Gary's 2 442-S

Can anyone give me some advise on when purchasing a vehicle what is the best way to purchase a classic from someone. I used paypal before for my present car for protection to me. What other avenue can I use for my protection without making a very long drive to pay cash.

jaunty75

Why don't you want to use Paypal again?

What about mailing the seller a bank check via certified mail or something similar, which is something you might have done in the era before Paypal?

Let's back up a bit. What problem are you trying to solve here, other "making a very long drive to pay cash"? Don't you have to drive that very long distance to get the car, anyway? Or is the seller shipping it to you?

MDchanic

Protection? You're kidding, right?

Any sensible private seller will write AS IS in big letters on the bill of sale, and once you drive that car off their property, you have absolutely no recourse (dealers can usually be cornered just a little, but even they, in the long run, can't be forced to do much).

Pay in cash, $100 bills, like I always have, and have the seller "rectify" the price on the bill of sale to reflect your courtesy when the tax man wants his cut.

Once you buy a car, it's yours - the only way you will get anything from the other guy is after a lengthy legal battle, and then only if he grossly and explicitly misrepresented it in writing.

- Eric

jaunty75

I took his use of the word "protection" to mean protection against the funds being lost, stolen, or whatever before they arrive at the seller. Hence his desire not to have to travel to where the car is to pay cash to assure that the seller has received the funds.

I don't think he's referring to protection against the car itself being defective or not as represented. At least, that was how I read his post.

MDchanic

Oh. Okay.

What could be safer than carrying the money yourself on your own person?
I haven't noticed a lot of stagecoach robberies lately.

I feel much safer doing that than sending it out into some electronic never-never land and hoping nobody types the wrong key somewhere and makes it disappear.

- Eric

jaunty75

I'm guessing he's got a situation where he doesn't want to have to travel to where the car he's buying is because it's being shipped to him or something like that.

I use Paypal all the time to both send and receive money, and I've had no trouble with it. However, I'm not sure I would use it as the sole method of payment for a big-ticket item like a car because I would like to get, from the seller, a receipt so that I have proof that he received the money. I've seen many auto auctions on ebay where the seller asks for a deposit, often through Paypal, to guarantee the purchase, with the balance to be paid on pickup. I have no problem with this. I could see sending the seller for, say, a $5,000 car, $500 as a deposit through Paypal and the balance in cash or cashier's check or whatever when I actually pick the car up.

When you send someone a check, the check comes back to you (if you arrange for that), so you can see that it was endorsed and deposited, and that can be taken as proof that the seller received payment. If it's a cashier's or bank check, the bank gets the check back, and they can verify to you that the check was cashed by the person it was made out to should such a thing ever be needed.

Oldsmaniac

Some years ago I sold some Corvairs (not mine) on Ebay and one went overseas. The buyer wired the $ to my bank account. I phoned my bank first to see if this was a bad idea and they said it was no problem to give the guy my bank info as scarey as that was to me. On another occasion I bought a car in Minnesota and I mailed then a bank check...

66luvr

Depends on what you want to be protected against.
Bank wire transfer is safe and reliable, my preferred method to send or receive when selling a car. I opened a new, free checking account and keep $50 in there and use the account to transfer funds both ways. Some years I don't use it, but it is there if I need it. As soon as the money gets to that account I transfer it to my interest bearing checking account with online banking, all easy to do. I think my interest account pays .00000001% annually.
I sold a wagon late last year, we decided on a wire transfer and he would fly here and drive it home, about 8 hours drive. When he arrived he had a cashiers check. I refused to take the check and give him the car as that would give no time for the bank to clear his check. I made him do a wire transfer from here, when the money appeared in my account I gave him the car. Cashiers checks can be faked and additionally the buyer of the check can stop payment on it, a cashiers check, stop payment, I repeated that on purpose. I had my bank explain all that to him.

Gary's 2 442-S

Let me be more clear as to what I am referring to. I am talking about If the person doesn't send the car and you have already given them them money. I know you can get your money back thru Paypal. The seller doesn't want to take the full amount using Paypal. I realize that it is "as is" it's yours.

Professur

Check your bank for emailing funds as an option. I've used it several times ... my luck with Canuckistani Post is about as good as an Iranian Space monkey.

MDchanic

Exactly - I'd send a few hundred bucks through PayPal, no problem, but I'd be nervous sending a few thousand.


Actually, that's a great idea, especially if you do any international buying or sellling.

- Eric

Gary's 2 442-S

true that is what I mean

MDchanic

Gee. Actually, I'd probably be very nervous about doing that.

It's just me, but I don't think I'd do it.
I think I'd either go there, hand him cash, and tow it home, or not buy it, but, again, that's just me. I'm not very trusting.

- Eric

jaunty75

I think if this is at a concern, you have no choice but to go get the car in person. Or hire somebody at the other end to give the seller the money and take possession of the car.

Heck, even when I AM picking a car up in person, I don't actually sign the check over to him or hand him the cash until he is actually in the process of signing the title over to me. I'm that nervous. We usually do this at his or my bank or at the title office so I can then immediately get the car titled in my name. And I don't do this if the car isn't sitting out in the parking lot of the title office and the keys to it are about in my hands.

In my opinion, a car is such a big purchase that it is worth taking the time and spending the money to go get it in person no matter where it is, even if all you're doing at that end is seeing it loaded onto a truck for shipment back to your home. It's worth it for the peace of mind.

MDchanic

Isn't a person who sells things that aren't his called a "fence"?

- Eric

jaunty75

Another thing I always do when paying by cashier's or bank check is to have the bank make the check payable to the order of the seller OR me. In other words, it says right on the Pay to the Order of Line "John Doe or James Smith" where I'm James Smith and the seller is John Doe. The "or" is important as it can be cashed by either him or me. This way, if I get to where the seller is and, for some reason, the sale doesn't go through, I can turn right around and put the money back in my bank account, and I don't need the sellers signature on the check to do so.

If you don't have the check made out this way and the sale falls through, I'm guessing there is a way to get your money back, but remember that when you have the bank issue you a cashier's check drawn on your account, the money is removed immediately from your account so that the bank has the funds to pay the check when it is cashed. As I say, I'm sure there is a mechanism to get the money back into your account if you took the uncashed check back to the bank, but I always thought it would be easier and simpler to do it the way I do. You don't need the bank's help at all this way.

jaunty75

Only if the things he's selling are stolen.

Gary's 2 442-S

I agree with you on that. This car was on E bay and I wanted it but got out bidded at the last moment. I contacted the seller myself yesterday just to see if the transaction had completed and he informed me that the person who won the car, backed out. That doesn't surprise me one bit. I hear that all the time. I will be calling him shortly with an offer and wanted to check with you guys first on how some of you might have handle a purchase outside PAY PAL because I have never done so. I just don't feel good about sending funds to someone who I have never met. The car is about 1,000 miles from me.

66luvr

Another thing to fear along that line, after they get the money they rob parts off the car before sending it.
You know the answer without it being pointed out.
If you are uneasy with the whole process of paying then relying on the seller to do the right thing, you have to go get it, or send someone who you trust to act in your behalf.


Mike

Professur

I've got no horse in this race, but be warned that Ebay owns Paypal. Buying it this way may well violate Ebay rules and paypal may tell you to get stuffed if you try to make any claim. One other thing ... you've no proof at all that this guy still has the car in the first place. A transaction like this ... I'd make the trip out to close the deal in person. Just too many different things setting off warning bells for me to do otherwise. Since you have to organize some way to get it home in the first place ... if you don't trust the guy already where sending the money is concerned, who were you trusting to ensure the car's shipped? Lots of warning bells.

jaunty75

It's not a violation if the auction is over. gh5168 says that the auction ended and he contacted the buyer to see if the sale went through. Anything he and the seller do now is outside of the ebay system, and ebay's rules are not relevant. The seller IS allowed to sell his car any way he likes, and the buyer is allowed to contact him.

The sale wouldn't be going through the ebay payment system, anyway, so no ebay protections would come into play. He could still use Paypal to pay for this or anything, and Paypal's protections that apply to anyone who uses their system would still apply.

MDchanic

Road trip!!

- Eric

Gary's 2 442-S

thanks everyone for the input. Got a chance to talk with the seller we are tying to work out something with Pay Pal. That car is located in Indiana and travelling there this time of the year could be dangerous. The guy said it was 19 and had snow. I am ok with Pay Pal. I will post if we make a deal/sale.

bassinguy

My son and I drove with a trailer 9 hrs one way to get a car. He saw it on CL . Just from talking to the guy he bought the car pretty much sight unseen. We took cash and drove up and got it To tell you the truth, we were both uneasy traveling that far with that much money to somewhere that we did no t know. Everything went well, but did not feel better until we were on the interstate on the way home.

jaunty75

How about traveler's checks? I bought a car that way once. I brought $4,000 in traveler's checks with me. It was actually the seller's idea as I, like you, would have been nervous carrying that much cash with me. I was in Ohio at the time, and the car was in Florida. I think I had forty $100 checks. It was a lot of signing my name when the time came to give him the money, but I got through it.

Ran through three pens.

jaunty75

Are you saying that Indianans are tougher than Texans? Good heavens!

C'mon, 19 degrees and snow is what we call winter. Get up there and get the car already!

jensenracing77

Where at in Indiana?

I sold a car to a guy in PA. He paid me $500 on pay pal to show he was serious. After that we did a money transfer from his bank to mine. Went VERY easy with no problems at all. The only information they needed was the info on your check and that is already available to anyone that gets a check from you.

Gary's 2 442-S

Lol, its about 70 here right now

Gary's 2 442-S

The sale wouldn't be going through the ebay payment system, anyway, so no ebay protections would come into play. He could still use Paypal to pay for this or anything, and Paypal's protections that apply to anyone who uses their system would still apply.[/QUOTE]

I really like what Juanty75 says here. Sorry guys I just don't trust anyone with 9k and get screwed. The guy told me the other buyer back out because they had to pay Indiana sales tax. I thought that was strange since he was in another state, but the seller is a dealer and says has he has to collect Indiana sales tax. We are working with that also.

bassinguy

Good thing pens are cheap

WTony

Pay through paypal and pay the payment with your credit card. 2 reasons. 1st, paypal doesnt protect you when purchasing auto's. 2nd, if the car never ships or disappears when your shipper gets there to pick it up, you can file a dispute through your credit card, paypal HAS to send the funds back to the card it the dispute is settled in your favor. If you never get the car, you will win the dispute. Its called a chargeback to the seller and they will take the funds back from him.

I just sold my 68 convertible to a guy in LA and he paid through paypal AND paid the fees for his protection. I being the nervous person I am, went to paypal and did a LOT of reading on protection, scams and payment types.

bassinguy

I really like what Juanty75 says here. Sorry guys I just don't trust anyone with 9k and get screwed. The guy told me the other buyer back out because they had to pay Indiana sales tax. I thought that was strange since he was in another state, but the seller is a dealer and says has he has to collect Indiana sales tax. We are working with that also.[/QUOTE]
We just bought a car from Indiana a few moths back from a private party. We did not pay any tax. We live in Missouri. We had to pay a sales tax in Missouri when we registered it.

oldspackrat

None of my business, but where in Indiana? I try to keep an eye on all Oldsmobile sales in my "territory".

jaunty75

I think this is the norm for private sales. I bought a car in Ohio last summer and drove it back to New Mexico. I paid $18 to the Ohio DMV office to get a temporary (30-day) "drive-away" tag. When I got back home and registered the car, I paid New Mexico sales tax on the purchase price.

I believe that that seller who backed out because he would have to pay Indiana sales tax should not have because, if he pays sales tax at the point of purchase for one reason or another, he should not have to pay sales tax again when he goes to title and register the car in his home state. Just show your receipt to the DMV people when you are titling your car that shows you paid sales tax when you bought the car.

Unless this buyer lives in a state that does not charge sales tax, he is going to have to pay sales tax one way or the other. It seems silly to lose a car over this. Taxes are a fact of life, and you build their cost in for anything you do.

bassinguy

I am sorry. I should have told you it was a 1966 nova. I can.t recall the town.

Gary's 2 442-S

Hey Scott,

The Guys name is Ron. He is with Vails Classic Cars in Greenfield. I talked to him today for a long time. Says he has had the car for about 10 yrs. Says a customer brought it to him and never came back for it. He has not done anything to it and now wants it gone. He is primarily a Mustang guy but told me that he had several Classics from some of the guys you plays anything about him. He has agreed to do the deal thru Paypal. Do you know anything about him before I complete his deal. You and I have done business before with some parts and I hope he is as good as you. by the way its the 68 442 Convertible that was on EBay about 3 weeks ago.

Gary

1970cs

I agree on the tax part. I bought an 87 442 out of Indiana at a small car dealer and paid the sales tax here in Michigan when I registered it. I also drove it back with out a plate! In Michigan you have 72 hrs. to drive it, but you must have the receipt on hand to show that it was purchased within the last 72 hrs.

True that you will pay the tax on it one way or the other unless as stated above that there is no sales tax in your state which appears to be a minimum of 6.25 to 8.25% depending on the city? Indiana rate is 7%.

Pat

Indy_68_S

Not Scott ! ....But... I know Vails in Greenfield. They've been there a long time and fairly well regarded in the Ford community. They do nice restorations and focus on Mustangs & T-Birds but will do just about anything if the price/conditions are right. They did some nice work on my dad's old '70s T-Bird...

MDchanic

1. If he's a dealer, why can't he just take a credit card, or a bank transfer?

2. If you are in a given state, and you pay money in that state to buy something from someone else who is in that state, then you owe sales tax on it, plain and simple.

If you are in a state away from home, walk into a store, and buy something, but have them ship it to your home state, you still owe sales tax, because you bought it in that state (Tiffany's got in trouble for this).

If a seller from another state is visiting your state (as in an auto flea market, let's say), then you owe sales tax to the state you are both in right now.

If you buy a car out of state and pay sales tax on it, you can generally present the receipt when you register it in your home state, and your home state will discount the amount of sales tax you owe by the amount you paid the other state.



Awwwwww... Isn't that precious.

19° is the daily high, and snow is what you see instead of dirt and grass from December through April.

- Eric

oldcutlass

I would make sure he has a clear title, have him scan it and email it to you before you send any cash.