM Express Van 3500. Its hood was peeling. I forgot to take a photo, but what started out as a small blister slowly spread in 5 years into larger blisters. Eventually, I was able to peel the paint off in large pieces, each the size of my hand.

Needless to say, it made the RV look terrible, and I had to have the hood repainted. The rest of the cab including the doors is fine.

Driving around, I observe that this hood peeling is quite common with GM commercial vans. A search on the Web confirmed that this enraged quite a few van owners. It appeared that the hoods were produced at a different plant than the rest of the cab, hence the defect of the paint or process was limited to the hood only.

See some typical photos on the Web.





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Old 06-18-2016, 02:04 PM   #38
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If you or the seller aren't comfortable dealing with a big wad of cash, this is about the best way to be sure the check is good. I did take a cashier's check from an out-of-town buyer for a boat I sold on Craigslist, but prior to signing over the title I called the issuing (small town) bank to confirm they had issued the cashier's check to the buyer.

Checking is a smart thing to do... there are fake cashiers checks out there... same with money orders...
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Old 06-19-2016, 03:42 PM   #39
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The white van thing reminds me of when my Dad was still in business (commercial HVAC). He bought vans that were ultimately destined for conversion (you know, the sweet paint jobs and electric couches) but got them before they were sent off. That way, they had AC, power windows and power locks. His favorite colors were tan and silver. When he bought them, they were in lots of 5. I don't remember him EVER having a white one in the fleet.

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Old 06-19-2016, 07:13 PM   #40
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There is categorically zero wrong legally with paying in cash. It is not illegal to deposit cash. You can even deposit $9,000 at a time a few times in a row and it's not illegal structuring ($10k being the limit where you must file Treasury paperwork). I've deposited a series of $8-9k cash deposits, I mentioned to the teller what I was doing and said I wanted to make sure they and I are in compliance in case they need to file a SAR. They said it was fine at the level I was working at.

You just can't split a transaction into multiple parts to get below $10k to avoid the reporting requirements - that's a violation of federal law (learned that in law school!).
Prior to 2014 there were quite a few asset seizures based on the structuring laws that had nothing to do with avoiding reporting (examples below).

Victory Over the IRS: IRS Returns N.C. Man’s Entire Life Savings After Seizing It Through Civil Forfeiture - Institute for Justice

After Returning the Money They Stole, Feds Will Pay Interest and Legal Expenses Too - Hit & Run : Reason.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/us...ired.html?_r=0

Luckily the IRS changed it's policy regarding this practice in 2014. Hopefully there will be fewer abuses in the future.
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