old jack

When dealing with private owner and paying cash, would it be reasonable to ask seller to complete deal at DMV or at a police station? This would be the safest way, because of large amount of cash changing hands. What is your ideas on this?

Tank you Jack

bikeriderga

I would pay by check only, if I were you. Could be a cashier's check.

shaggyvette

If you are dealing with cash, go to your bank and make the deal there. Have the bank check the bills for counterfeit. Just tell the buyer that you got "burned" once. If he's legit, he won't mind. I didn't have any problems when I sold my last Vette but, there's a lot of FUNNY BILLS out there today. Good luck and hope to see you in Ludlow this summer.

Dave

oemtech

Do it at your bank if possible. That way they cam notarize the bill of sale and/or title. I assume it has a clear title!

Vetteman Jack

I don't see where that would be unreasonable. The owner of the vehicle may be hesitant to accept a check. Another good way to do the transaction would be through a direct wire transfer to his bank account, then the deal could be done at his bank quick and easy.

JR-01

I bring a cashiers check for a couple thousand less than he is asking, made out to the seller and me. I also carry a couple grand in cash if he won't come down to the price on the cashiers check. If you make the transaction at the sellers house you should be fine. You know where he lives. I have been buying cars from private sellers for 45 years and have never had a problem. Just use common sense.

Crosis

Safety is never unreasonable

dbgoodwin

Certainly not unreasonable. If he has a problem with it then the car isn't worth it.

feeder82

cash is a pain in the ***, anything over 10k is reported to the government, money laundry rules, might not be a big deal, but the bank has to fill out a form that explains where it came from

69L48Z27

^^^^ This. Not quite 45 years here but I have the same thoughts.

Send pictures ahead of cashiers check and tell them to check with their bank for reassurance. Dealing with major bank names/chains also adds piece of mind.

saxtech

When I sold my Camaro, I had the buyer meet me at my house the day after he agreed to buy it. He returned on a Saturday morning with his Dad and with cash. I did not ask for the cash at this time (when he arrived at my house).

From my house, I had the buyer follow me to the smog check station so that he could see that the smog certificate that we were going to get, was not manipulated or falsified (in California, the seller is legally responsible to obtain a smog certificate for the buyer before it changes hands). Once the smog check was final and the buyer witnessed that it passed, I paid for the smog certificate and asked the buyer to follow me to the AAA Office so we can complete the transaction.

Once we arrived at the AAA parking lot (in front of the entrance door), it was at that time I collected the cash (cameras are all over the place at businesses like these).

When I had the cash in my pocket, I handed him the keys to the Camaro and we all went into the AAA Office and completed the transaction so that we BOTH had peace-of-mind that everything was done correctly and legally. The car was legally removed from my name and immediately placed in his (the buyers) name before he took possession of it.

I was assured that the car was out of my name before I left the AAA office (in case he got into an accident while leaving) and he paid his taxes and fees and the car was put into his name with a temporary registration card in his hand.

The car changed hands and legal ownership was switched almost simultaneously.

He drove me back to my house in his new Camaro and he had a huge smile on his face thanking me when he dropped me off.

EVERYONE had peace-of-mind that no one was being tricked, duped or lied to. Read my experience of being tricked below.....

A word of wisdom.....
If you are the buyer of a Corvette, you want to be sure that there are no past unpaid registration fees due, unpaid parking tickets, or penalties or liens. These can be costly if you are unaware of them. You also want to be sure that the pink slip he hands you is legitimate and not forged or fake. AAA does all of this for you so it is much less stressful than standing in line at a crowded DMV office. The entire transaction at AAA took no more than 15 minutes (it would have taken hours at a crowded DMV office).

It is always best that you do this transaction at a DMV or at the AAA Office. You can back out of the deal if you discover something that you were mislead or uninformed about. If you do the transaction in your garage or at the supermarket parking lot, you have no assurances there are no surprises once the seller has your money and is long gone.

MY EXPERIENCE OF BEING TRICKED.....
I once bought a super-clean Ford Ranger in a Supermarket Parking Lot after reading about it on Craigslist. The seller said he worked at a Supermarket about 40 miles from me. So I agreed to view the truck there at his work...The truck was really clean and had really low miles. It drove well around the parking lot so I gave the seller cash right on the spot in the Supermarket Parking Lot and drove off with the truck. The next day, I called in sick to work so I could take care of the smog certificate and get the truck put into my name. Early in the morning, before I drove it anywhere, I took the truck to the Smog Check Station at my nearest intersection a few blocks from my home. The smog technician started the inspection and appeared to be nervous and seemed confused and worried. He kept pacing back and forth from his computer desk... I asked him what was wrong and I couldn't believe his response... I was SHOCKED and infuriated that the smog mechanic would not pass it for smog certificate (you NEED a current smog certificate in California in order to put a vehicle into your name).. The smog technician said "a different engine had been put into the truck" (it was not the original engine) and it did not have legal smog devices connected (but it was such a clean install so I did not suspect anything fraudulent).. The smog technician also said someone had disabled the check engine light and this was illegal. I WAS DUPED ! I WAS TRICKED ! And I WAS SCARED that I lost all of my money (thousands of dollars). I told myself, "that's why he wanted to meet in a Supermarket Parking Lot"....I immediately called the seller from the smog station that I was standing at, and of course, the seller did not answer his phone. I left a message and told him he committed fraud by not disclosing the truth about the truck and to please call me back. Good thing I had written his Drivers License number and info down when I gave him the cash. It was because of this, that he returned my call. Of course he played stupid and insisted that he knew nothing but said he would give me my money back after he got off of work that day (because I told him that he committed fraud and he didn't want legal trouble).. I brought my friend with me when I returned the truck and he had 3 or 4 thugs waiting for me when I pulled up to retrieve my money. He told me "how do I know you didn't do something to it or didn't commit a crime in it" (he was no longer as nice as he was the day before when I bought the truck)...... I rolled my eyes and said I took it home last night and directly took it to the smog station the next morning. His thugs looked the truck over and agreed that I didn't get into an accident or do anything to it so he gave my cash back to me.

I WAS SO LUCKY to have this transaction turn out this way with my money back in my pocket. I was so nervous and trembling when I got back in my vehicle to go home after getting my money back. When I was driving on the freeway back to his house with his truck to return it to him, the HOT ENGINE light came on and an audible alarm came on too. I didn't think I was going to make it back to the seller without it breaking down. But I did and I got my money back.

If I would have been smart and would have insisted on doing the transaction the way I sold my Camaro (see story above), with the seller taking the truck to the smog station WITH ME to witness the smog test at a facility of my choosing, I would never have handed thousands of dollars over to him in a Supermarket Parking Lot.

Take it from someone who learned the hard way - Do the transaction at the AAA Office or at the DMV.
Go with the seller to witness the smog check and you (buyer) choose the smog station. Not the seller !

ClipperFan

tell him to meet you at YOUR bank, and give the money to the teller and let her count it that's what I do, THEN go to the auto club and finish up the paper work

dbgoodwin

I don't know what the AAA office is, but I'm not sure anything you said could be considered credible after you claimed to have found a super clean ford ranger.

Seriously though, you're right. Do it the right way, verify everything, it's better safe than sorry.

laurent_zo6

Anyone can cancel or forge a cashier's check so no go.
Giving cash to owner in exchange for title anywhere else than DMV or AAA office is asking for trouble. Could be that there are liens on car.
As mentioned above, get owner's driver license. Get a bill of sale stating that owner is not aware of any defects (or they should be spelled out on bill of sale).
You could also videotape the cash transaction when owner counts money.

TOPCATHR

I agree with shaggyvette and oemtech go to the bank make sure you get a notary to sign the bill of sale . If he doesn't register the car its still in your name not good for tickets and the like.........

runner140*

And have security cameras.

Alien c4

I have bought dozens of cars and motorcycles in the last 25 years. 99% of my transactions were paid in cash. I just carry a gun… Never had a problem.

DetroitPlac

I paid cash for my C5... $17k. Most banks can't even give you that much cash, so I took out $5k over the course of 3 days (7 on the last day) from different banks so it didn't get reported. The seller refused to accept anything other than cash because checks can be cancelled, which is fair. I asked to see the title (and get a copy of it) first, and I met him at his house before I brought cash. As others have said, common sense is critical. Seller was cool, showed me around his garage that he was working on, showed me his bikes, it was like talking to a friend. I felt comfortable coming back with cash (and a friend with a gun) to do the deal. We counted the cash at his kitchen table, he signed the title, and off we went.

I always try to build a bit of a relationship with whoever I'm transacting with. If I can't talk to someone on the phone extensively, meet in person and chat a while, or connect on a personal level in some way, no deal.

And ALWAYS bring someone with you. Even when just checking something out. Even just a wife, girlfriend, buddy, whatever.

Velocity_Vette

I bought my C5 with a cashier's check - it's effectively the same as cash, while being a lot "safer" to have. Had one cut for a bit less than the asking price and just a little cash in pocket just in case. The bank can make it out directly to the seller, meaning if someone else that's not the seller somehow gets possession of it it's useless. At worst even if you don't buy the car your bank can terminate the cashier's check and void it so nothing is removed from your account. At the most it's simply an inconvenience of your time for having to had to go to the bank.

I would never carry well into five figures of actual cash on me. That's just a tremendous amount of ignorance right there; sorry not sorry. I don't know why you would risk losing such a high amount of money with the rampant amount of thievery that goes on. Go get a cashier's check.

Regardless yes, I would still make the transaction in a public area. Your local police station would be more than willing to see a transaction of this sort occur on their premises and likely have an area for it (as a lot of stations are now having set up for convenience). If the seller is not willing to abide by your buying stipulations then move on; I'd for sure go out of my way to cater to a buyer that's about to hand me five figures.

c4cruiser

Definitely make sure the seller has a Certificate of Title with his name showing as the "Legal Owner". If there was a lien on the car (still owned money on a loan), then the lienholder will have to sign off on the title showing the release of ownership. You will need a Bill of Sale that shows (among other things) the amount paid for the car if you need to pay any sort of taxes or registration fees. A Bill of Sale should be signed by both the Buyer and Seller in front of a Notary.

A wire transfer is a very simple way to get the money to the seller. These transfers should only take an hour or so to do. With the way banks are able to do business electronically, there should be no need to have to deal with thousands of dollars in cash whether you go to a bank or police station. The OP should go to his bank or CU and ask how a wire transfer works. The banks involved set everything up to do a transfer.