CJS

I can just send a check and pray I suppose!
If I fly out to the car, give him a cashiers check or do a wire transfer, what do I get for my security? A bill of sale?
Most transfers,even wire transfers, take a few days to be good funds, so he may not want to sign over the title, until he has good funds in his account. Also there are fake Cashiers checks now!
Meantime, he has my money, the car, and the title. I go back home and wait 3 weeks for the delivery with my bill of sale? What happens if he gets hit by a train? How do people handle this? i am buying a car in Minnesota, I am in Connecticut.

vref

Get on a plane. Never buy a car you don't touch that is not from a reputable dealer. Otherwise the saying will apply

"A fool and his money are soon parted"


Plane tickets are cheap you can do it all in a day if its well coordinated.
Cashiers checks can be verified, have him call your bank where its issued. Have the bank fax him a copy if needed. You get a bill of sale, Title, Registration and the car.

Then you take the car and drop it off someplace designated by your transport company. I've even had to put them in a enclosed storage place for a couple of weeks. But I always had control of the car.

ffas23

I have done this before buying a car on Ebay. First I sent an inspector to look at the car and email me digital pictures. While he was there looking at the car I also spoke to him on his cell phone. After the deal was made I got the sellers bank information in order to wire the money. When this all was done I checked with the sellers bank and told them what was to occur so as to cover myself and to make sure they really existed. I did the same with my bank letting them know what was going on before I wired the money out. As soon as the seller got the wired money the bill of sale was overnighted to me through FedEx and I had to wait almost a month to received the car because of who I used to deliver it from Missouri to N.J. The car was covered right away by my classic insurance company even though it wasn't set up with a policy with them as of yet. Being I had other collector cars with them they covered me and told me knot to worry about delivery that as of the moment I wired the money out I was covered for that amount I sent if an accident occured or if the car was stolen on route. Once the car was received I started my new insurance policy on the car.

aworks

Chris. I live in Seymour CT. I may have someone that can go out and get the car and do the transaction at the same time. And he knows corvettes. We may know some of the same people. I had an FFL up until about 5 years ago. Email me If you want. Brian G.

Chuck Gongloff

Couldn't have said it better myself.

From Connecticut, you have many options for cheap airline fares, and many large airports in your vicinity. Southwest, Air Tran, Frontier, the new Air3000, and probably some others offer cheap flights to Midway/O'Hare in Chicago. You might get closer, depending on where in Minnesota you're going. I'd never buy any car, Corvette or otherwise, sight unseen. Chuck

CJS

Thanks for the advice! I am definitly flying to look at the car! That is a given.

Problem comes when I see it and like it and give him the cashiers check. The Transport Co. (Intercities) Can't pick it up for 2 to 3 weeks later.

So I suppose I have to just go home and wait it out. and look at my pieces of Paper (title and bill of sale) He agrees to keep the car in its current location in his garage at his home for the 3 weeks.

Is the normal way its done? Car is $35,000.

Rons65

I bought my 66 in Knoxville, TN. Had it inspected before I went out - flew out with some cash in pocket (10% of sale price). Inspected/drove the car, made the deal and drew up all the sale paperwork with the owner. The seller was known in the area, so we agreed to do the following: I had a notarized bill of sale, copy of the title, etc and all the car paperwork. Contacted his credit union and credit union agreed to hold the title until funds came in. I flew home, wired the money to the credit union and they overnighted the signed, notarized title. I then put my insurance on the car and the seller agreed to keep in his garage for two weeks until transport picked up.

Was a smooth transaction. With that said, I had the seller furnish me some references before I went out. If you cannot find anyone to inspect and work with a bank/credit union, then I would work out to pay and take the car to a storage or known NCRS member who was willing to store the car for a few days for some cash.

Always remember, "buyer beware" and just use your good common sense! Good luck! Ron

PS: Many seller will not take a cashier's check and many banks want to hold the funds for 10-15 days even though it is a certified check due to all the bogus checks out there. I perfer and most seller's/banks perfer wired funds. FYI

LouieM

The last thing I'd do is give the seller your money and then leave YOUR car with him. Find a place to store it in the seller's area, until the transport company can pick it up for you.

vref

Yep I would probably pay for the car and take the car to another location, unless I felt really good about the seller. I.E. The vette sits next to the Ferrari, and two other vettes or something. In other words its a judgement call.

If you need to find a place, there is a enclosed public storage place, talk to an exotic car dealer in the area about storing it a his place for a bit. An NCRS member or someone on the forum.

StingRay-Steve

Anything can happen I suppose, but I would (and have) feel comfortable leaving the car in the hands of the previous owner for a while. He has more than likely had his fun with it and is ready to move on. Last thing he wants to do is mess up the sale. Use you instincts after meeting the fellow.

Good luck!

steve

Pillman7

When I bought my 66 conv. I found the car on the internet, negotiated a selling price provided the car was as the buyer presented it over the phone. Then I flew out and after inspecting the car paid him with a cashier's check. Came home with a bill of sale and registration, title. Previously I had arranged with a car transport company to deliver the car to my home. They provided me with a storage facility that would store my car (insured) until they picked it up about a week later. The seller offered to keep the car at his place but I felt better having a reputable third party store the car til shipment. I had to pay a small storage charge but it was worth the peace of mind.

TOM65 L76 96 LT1

If the car you are coming to look at is any where around Minneapolis-St.Paul and if i can help you in any way just shoot me an email,i am in Apple Valley. Tom at Pologreen96vette@aol.com

JWD01

From a sellers point of view - no way would I give up a car just because someone gave me a cashiers check even if it is verified by the bank that issued it. The purchaser can say it was lost, stolen etc. and you will be without a car and your money. I talked to my credit union and here's the best/foolproof way to buy/sell a car. You both go to the buyers bank, you are both there when the cashiers check is purchased and you have the teller put on the check the "purchased item". In front of the teller, you exchange the check for the title and you record the tellers name. That is the only way you will know the check is not forged and there is no way they can say it was lost/stolen.
A friend sold his truck, got a cashiers check for it and deposited it in his bank. 2 weeks later his bank called to tell him that it was a forged check. He filed a police report and made a claim against his insurance. The insurance co. denied the claim because the truck wasn't stolen, he gave it to the guy and it is a case of forgery not theft. The police wrote it up as a car theft and with the threat of getting an attorney, the insurance co. paid him.

Paul L

I must be a neophyte but a bank draft puts an immediate draw on a bank account that can be verified by any recipient depository bank either electronically or by telephone within 24 hours.

CJS

JWD01, I agree! If I was selling I would not take the Cashiers check either
I would rather have a bank to bank wire transfer. Now I am told by my own bank, that even this is not good funds (to the receipiet) for several days!
This messes things up because then I can not fly there, do the wire thing, and then come home with the title. I guess I must trust the owner to send me the title when it becomes good funds.

CJS

dup

TJefferson2020

One way to deal with both the seller's worries and the buyer's worries is to put the money in escrow. Until both parties are satisfied, the escrow company sits on the money. If the buyer doesn't like what he gets, he backs out and can get his money back. If the check is no good, the escrow company notifies the seller...

You'll pay a small fee but it's peace of mind for all.

check www.escrow.com

StingRay-Steve

I guess I'm just very naive. This is the way I bought mine. Looked at the car, wrote the man a Personal Check and received a handwritten "bill of sales". Left the car with him until he was satisfied that the check had cleared and then picked up the car and paperwork. Worked for me.

steve

Matt Gruber

a personal check with disappearing ink.

Jeff Garner

CASH works everytime. Write up a bill of sale, take the car and the title.