Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

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fetch5482
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Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by fetch5482 »

I'm in California where we are in a lockdown. As a result, local bank offices are closed (with the exception of ATM and appointment-only. Appointments today take a week, so it's not a great option).

I'm selling my used car to a buyer I found on FB market place (approx $13K). Besides cash, what are recommended ways to accept payment from the seller to reduce risk of getting scammed? In the past, I used to meet the buyer at their bank and have the Teller issue the cashier's check in front of me, but that is not an option during current times.

Any recommendations to complete the transaction smoothly and quickly, but also de-risk any potential for getting scammed with NSF checks?
Last edited by fetch5482 on Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Kagord
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Kagord »

Wire transfer is probably the next best option, have them wire to your bank (you provide their bank your account number, very important, do not give this to the buyer, their bank can call you to do this), give the title when the money is in your account. Curious if anybody thinks of something else. I wouldn't do venmo, zelle, or paypal.
h82goslw
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by h82goslw »

Zelle is an instantaneous transfer. No waiting a day or 3 for it to clear. Not sure why you wouldn’t want to use that.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by pondering »

This article may be helpful to review: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-expe ... g%20limits.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

How much money we talking? I sold our Fusion last week. 25 $100 bills. I don't know how the buyer got that money as it took a few days while he waited for his client to pay him.

If appointments take a week, make one now? I've sold dozens of cars over the years but trust no 1 anymore. If it's a few thousand dollars, require envelopes of cash. If it's 10's of thousands of dollars.....make the appointment at the bank and wait the week.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jpelder »

If you don't want to wait for the bank appointment, somewhere that will issue money orders is another option.
Post Offices are a simple choice, since they're everywhere and anyone can purchase a money order from them. Looks like they have a limit of $1000 for a single money order, so if the car costs more than that, the buyer will have to purchase multiples, but that shouldn't be an issue.
My local grocery store sells Western Union money orders, and yours may, too.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by runner3081 »

h82goslw wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:14 am Zelle is an instantaneous transfer. No waiting a day or 3 for it to clear. Not sure why you wouldn’t want to use that.
I would not take Zelle for a car, though not easy, money can still be clawed back.

Cash or watch them have a cashier's check drawn at their bank.
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fetch5482
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by fetch5482 »

h82goslw wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:14 am Zelle is an instantaneous transfer. No waiting a day or 3 for it to clear. Not sure why you wouldn’t want to use that.
I updated the post with the transaction amount ($13K). I don't think Zelle allows that much to transfer.
(Confirmed by the below article)
pondering wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:25 am This article may be helpful to review: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-expe ... g%20limits.
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Brent S
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Brent S »

Maybe escrow.com ? Buyer pays escrow.com, escrow.com pays you.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by investor997 »

Crypto?
DoubleComma
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by DoubleComma »

Are you confident your bank is closed with the exception of appointments? I’m in CA and work in a healthcare field, understand the lockdown quite well, and just today I walked into my local bank branch with no issues. Before the holidays I also walked into another branch of a different bank I use.

I rarely have to walk in a bank, but if I do it generally something where time is of the essence. If my bank made me wait days for an appointment I would have a new bank.

If it’s true you bank is closed to walk in customers, and you don’t want to change banks, wire transfer is your best option.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by megabad »

Yeah, pretty sure I would schedule that bank appointment or insist on cash. Personally not comfortable giving out my account info to some random stranger for a wire. That’s why I don’t use checks.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by investor997 »

investor997 wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 1:33 pm Crypto?
I was thinking about this a bit and I think private party vehicle sales are a pretty good use of cryptocurrency.

Suppose the buyer and seller each have Coinbase accounts and have the Coinbase apps installed on their smartphones. The buyer could deposit/transfer the money from their bank into Coinbase, then select the crypto of choice to conduct the transaction, such as Litecoin (which has pretty low transaction fees). The seller pulls up the QR code of their wallet and the buyer points their camera at it, then sends over the equivalent amount USD in crypto. The transaction should take only a few minutes, is irreversible and is innately trustworthy due to the decentralized nature of the blockchain.

Going into a bank and getting the check in person is still the best, but since that's not really possible due to the pandemic, this might be a pretty good alternative.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by hudson »

I've done private party sales in the past. All went well. No more. I usually offer old vehicles to family members. If that doesn't work, I'll get prices from dealers or sell it to CarMax or the equivalent.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by SmallCityDave »

gas_balloon wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:47 am I'm in California where we are in a lockdown. As a result, local bank offices are closed (with the exception of ATM and appointment-only. Appointments today take a week, so it's not a great option).

I'm selling my used car to a buyer I found on FB market place (approx $13K). Besides cash, what are recommended ways to accept payment from the seller to reduce risk of getting scammed? In the past, I used to meet the buyer at their bank and have the Teller issue the cashier's check in front of me, but that is not an option during current times.

Any recommendations to complete the transaction smoothly and quickly, but also de-risk any potential for getting scammed with NSF checks?
I'd ask for a $500 non refundable holding deposit and I would hold the car until he could get the cash (no more than a week). Zelle is great but a lot of times you are capped to a limit of $500 per day.
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illumination
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by illumination »

I thought banks were considered essential businesses and were allowed to be open?

Not to put your guard down, and anything is possible, but scams with checks are almost always going to include some sort of "refund" where they overpay you and you give them back the difference where you can't ever get it back.

Thieves are not going to give a bogus check and title a car in their name, they would be more likely to car jack you. Scams like this typically don't want the goods in question, they just want to trick you into giving them money and usually you will never even see them in person. I would be more worried if I were the buyer than the seller personally.

The easiest transfer is a bank wire, when you login to your account they should have a page you can print for instructions how to have money wired into your account. Give that to the buyer and they can take it to their bank and run it through. It's essentially instant and fool proof. My guess is though the buyer will have to go to their bank in person to send it, but you won't.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by bubbadog »

Keep it simple------Wire transfer
jcchen
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jcchen »

from bank america, wire transfers can be done online without going to branch
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Trev H »

We bought a newer Camry recently, and sold our older one... Put it on FB and in 30 minutes someone called and asked if they could come see it...

We said yes, told them the Cash Price.

Small Town TN, it was a young man that I knew his father... he came out in 10 minutes, paid us the price we asked in $100.00 bills... DONE.

He was into growing stuff and I gave him a tour of my garden, orchard, food forest, etc..

I guess we are just a lot more laid back than you all are out there... we had no problem at all getting that done.

Trev H
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by fetch5482 »

Thanks everyone for the responses. Based on this, in order of preference, I will ask the seller to:

1) Pay cash (unlikely at 13K, but worth a try), or
2) Reserve a bank appointment so we can get cashiers check, or
3) Wire the money, or
4) If they are taking an auto loan, I will call the loan providing bank to validate approval before accepting the loan check

I am not a fan of online payment services like Zelle for such large transactions (they are great for paying friends and family for one-off things though).
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by fetch5482 »

Trev H wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:20 pm We bought a newer Camry recently, and sold our older one... Put it on FB and in 30 minutes someone called and asked if they could come see it...

We said yes, told them the Cash Price.

Small Town TN, it was a young man that I knew his father... he came out in 10 minutes, paid us the price we asked in $100.00 bills... DONE.

He was into growing stuff and I gave him a tour of my garden, orchard, food forest, etc..

I guess we are just a lot more laid back than you all are out there... we had no problem at all getting that done.

Trev H
Thanks - this is really excellent. I have lived in rural mid-west myself, and I can totally see that happening there. Out here in the wild wild west, things are not so personal!
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Gadget »

This is a pretty good use case for crypto. You could even do it in stablecoins that don't fluctuate like bitcoin.

Issue is that likely one or both parties wouldn't understand how to do it via crypto.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by fetch5482 »

Gadget wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:21 pm Issue is that likely one or both parties wouldn't understand how to do it via crypto.
Yup, I'm in silicon valley, the tech hub, and yet most people don't know how to do this here..
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Drovor »

If it doesn't work out, can try sites like Carvana. I recently went this route and was quick and convenient. Only downside is you pay for the convenience. With Covid, I thought it was worth the trade off.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Watty »

gas_balloon wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:06 pm Thanks everyone for the responses. Based on this, in order of preference, I will ask the seller to:

1) Pay cash (unlikely at 13K, but worth a try), or
2) Reserve a bank appointment so we can get cashiers check, or
3) Wire the money, or
4) If they are taking an auto loan, I will call the loan providing bank to validate approval before accepting the loan check

I am not a fan of online payment services like Zelle for such large transactions (they are great for paying friends and family for one-off things though).
As a buyer there is no way that I would wire $13K to some strangers account.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by tananaev »

I think most banks are open as essential services. We recently bought a car in CA with a cashiers check. Had to check several branches (Chase) though until found the one that was open on Saturday afternoon.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by fetch5482 »

Interesting. 2 of the local chase and BofA branches near me are closer, I didn't realize some are still open. I'll try to call around tomorrow any check which ones are open.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by hudson »

Consider meeting in the lobby of a police station or the equivalent and accepting cash only.
Both sides should feel comfortable.
Our local police station has a Craigslist/Ebay area outside under video surveillance that I've used.
The problem comes in if the buyer wants to do a test drive. I once sold a boat to a buyer that wanted to take it to a local lake for a test ride. After meeting with the buyer and driver, I could tell that they were OK. I texted a picture of their license number to my wife and away we went. The sale worked out.

In the future, I'll dispose of my old vehicles using CarMax or the equivalent....even if I have to take a loss.
Last edited by hudson on Wed Jan 20, 2021 4:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jello_nailer »

gas_balloon wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:06 pm Thanks everyone for the responses. Based on this, in order of preference, I will ask the seller to:

1) Pay cash (unlikely at 13K, but worth a try), or
2) Reserve a bank appointment so we can get cashiers check, or
3) Wire the money, or
4) If they are taking an auto loan, I will call the loan providing bank to validate approval before accepting the loan check

I am not a fan of online payment services like Zelle for such large transactions (they are great for paying friends and family for one-off things though).
I sold a GT3 to a buyer sight unseen, only telephone and pictures/emails. I asked him for a deposit to my paypal (friends and family, no fee) an hour later $75K showed up, he paid for the whole darn thing. 2 weeks later I loaded it up when his car hauling company showed up. FED-EX'd him the title.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by fetch5482 »

jello_nailer wrote: Sat Jan 16, 2021 1:42 pm
gas_balloon wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:06 pm Thanks everyone for the responses. Based on this, in order of preference, I will ask the seller to:

1) Pay cash (unlikely at 13K, but worth a try), or
2) Reserve a bank appointment so we can get cashiers check, or
3) Wire the money, or
4) If they are taking an auto loan, I will call the loan providing bank to validate approval before accepting the loan check

I am not a fan of online payment services like Zelle for such large transactions (they are great for paying friends and family for one-off things though).
I sold a GT3 to a buyer sight unseen, only telephone and pictures/emails. I asked him for a deposit to my paypal (friends and family, no fee) an hour later $75K showed up, he paid for the whole darn thing. 2 weeks later I loaded it up when his car hauling company showed up. FED-EX'd him the title.
Congrats on an excellent sale! As a buyer, I would never send 75k via PayPal F&F that doesn't have any buyer protection. Really surprised, congrats!
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Pandemic Bangs »

I have done this a half-dozen times and buyer brings cash. Biggest transaction was only ~ $8K, though; most were $5 - 6K.

You're not holding that car long enough... :D
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jello_nailer »

gas_balloon wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:15 am
jello_nailer wrote: Sat Jan 16, 2021 1:42 pm
gas_balloon wrote: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:06 pm Thanks everyone for the responses. Based on this, in order of preference, I will ask the seller to:

1) Pay cash (unlikely at 13K, but worth a try), or
2) Reserve a bank appointment so we can get cashiers check, or
3) Wire the money, or
4) If they are taking an auto loan, I will call the loan providing bank to validate approval before accepting the loan check

I am not a fan of online payment services like Zelle for such large transactions (they are great for paying friends and family for one-off things though).
I sold a GT3 to a buyer sight unseen, only telephone and pictures/emails. I asked him for a deposit to my paypal (friends and family, no fee) an hour later $75K showed up, he paid for the whole darn thing. 2 weeks later I loaded it up when his car hauling company showed up. FED-EX'd him the title.
Congrats on an excellent sale! As a buyer, I would never send 75k via PayPal F&F that doesn't have any buyer protection. Really surprised, congrats!
No kidding. I was stunned by the casual attitude, heck, and confidence too. I trust me, but I would understand if a stranger didn't. And what would happen if the transaction fell through because I was hit by the proverbial train?
Under $10k - meet at the bank with cash, over that, wire the money.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jabberwockOG »

Wiring the money is safe and secure. The way I have done it is to call my bank, ask to speak to a personal banker and ask them for their help in arranging and verifying the wire transfer, asking them to call you to confirm when the wire transfer is complete. After you get confirmation of payment, if the buyer is local, you can meet in a secure location to sign and hand over title and bill of sale.

13k in cash is quite a bit of physical cash. Crazy story - I purchased a car years ago for 22k in cash because the 94 year old seller insisted on cash. It was a great deal on a perfect car so I agreed. The bundles of $100s almost filled a backpack. The seller actually sat there and counted every bill while I watched - I would never do that again.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by cchrissyy »

I'm in CA and my credit union is open every day and has been all along. No appointment necessary.
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hudson
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$13K in cash

Post by hudson »

$13,000 = 650 twenty dollar bills
each bill is .0043 inches
650 X .0043 =2.795 inches.

$13,000 = 130 hundred dollar bills
100 X .0043= .559 inches

$13,000 = 13,000 one dollar bills...that's a stack about five feet high. :)

Back in the early 70s, the army paid in cash. My job was to pay 181 soldiers; the payroll averaged $40K...mostly 20s. It all fit in a bank bag. I went armed with two armed guards. I got to sit at the company commander's desk for a few hours; then it was off to find soldiers that were temporarily working in other locations on Fort Bragg....including Recondo School out near Pinehurst and the stockade.

Bottom Line: Cash has great advantages and huge disadvantages. With vehicle sales, I'm going wholesale with CarMax, a dealer, or the like.
Last edited by hudson on Fri Jan 22, 2021 6:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jello_nailer »

jabberwockOG wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 10:06 pm Wiring the money is safe and secure. The way I have done it is to call my bank, ask to speak to a personal banker and ask them for their help in arranging and verifying the wire transfer, asking them to call you to confirm when the wire transfer is complete. After you get confirmation of payment, if the buyer is local, you can meet in a secure location to sign and hand over title and bill of sale.

13k in cash is quite a bit of physical cash. Crazy story - I purchased a car years ago for 22k in cash because the 94 year old seller insisted on cash. It was a great deal on a perfect car so I agreed. The bundles of $100s almost filled a backpack. The seller actually sat there and counted every bill while I watched - I would never do that again.
Jabberwock - not sure what kind of $100 bills you have but $20k is not even a 1" stack. You can't even see a $10K envelope of Benjamin's in the front of each jean pocket.
I've seen me do it.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jello_nailer »

jello_nailer wrote: Fri Jan 22, 2021 6:10 am
jabberwockOG wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 10:06 pm Wiring the money is safe and secure. The way I have done it is to call my bank, ask to speak to a personal banker and ask them for their help in arranging and verifying the wire transfer, asking them to call you to confirm when the wire transfer is complete. After you get confirmation of payment, if the buyer is local, you can meet in a secure location to sign and hand over title and bill of sale.

13k in cash is quite a bit of physical cash. Crazy story - I purchased a car years ago for 22k in cash because the 94 year old seller insisted on cash. It was a great deal on a perfect car so I agreed. The bundles of $100s almost filled a backpack. The seller actually sat there and counted every bill while I watched - I would never do that again.
Jabberwock - not sure what kind of $100 bills you have but $20k is not even a 1" stack. Old guy must have got you. :moneybag
$50K is about 2" tall.
You can't even see a $10K envelope of Benjamin's in the front of each jean pocket.
I've seen me do it.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jabberwockOG »

jello_nailer wrote: Fri Jan 22, 2021 6:10 am
jabberwockOG wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 10:06 pm Wiring the money is safe and secure. The way I have done it is to call my bank, ask to speak to a personal banker and ask them for their help in arranging and verifying the wire transfer, asking them to call you to confirm when the wire transfer is complete. After you get confirmation of payment, if the buyer is local, you can meet in a secure location to sign and hand over title and bill of sale.

13k in cash is quite a bit of physical cash. Crazy story - I purchased a car years ago for 22k in cash because the 94 year old seller insisted on cash. It was a great deal on a perfect car so I agreed. The bundles of $100s almost filled a backpack. The seller actually sat there and counted every bill while I watched - I would never do that again.
Jabberwock - not sure what kind of $100 bills you have but $20k is not even a 1" stack. You can't even see a $10K envelope of Benjamin's in the front of each jean pocket.
I've seen me do it.
Agree. This was in 2010, have no idea why I did not ask for hundreds or maybe I did and not avail. It must have been bundles of 20s. Maybe they thought I was going to go do a drug deal and needed small bills : ) The car was located a 5 hour drive from us. I remember stopping to get gas and using rest room wearing the backpack because I was afraid to leave it in the car.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by jello_nailer »

JW - That's what i figured. Just poking some good natured chiding to keep this board light.
A stack of 10's and 20's would counting nightmare too. The thought of watching that makes me chuckle. Ok - that's $10, that's $20, that's $30.... darn, where was I?
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Outer Marker »

Kagord wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 5:03 am Wire transfer is probably the next best option, have them wire to your bank (you provide their bank your account number, very important, do not give this to the buyer. . .
Why not? Your bank and account number are on every paper check you hand out. Giving someone account information to deposit into your account does not give them the ability to withdraw.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by fetch5482 »

Sorry for bumping this thread back up. I am the op for this post.

I have a buyer who is looking to buy, but has applied for a car loan. We are both unsure what is the best way for them to pay me with the car loan.
In the past when I have applied for a car loan, the bank gave me a check where I can fill in the amount (up to the approved amount) and give it to the dealer. However this can be risky as a private party - in this case what is the best way to proceed?

Can the buyer take the check, fill in the amount, deposit it into his/her bank account, and then issue me a cashiers check/cash by withdrawing from the account?
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by Stupendous »

gas_balloon wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:42 pm Sorry for bumping this thread back up. I am the op for this post.

I have a buyer who is looking to buy, but has applied for a car loan. We are both unsure what is the best way for them to pay me with the car loan.
In the past when I have applied for a car loan, the bank gave me a check where I can fill in the amount (up to the approved amount) and give it to the dealer. However this can be risky as a private party - in this case what is the best way to proceed?

Can the buyer take the check, fill in the amount, deposit it into his/her bank account, and then issue me a cashiers check/cash by withdrawing from the account?
I sold a vehicle for $26K a while ago. The buyer and I went to the buyer's bank that was issuing the loan and the bank made the check out to me in exchange for my title. The buyer took me to my bank and I deposited the check. Do they have a local branch?
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fetch5482
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

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Stupendous wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:51 pm
gas_balloon wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:42 pm Sorry for bumping this thread back up. I am the op for this post.

I have a buyer who is looking to buy, but has applied for a car loan. We are both unsure what is the best way for them to pay me with the car loan.
In the past when I have applied for a car loan, the bank gave me a check where I can fill in the amount (up to the approved amount) and give it to the dealer. However this can be risky as a private party - in this case what is the best way to proceed?

Can the buyer take the check, fill in the amount, deposit it into his/her bank account, and then issue me a cashiers check/cash by withdrawing from the account?
I sold a vehicle for $26K a while ago. The buyer and I went to the buyer's bank that was issuing the loan and the bank made the check out to me in exchange for my title. The buyer took me to my bank and I deposited the check. Do they have a local branch?
Thanks-- I believe the loan is from NWFCU which does not have a local branch in Bay Area.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

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$13k in cash isn't a big deal, like $130k would be. I'd just ask for cash and make the transfer in front a coffee shop or police station, etc.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by hudson »

I would only accept cash. I would learn how to check for counterfeit, and I would count it twice.

How long does it take a money order or cashiers check to bounce? You could hold the car and title until you were sure that the money went through. That might take a week or more?

Cash is the answer.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

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squirm wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 4:47 pm $13k in cash isn't a big deal, like $130k would be. I'd just ask for cash and make the transfer in front a coffee shop or police station, etc.
If cash can be arranged, that is the plan. What we are both uncertain about is whether they can deposit the check they receive from the approving lender and deposit it into their bank (in order to get cash out). Both of us use the same bank, so if that is possible, I could just accompany the buyer to the bank, have them draft out a cashiers check in my name, and immediately deposit it in my account right away.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

Post by squirm »

gas_balloon wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:09 pm
squirm wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 4:47 pm $13k in cash isn't a big deal, like $130k would be. I'd just ask for cash and make the transfer in front a coffee shop or police station, etc.
I could just accompany the buyer to the bank, have them draft out a cashiers check in my name, and immediately deposit it in my account right away.
Yes, just do this.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

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gas_balloon wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:47 am I'm in California where we are in a lockdown. As a result, local bank offices are closed (with the exception of ATM and appointment-only. Appointments today take a week, so it's not a great option).
Is this still the case in California? I lose track. Banks were open in early December when I settled my car purchase. It went like this: Autotrader seller insisted on cash, so I withdrew $7k from the BofA teller, then drove a mile to meet him at his credit union where a teller counted the cash in her machine, and we signed the paperwork over in a waiting area. Neither of us made an appointment.
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

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SrGrumpy wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 12:25 pm
gas_balloon wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:47 am I'm in California where we are in a lockdown. As a result, local bank offices are closed (with the exception of ATM and appointment-only. Appointments today take a week, so it's not a great option).
Is this still the case in California? I lose track.
No, most bank branches are now open. The chase branch near where I live still requires an appointment, but there is another branch about 3 miles away where I can drop in without appointment.

My challenge is that the buyer doesn't have cash, but taking a loan. I'm not understanding how the buyer can convert their loan to cash, so I can get cash (or cashier's check issued at their local bank).

Basically I see the process as such:
1) buyers loan is approved by northwest federal CU (not a local bank)
2) buyer gets a check in the mail where they can fill in the amount up to the approved loan amount
3) buyer somehow converts the loan check to cash or bank balance at their local bank (not sure how)
4) buyer & I meet at the bank, teller issues a cashier's check, I deposit the cashier's check, we complete the transaction (title release, odometer reading, filling out online form on dmv site indicating car sold) in the lobby or parking area of the bank.
5) I call my insurance company to remove the car from me account
6) buyer registers the car in their name at dmv later (I wouldn't be involved in this step)

I understand how steps 1,2,4-6 work. I don't understand how the buyer can go about doing step 3. Can they just deposited the check into their local bank account and wait for it to clear before we proceed with step 4?
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Re: Accepting payment on used car sale during covid

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gas_balloon wrote: Sat Feb 20, 2021 12:27 pm My challenge is that the buyer doesn't have cash, but taking a loan. I'm not understanding how the buyer can convert their loan to cash, so I can get cash (or cashier's check issued at their local bank).

Basically I see the process as such:

3) buyer somehow converts the loan check to cash or bank balance at their local bank (not sure how)

I don't understand how the buyer can go about doing step 3. Can they just deposit the check into their local bank account and wait for it to clear before we proceed with step 4?
Sounds about right. It'll be his money then (with strings attached), right? Seems you might have to wait a bit for his paperwork to come through.
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