Ok, so I'm probably overly paranoid, but a guy is coming in from out of town to buy my Vette on Saturday. I told him to bring cash, but he said he couldn't get that much. I guess I don't blame him, because I wouldn't want to carry around that much cash myself. So he's bringing a cashier's check. I already called his bank, I looked it up the bank myself so I know it's legit and the manager of the bank verified that "said party" did in fact get a cashier's check to cut specifically to my name. I still feel uneasy about giving him the car and then cashing the check on Monday. Am I being overly paranoid or should I just take the check and accept it as good. The only real cashier's checks I like to accept are the ones directly from the bank. Case in point, when someone bought my truck we went to his bank together and the teller handed me the check. This guy has a credit union account that's nowhere around me so that option isn't possible. Thanks for your opinions.
If you know the bank is legit and verified the check was cut then and it's a cashiers check the funds should are locked to that check.......it sucks but thats all you can do.....I did the same thing with my 31' when I sold it and got a cashiers check.....you can only verify so much before you need to trust.
Sounds like you did your home work well enough. When is he going to pick the car up? Do you have time to let him test drive it, by taking the check to your bank? Then you can deposit it, and see if the teller can confirm that everything looks legit...
I would with hold the title until the cashiers check is cashed. Just because he has a cashiers check, does not mean it was not counterfeited. And who is to say that the Branch Manager is not in on the scam? Voice of experience.
Good points, and I am going to most likely withhold the title. He gave me the bank name, phone number, and the lady to talk to. I didn't call that number. Instead, I looked up the bank online, found that it was legit, called the number on their website, and spoke to someone completely different than he suggested. He said to talk to Kathy, I talked to Lindsay. She verified the cashier's check existed.
Ron gave good advice....cashier checks can be voided so they are not 100% risk free.......they only say the funds were available when the check was issued........holding the title will reduce the chance of loss..
I don't think you are being overly paranoid. If anything, you're not paranoid enough. In this day and age, anything is possible. Definitely hold the title till all the funds are in your account. If possible, take it to your bank and have them run all the numbers and call people to verify. Cashiers checks clear faster then personal checks.
don`t do ANYTHING untill the check clears! Sounds kinda fishy to me if you told him to bring cash. When he gets there tell him to go find a room and wait till the check clears, then give em the title and keys Ron deff knows what he is talking about...take his advise!
Hold the title, and call your bank and ask whats the safest way to handle a large cash transaction. I know there is another check beside a cert, but i cant remember whats called.
I can understand not wanting to carry that much cash. But he said he couldn't get it or did he say he didn't want to get that much cash. I'd assume the latter since he got a cashier's check. It is true that if you just walk into a bank, especially a branch and asked to withdraw ten's of thousands in cash they likely wouldn't have it on hand. They usually get what they figure they'll need for the day and brinks ferries it between the branch offices and downtown. You got to call ahead if you want tons of cash or lot's of $100 bills. As above, cashier's checks are not quite "as good as cash". They're better than a personal check since they clear a lot faster. I don't think the charges are the same for counterfeiting a chashier's check as the charges for counterfeiting US currency. I think the best thing to do is tell the guy you're going to hold the title until the check clears. Call your insurance guy. Ask him if you're covered for theft if the check is bad and the guy dissappears with the car. Unfortunately, I think if you still hold the title you might be liable to some extent if the guy drives it through a school bus. If you are liable then your insurance should still cover you. We'll assume the guy has a valid driver's license. On the 2 occassions I sold a car to someone I didn't know, we met in the parking lot at the DMV. Exchanged cash and transfered the title. haha, naturally one of the times they showed up with half cash and half in a personal check ($500) which I figured I'd end up eating but it went through fine.
I have never heard of that....got 15000 grand from my grandfathers will and he lived in a town with 1 stoplight and they cashed it on the spot......all c-notes! Any decent bank in the U.S. will have ATLEAST 100 grand on site. I also got 25000 grand from my local bank 5 years ago on the spot....they just had to count it!
I was talking branch offices. That was the main bank downtown that you went to :bigwink:. If I want more than about $3K in c-notes at my branch I have to call ahead to be sure they're going to have them (usually they got em but they don't want to pass them all out to one person and not have enough left for their business customers). No, I shouldn't be a problem at a main office.
It all sounds good...But a few years ago my old man sold a rolex and took a money order...Low and behold it was a fake...He lost like 9k...Cops could not do anything about it...He never took any info from the buyer...To be safe get a copy of his drivers license,phone number and address...Make sure you get the plate number of vehicle that he drives to you...IF he wont give copy of DL than dont give car...Just my 2cents..I am sure you are safe but always good to be sure you can contact him..
Thanks guys for all your input. Well, the "fishy-ness" of the situation is pretty worn off. The gentleman showed up yesterday from Montana. He took a train all the way out and is driving it home. He's legitimately from where he said he's from (especially since I called the bank to verify the check was in fact cut.) When he called yesterday I explained to him "I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but I really want to do the transaction at the bank on Monday and have them verify the validity of the check." His response, "no problem, I understand." No argument, getting upset, or any "hey, I'll give you more if you take it now," BS. He completely understands and is willing to wait in a hotel room until tomorrow so we can go to the bank. I saw the checks (yes, he cut multiple just in case he didn't want to pay what I was asking, since it's site un-seen I understand. I'd do the same thing.) They look fine. He's fully willing to give me a copy of his driver's license and insurance card. I would think if someone was trying to scam me, they'd be insistant on doing things their way, and not mine. Thanks, Sincerely, The Overlyparanoidguy
Well, not necessarily but it all sounds pretty good. Sounds like everything is legit. Did you google the guy's name?
All well and good.. do as you plan go to the bank on Monday and do the transaction there. Calling the bank was a god idea as well. But let your bank do the calling and get the transaction in place so one does not go down the street and move his money out of the account your MO was drawn upon. RE: getting a copy of license or other personal info.. that is good as well. I will not tell you how may times we have dumped a persons ID and located multiple real ID's as well... this is not to cast dispersion upon anyone, but just a matter of doing business now a days... Being he is willing to spend an extra day and appears to not be to concerned about your wanting to validate the drafts sounds like he is not trying to rip you off. Good luck with the sale...
