Question on selling a buggy out of state.

30th6 · Jan 13, 2022

I have someone lined up to buy my buggy that lives in California, im in (AL) he has a friend that lives in Arkansas that wants to come test drive it and make the purchase for him. He said his friend is not comfortable with bringing cash. He wants to bring a cashier check.
I know there is a lot of scams on cashier checks, and it will be on a weekend when the transaction will be made so no banks will be open.
He wants it on the 22nd of this month.
What's your normal procedure for big transactions?

ridered3 · Jan 13, 2022

I took cash to the guy in Missouri when we bought our juggy. I wasn't concerned with him as the seller, but was concerned with the possibilty of having some Civil Asset Forfeiture cluster going from TN through KY, IL, and MO. Talked to my bank about how to do the purchase safely short of a wire transfer, which was not an option since both buyer and seller banks were closed on Saturday...

They gave me Notarized paperwork from the bank stating what the stack of cash was intended for as well as a direct cell phone number to the Branch Manager in case there were any issues with 5-0.

They also mentioned the option of a Cashiers Check written for $2-3k less than the purchase amount for negotiating room. If we had gone with a Cashiers Check, they offered to contact my seller directly to verify that I had sufficient funds in the account etc or recommended that I send him a picture of my bank balance showing I had sufficient funds.

I know some folks have purchased street vehicles with a Cashiers Check for the full amount and just sent the seller a picture of their bank balance which was sufficient to their seller to prove it was legit.

tkinze · Jan 13, 2022

Negative!! If he doesn't wanna carry cash (I get it) then meet him at a bank where the funds can be withdrawn and handed over. Otherwise you're leaving yourself exposed with no leverage.

Would an ACH or money transfer via Zelle or another be a practical answer? Don't know the limitations off hand

30th6 · Jan 13, 2022

tkinze said:
Negative!! If he doesn't wanna carry cash (I get it) then meet him at a bank where the funds can be withdrawn and handed over. Otherwise you're leaving yourself exposed with no leverage.

Would an ACH or money transfer via Zelle or another be a practical answer? Don't know the limitations off hand

That's what I was thinking. I'm not the trusting type, I need cash in hand to make me comfortable.

clutchee · Jan 13, 2022

Bank and have it withdrawn and handed over.

I drove from Texas to AL picked mine up and drove home. Had the bank on speed dial should the POPO have asked about buggy since I had paid cash and then it has no vin.

Good luck.

j-mox · Jan 13, 2022

For a cash purchase I would also invest in one of the markers to test for fake bills. Small price to pay for reassurance

Trailabite · Jan 13, 2022

I just purchased a buggy via cashier's check. I bank through BB&T and they actually suggested it. It would have taken another week for them to draw the cash out for whatever reasons. Worked for me as I was not really excited about carrying that much cash either. A cashier check from a bank is safer than one from western union or a Walmart or some grocery store. You can also put the amount on a Bill of Sales, just make sure both of you have a copy it.

I don't know why, but having a huge load of cash in hand is like smoking your first joint, something horrible is gonna happen lol.

Zjman · Jan 13, 2022

Cash is king and so is concealed carry

30th6 · Jan 13, 2022

Zjman said:
Cash is king and so is concealed carry

This is true, the only way I usually deal

Beerj · Jan 13, 2022

What's funny is, if the sale falls through because he's dead set against cash, we'll never know if it was just a scam in the first place.

30th6 · Jan 13, 2022

So has anyone ever used escrow.com he suggested it, I've looked it up. It seems legit and really kinda leaning towards it. It basically holds the funds when he approves of the buggy the funds are released to me. It shows online when it's released. I told him the buggy will not move until the funds are in acct.
Does anyone see a problem with this method?

bgredjeep · Jan 13, 2022

tkinze said:
Negative!! If he doesn't wanna carry cash (I get it) then meet him at a bank where the funds can be withdrawn and handed over. Otherwise you're leaving yourself exposed with no leverage.

Would an ACH or money transfer via Zelle or another be a practical answer? Don't know the limitations off hand

I looked into this option when I was heading to Tampa for a camper on a Sunday. Zelle had a $3500 daily limit. I just took cash for all the same reasons the op is concerned.

I'd say cash, or he comes to get it on a day the bank is open so everything can be verified.

Zjman · Jan 13, 2022

I dunno if it's started yet but the government suppose start tracking these transactions on these apps and financial service things online. I'd hate to have give damn Uncle Sam another round of tax money

ridered3 · Jan 21, 2022

What's the latest with this?

jeeptj99 · Jan 21, 2022

no way i'd do that. sounds super sketchy. wire transfer or nothing. when i bought mine i paid cash but i knew the buyer and got the money out of the bank that day and it was local.

jp fan · Jan 22, 2022

If a cashier check was all they had then I would meet at the bank and have it worked through the bank just to make sure no one gets messed over

30th6 · Jan 23, 2022

ridered3 said:
What's the latest with this?

So he sent me the money via escrow.com yesterday and the buggy is being picked up today. I've talked to him enough and Facebook stalked him enough that I feel comfortable that he's not going to screw me around. I've called escrow.com and they have verified the funds in my account.
But me not really trusting anyone I put a GPS tracker on the buggy. Just in case

ridered3 · Jan 23, 2022

30th6 said:
So he sent me the money via escrow.com yesterday and the buggy is being picked up today. I've talked to him enough and Facebook stalked him enough that I feel comfortable that he's not going to screw me around. I've called escrow.com and they have verified the funds in my account.
But me not really trusting anyone I put a GPS tracker on the buggy. Just in caseView attachment 160071

Good deal. Since I'm unfamiliar with it, is there a daily limit or service fees for using escrow?