Selling a car - how to take payment?

[PJHawk]

Have you looked at escrow.com. I used to buy/sell URLs but they also do autos. There is a fee. Have the buyer pay for it.

[freedomatlast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski That's part of the reason that I had the buyer meet me at my back with cash. He handed me the cash in front of the teller, I counted the cash and deposited it with the teller. The teller checked a few of the bills with those special pens that they have so if the bills were counterfeit it wasn't my problem. I signed over the title immediately after the teller handed me the deposit slip.

I would add that the seller should get and keep a copy of the signed over title to keep in case the vehicle would be involved in an accident or crime before the signed over title is processed by the state DMV.

[Ronstar]

OP here. Thanks for the continued list of tips! This will be very helpful going forward.

[2177V]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar I'm selling my 2001 corvette sometime this year. Just wondering what would be the safest way to take payment. Cash? Cashier's check? or some type of online $ transfer? It will probably be around $13,000. I don't want to get ripped off by counterfeit cash or a fake cashier's check.

Too bad you are not in Northern California since I am looking to buy a Corvette.

When I sell cars, I will ask the buyer that I intend to take a phone photo of their DL for my protection. No DL = No deal. Fake Cashier's check is a common scam.

$13K cash is a large amount and I usually have this transaction at a lobby of my bank where the cash is turned over to me, I sign the pink slip and deposit the cash. Make sure the bank has a security guard.

If the buyer do not want to carry this much cash, I suggest we go to his bank so he can get a certified bank check while I wait. We then make the transaction in the lobby of his bank. In this case, the certified bank check is not fake.

The best case is when the buyer and seller has the same bank which makes it very easy. We tell the teller what we are doing and the teller makes a bank check from the buyer and I sign the bank check for the deposit and then I sign the pink slip and give the buyer the keys.

Exchanging DL and conducting the transaction in the lobby of a bank is probably the safest way in buying or selling a car over $10K.

[Qs Laptop]

I would have a hard time taking $13,000 cash from someone who I, by default, assume is trying to rip me off and then transport that cash anywhere.

Maybe I'm paranoid but getting mugged by the buyer's accomplices seems like a real possibility.

[Dash man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livefree With this method, I believe you only pay sales tax on the difference between the trade in value, and the new car price, so you save some that way.

That’s right. I just traded in a car and bought a new one. I researched ahead of time and asked for $22k for my trade in. They countered at $21,600 and I accepted. But I more than made up the difference in sales tax savings by trading it in.

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I go the expensive route to avoid all this hassle. Since I always buy my cars brand new from the dealer, I just trade in my old car. It becomes part of the negotiating process so how much I lose by doing this, is unknown. Ask me if I care. It lowers my stress level and I only do it once in every 10-15 years. BTD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Livefree With this method, I believe you only pay sales tax on the difference between the trade in value, and the new car price, so you save some that way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Oh cool! I didn't know that. Sales tax here is 9.2%.

Yeah, not in Michigan. It should be that way. I asked about it the last time I traded in my car and was even provided with the government web site to look it up. No dice.

[aboatguy]

For the OP cash! I sold my Vette and G8GT to the same guy the same day and it was cash only (much more cash than OP is discussing).

I bought a restomod and I brought a couple of envelopes. Its amazing that with all the price creep over the years we haven't brought Salmon P. Chase bills back into the fold.

Mike

[Keim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by street I just sold a one last week and the guy wrote me a check. In a small rural area everyone knows everyone. Lol I knew the guy and check was good and besides that, if it wasn't good I knew where he lives. lol Not in the question asked, but a bill of sale is very important when selling an outfit. The description, VIN, mileage, price, AS IS clause date/hour of sale, signatures/print of both involved.

Outfit? You in Montana?

[ChrisC]

Last August, we met at Bank, where we both had accounts, and we needed to have some papers notarized by the Bank. Buyer transferred funds to our account at Bank. Buyer left with keys and paperwork -- went to DMV to register title; we get a call from buyer at DMV that it wouldn't recognize the POA we used to transfer the car so we went to DMV to straighten out the situation showing DMV an original copy of the POA, which DMV staff, after calling supervisors accepted the POA. Title registered in buyer's name.

(DMV has its own POA forms. We told DMV we couldn't use their form because my BIL, who owned the car we were selling under the POA was in assisted living facility, under lockdown in quarantine, could not sign any forms.)