Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

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Agent 99
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Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

I am in the process of purchasing a car out of state from a dealership. Normally I use my bank’s bill pay and have enough time for a check to be sent by the bank. I just received the purchase contract with options to wire transfer, ACH or mail a check. The payment needs to arrive by Thursday. Car is shipping Friday

I’m sure I don’t have enough time to arrange it through my bank’s bill pay due to snail mail delays. I have been trying to figure out wire transfer and ACH this morning. My internet bank only wire transfers for home payments with exceptions but will have to talk to someone Monday. The ACH option seems to just be for linking my personal accounts. The last option is sending a check by priority mail which I think is the only viable option unless I am misunderstanding something.

I guess I’m confused because the dealer provided the banking info but I can’t figure out how to make it work. Help appreciated.
Rocky Mtn Man
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Rocky Mtn Man »

I've done a few wire transfers from my bank. All required calling the 1-800 number and talking to a human.
smooth_rough
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by smooth_rough »

Go back to car dealership, face-to-face meeting in person if possible, explain everything to the finance manager there, and offer to put down big deposit to hold your car for several business days. Deposit to be applied to final purchase price of course. You can use credit card for deposit and earn credit card rewards. Dealers all work on weekends, sat and sun are big business for them. The dealer could be shopping the car to other buyers if you don't.

Normally wire would be fastest, same day?
Last edited by smooth_rough on Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
twh
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by twh »

I also recently purchased a car out of state...but, I went there to pick it up...completed the paperwork and called into the bank to have a wire transfer done...about 15 minutes later was all done...left with the car an hour later.
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galawdawg
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by galawdawg »

smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:11 am Go back to car dealership, face-to-face meeting in person if possible...
OP is buying a car from an out-of-state dealership and having it shipped. Presumably "going back" for a face to face meeting would not be very convenient. Otherwise, OP would probably just drive there and pick-up the new car themself! :wink:

If this is a major dealership (not Johnny's Buy Here/Pay Here car lot), then a wire would be the way to go, OP.
smooth_rough
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by smooth_rough »

galawdawg wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:17 am
smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:11 am Go back to car dealership, face-to-face meeting in person if possible...
OP is buying a car from an out-of-state dealership and having it shipped. Presumably "going back" for a face to face meeting would not be very convenient. Otherwise, OP would probably just drive there and pick-up the new car themself! :wink:

If this is a major dealership (not Johnny's Buy Here/Pay Here car lot), then a wire would be the way to go, OP.
No detailed info on geography. Maybe just across state line and not that far?
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Watty
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Watty »

Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 10:52 am The last option is sending a check by priority mail which I think is the only viable option unless I am misunderstanding something.
Priority mail delivery times are are hit or miss. It would be better to pay for overnight delivery by FedEx. They likely have a store in a strip mall near you unless you live in a rural area.
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Agent 99
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

The dealer is a major outfit. It’s 900 miles away. If it wasn’t -20F up there I would go up for a brief vacation and road trip back to where it is +20F, maybe.

I paid a deposit on CC. The car is marked sold on the website.
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Agent 99
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

This is just another time when I need to fight my frugality! Priority mail - 2 day ~ $12. Fedex overnight AM $45, 2nd day PM $27; 3rd day PM $14.

I can easily afford Fedex overnight AM with added benefit of getting 5% back on my Amex. Done!

Edited: Changed direction - will try wire transfer instead. Figured it out with different bank,
Last edited by Agent 99 on Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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nj123
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by nj123 »

We bought a car out of state in Jan 2022. Dealership in MD was not used to wire transfers and initially wanted nothing else but a cashiers check, but in the end they accepted a wire transfer without any issues.
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by PotashDoggerd »

Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 10:52 am I am in the process of purchasing a car out of state from a dealership. Normally I use my bank’s bill pay and have enough time for a check to be sent by the bank. I just received the purchase contract with options to wire transfer, ACH or mail a check. The payment needs to arrive by Thursday. Car is shipping Friday

I’m sure I don’t have enough time to arrange it through my bank’s bill pay due to snail mail delays. I have been trying to figure out wire transfer and ACH this morning. My internet bank only wire transfers for home payments with exceptions but will have to talk to someone Monday. The ACH option seems to just be for linking my personal accounts. The last option is sending a check by priority mail which I think is the only viable option unless I am misunderstanding something.

I guess I’m confused because the dealer provided the banking info but I can’t figure out how to make it work. Help appreciated.
A wire transfer might cost $30 bucks if that, and will either get there the day of if you get it sent first thing in the morning, or the next morning.

In any remotely important transaction where time is of the essence, and the funds need to get there by a deadline, why would anyone EVER not use a wire transfer?

Fed Ex can have delays and can even lose packages. Once the check gets to the recipient it still needs to deposit and clear.

This kind of penny-wise/pound-foolishness boggles my mind.

Edited to add:

If your bank doesn't make wire transfers convenient because it's internet and not bricks and mortar, then that's just a reason to always have at least one checking or savings account with wire transfer privileges at a bricks and mortar branch physically near you. You keep the minimum balance needed to avoid fees and keep the account open. When you know you might have a big transaction coming up, you do the ACH transfer of sufficient funds to the convenience physical branch account sufficiently in advance of the intended transaction that the funds will be available to make any wire transfer that might be needed.
Northern Flicker
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Northern Flicker »

PotashDoggerd wrote: In any remotely important transaction where time is of the essence, and the funds need to get there by a deadline, why would anyone EVER not use a wire transfer?
Higher risk if not executed very carefully would be one good reason. Be sure you get the account info by phone or in person and be sure you don't make an error when providing it. If you send the funds to the wrong account by your own error, I think the funds may be gone without adequate recourse.

I think ACH can be clawed back, but I would not want to test and learn about that process on a large transaction.
Last edited by Northern Flicker on Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
smooth_rough
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by smooth_rough »

Whats the name of internet bank? Never used one. Do internet banks have different rules for bank wire?
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Agent 99
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:49 am Whats the name of internet bank? Never used one. Do internet banks have different rules for bank wire?
SOFI bank only wire transfers for home purchases. Just checked my Capital One account and there is no restriction. The funds are in SOFI so now I’m transferring to Capital One.
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galawdawg
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by galawdawg »

Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:58 am
smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:49 am Whats the name of internet bank? Never used one. Do internet banks have different rules for bank wire?
SOFI bank only wire transfers for home purchases. Just checked my Capital One account and there is no restriction. The funds are in SOFI so now I’m transferring to Capital One.
You may want to check your brokerage as well. Schwab customers with $100k in assets get three (3) free outgoing domestic wires per quarter. Perhaps yours offers the same.
techrover
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by techrover »

Wires is fastest - M-F same day if done by 4 pm EST. You need wiring instructions from receiver so the payment gets to right receipent. There are many parameters that get matched - Receipent name, bank account etc. so ensure you get all wire info inputted correctly. Bank reps are generally not very well informed about wire systems and usually make mistakes as to where to enter what data and this will delay the processing of wire. Your bank may charge fees (0-50$). Some banks/brokerages waive the fees if you have some relationship status.
ACH - slower than wires, but more safe and cheap. Check if you are allowed to do "Transfers" then you add beneficiary and make a transfer. There may be transfer limits imposed by banks. So if the amount is large, you may not be able to transfer it in one transaction in a day.

If transfers is not an option, I think check + USPS priority mail/FedEx/UPS could do. However depends on which region you are in - the recent snow storms may disrupt post/couriers.
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Agent 99
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

galawdawg wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:02 pm
Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:58 am
smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:49 am Whats the name of internet bank? Never used one. Do internet banks have different rules for bank wire?
SOFI bank only wire transfers for home purchases. Just checked my Capital One account and there is no restriction. The funds are in SOFI so now I’m transferring to Capital One.
You may want to check your brokerage as well. Schwab customers with $100k in assets get three (3) free outgoing domestic wires per quarter. Perhaps yours offers the same.
Vanguard (no charge) here but I would have to sell something to prop up the cash fund. Recently moved cash out to internet bank. Now moving cash between banks. Next project - reevaluate internet bank options.
Katietsu
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Katietsu »

Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:58 am
smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:49 am Whats the name of internet bank? Never used one. Do internet banks have different rules for bank wire?
SOFI bank only wire transfers for home purchases. Just checked my Capital One account and there is no restriction. The funds are in SOFI so now I’m transferring to Capital One.
This seems riskier with respect to timing. You can not do a wire from Cap One until the ACH or mobile deposit is eligible for withdrawal. This can be 2 or 3 business days later. And I would not be surprised to find that moving money in and immediately requesting a wire transfer out could trigger a potential fraud alert. This might further delay the wire transfer as they may require additional verification steps. The wire transfer will cost $30 from Cap One which is more than the cost of expedited shipping of the check.

I think your original plan to use FedEx has the highest likelihood of success and possibly greater protections.
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Agent 99
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

Katietsu wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:11 pm
Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:58 am
smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:49 am Whats the name of internet bank? Never used one. Do internet banks have different rules for bank wire?
SOFI bank only wire transfers for home purchases. Just checked my Capital One account and there is no restriction. The funds are in SOFI so now I’m transferring to Capital One.
This seems riskier with respect to timing. You can not do a wire from Cap One until the ACH or mobile deposit is eligible for withdrawal. This can be 2 or 3 business days later. And I would not be surprised to find that moving money in and immediately requesting a wire transfer out could trigger a potential fraud alert. This might further delay the wire transfer as they may require additional verification steps. The wire transfer will cost $30 from Cap One which is more than the cost of expedited shipping of the check.

I think your original plan to use FedEx has the highest likelihood of success and possibly greater protections.
Excellent point. Don’t need to get into that do loop!
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

I hope this major dealer is not Carvana. Their license to sell cars has been revoked in a number of states. They fail to get you a title in a reasonable amount of time. If you have a year to wait for the title, then you're good to go. Otherwise, watch the news as they will be bankrupt shortly and you will then potentially never get the title.
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tibbitts
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by tibbitts »

smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:11 am Dealers all work on weekends, sat and sun are big business for them.
Dealers are closed on Sundays in many locations.
Dave55
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Dave55 »

Wire is quickest & safest (ACH is safe too but slower). Send the wire Monday morning and they will have the funds a few hours later Monday or latest Tuesday morning.

Dave
"Reality always wins, your only job is to get in touch with it." Wilfred Bion
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Agent 99
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:21 pm I hope this major dealer is not Carvana. Their license to sell cars has been revoked in a number of states. They fail to get you a title in a reasonable amount of time. If you have a year to wait for the title, then you're good to go. Otherwise, watch the news as they will be bankrupt shortly and you will then potentially never get the title.
NOT Carvana! Real brick and mortar in business since 2014 when another family member bought a car from them.
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galawdawg
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by galawdawg »

Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:10 pm
galawdawg wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:02 pm
Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:58 am
smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:49 am Whats the name of internet bank? Never used one. Do internet banks have different rules for bank wire?
SOFI bank only wire transfers for home purchases. Just checked my Capital One account and there is no restriction. The funds are in SOFI so now I’m transferring to Capital One.
You may want to check your brokerage as well. Schwab customers with $100k in assets get three (3) free outgoing domestic wires per quarter. Perhaps yours offers the same.
Vanguard (no charge) here but I would have to sell something to prop up the cash fund. Recently moved cash out to internet bank. Now moving cash between banks. Next project - reevaluate internet bank options.
Do you have funds in the settlement account or a liquid fund, such as a money market? If so, you could use those funds to send the wire. And if I recall, if your bank is linked to your Vanguard account, you could go to your Vanguard account and place a buy order to replace those funds from your linked bank account and it would process the buy order that same day at close of market.

In other words, if the car is $35k and you don't have any funds in your settlement account, sell $35k of a VMFXX on Monday, those funds will be in your settlement account on Tuesday and then you just wire those funds to the dealer. Also on Monday you set up a buy order to purchase $35k of VMFXX using your linked bank account, according to a number of posts here, that sale should execute close of market on Monday. So you don't lose a single day of interest in VMFXX.

The reason you'd need to do it that way is that while funds pulled into Vanguard from a linked bank account via ACH are immediately available to trade, they aren't available to withdraw for seven (7) days. However, funds that have already cleared, such as those you previously used to buy VMFXX, are available to withdraw as soon as the trade (sell order) settles.

Assuming the experiences of Vanguard customers posted here are correct about the ability to immediately trade using ACH pulled funds, you could do the same with any Vanguard holding in your taxable account without any time "out of market".

If doing that isn't appealing to you, then sending the funds via FedEx or UPS is probably your best option. (I prefer UPS, over fifty (50%) percent of all my FedEx packages since 2020 have been delayed). Be certain though that the dealer is okay with a personal check and doesn't require a cashier's check...

Hope that makes sense and helps!
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Agent 99
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

galawdawg wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:47 pm
Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:10 pm
galawdawg wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:02 pm
Agent 99 wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:58 am
smooth_rough wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:49 am Whats the name of internet bank? Never used one. Do internet banks have different rules for bank wire?
SOFI bank only wire transfers for home purchases. Just checked my Capital One account and there is no restriction. The funds are in SOFI so now I’m transferring to Capital One.
You may want to check your brokerage as well. Schwab customers with $100k in assets get three (3) free outgoing domestic wires per quarter. Perhaps yours offers the same.
Vanguard (no charge) here but I would have to sell something to prop up the cash fund. Recently moved cash out to internet bank. Now moving cash between banks. Next project - reevaluate internet bank options.
Do you have funds in the settlement account or a liquid fund, such as a money market? If so, you could use those funds to send the wire. And if I recall, if your bank is linked to your Vanguard account, you could go to your Vanguard account and place a buy order to replace those funds from your linked bank account and it would process the buy order that same day at close of market.

In other words, if the car is $35k and you don't have any funds in your settlement account, sell $35k of a VMFXX on Monday, those funds will be in your settlement account on Tuesday and then you just wire those funds to the dealer. Also on Monday you set up a buy order to purchase $35k of VMFXX using your linked bank account, according to a number of posts here, that sale should execute close of market on Monday. So you don't lose a single day of interest in VMFXX.

The reason you'd need to do it that way is that while funds pulled into Vanguard from a linked bank account via ACH are immediately available to trade, they aren't available to withdraw for seven (7) days. However, funds that have already cleared, such as those you previously used to buy VMFXX, are available to withdraw as soon as the trade (sell order) settles.

Assuming the experiences of Vanguard customers posted here are correct about the ability to immediately trade using ACH pulled funds, you could do the same with any Vanguard holding in your taxable account without any time "out of market".

If doing that isn't appealing to you, then sending the funds via FedEx or UPS is probably your best option. (I prefer UPS, over fifty (50%) percent of all my FedEx packages since 2020 have been delayed). Be certain though that the dealer is okay with a personal check and doesn't require a cashier's check...

Hope that makes sense and helps!
Thank you all. I ran out to a Fedex store before galawdawg’s last post because the last pick up was 2:15. I sent a check scheduled to arrive by 1030AM Tuesday ($37.47). That should give them T, W, Th for the check to clear. Maybe Fedex will get it up there on Monday and not wait until Tuesday for delivery. I used to count on that but that was over 20 years ago.
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Agent 99
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by Agent 99 »

Update: Fedex moved the delivery up to Monday AM instead of Tuesday AM! Apart from the challenge of writing and filling out a check for the first time in years this worked out to be the best solution. No worry about an mis-wire, shifting funds between accounts, setting of homeland security and fraud alerts, etc.
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JoMoney
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Re: Wire, ACH or Priority Mail for out of state car purchase

Post by JoMoney »

Good to hear an update... I would have been curious if by "ACH" you could have provided the routing and account number to the dealer and they would have pulled the money via ACH (rather than you trying to push to them as a linked account.)
The last car I bought I would up financing it for a month (no fee, no prepayment penalty) and the finance company pulled the money via ACH for the payoff. I never asked the dealer if they could have pulled the payment via ACH without going through the financing company, as I needed a couple weeks to move the money around and be available.
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