I know this may not be the right place to post this, so I'll apologize up front to the site administrator right now, but maybe this post can help other sellers...

I really need some advice by next week. I have have made a deal with someone who wants to buy my car, and they seem legit but they are on the other side of the country and I am REALLY afraid of getting ripped-off (and they answered my ad on Craigslist...). They're willing to buy the car sight unseen, and I'm obviously not going to take a personal check, and I've heard that cashier's checks are now being readily forged, so how can the funds be transferred so that I can be sure I'll get paid? A friend said the money can "be wired" directly to my bank, but what does that mean? Is it something that will require my personal bank info.??? And can it be done quickly? I will not release the damn car until I know the funds are in the bank AND are staying there -- no bounced transfers! And I no longer trust Paypal, since I am already constantly getting fake Paypal spam letters, and I've heard there are fake Paypal "home" sites. so what the hell do I do???

I know that some of you guys have dealt with this before, so anything you can tell me that would help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...!

 

I'd pass on it. Who would actually buy a car without seeing it? I've had the exact same emails before too from craigslist. Just curious, did the email have a lot of weird wording or misspellings? But def. pass on it, it's not worth the risk of getting shafted. Just my .02

 

I have talked to the guy on the phone, and he is also familiar with the car from a forum, and is quite familiar with them in general, so he seems a legit collector. He also seems nervous -- as I am and would be if I were him --- about his gamble in this transaction, as well. The phone number he gave me is unlisted, but I figure if he wires me the cash directly to my bank and it is actually in there --- unlike a personal check or these new fake cashier's checks --- than it won't matter WHO he is...and i'll let his trucking co. pick up the car.

Has anyone else had such a transaction...?

 

Offer him to wire the money to ur account, and hold for 30 days.....Dont spend the money, and in 30 days... Id be more comfortable to do it.... By the ay, "other side of the country" means what???? where are u located and where is he located... Also u can talk to someone (not a teller) at ur bank to figure a "safe" way of doing this....

 

I'm in SoCal... he's in Virginia. I talked to three people at three different branches of my bank (Wells Fargo) and got three slightly --- but importantly --- different answers. The last was from an experienced banker who told me that yes, a wire transfer can be made in just a few hours ----- BUT THE TRANSFERER CAN CALL BACK THE MONEY FOR UP TO 24 HOURS FROM MY (OR YOUR) ACCOUNT!!!! That's a pretty damn important piece of information that the first two bankers left out. You can be damn sure that I'll hold on to the deposit for two days, and then ask five different branches if the money is safe, before I release the car -- and even then I'll immediately transfer the money into another account.


I hope everyone reads this ----- you can't trust anyone these days ---not even your own bank...!!!

 

I sold a car in the same manner as you. What I did is got a substantial portion of the payment as a deposit via cashiers check. I deposited that and waited 3 weeks to ensure it had cleared and he had not recalled it or forged it or anything. I then transferred that money out of my account asap. I then collected the remainder of the payment via cashiers check. I deposited that and made sure everything cleared. I then transferred that money to to a different account. I then released the car to his trucking company. Overall it was a very smooth transaction, but it is defineately a bit unnerving! Defineately do not release the car until you are certain the funds are there and are secure and are not going anywhere. The guy that bought my car also had a pretty well known shop dealing in the specific car I was selling, so that eased my mind a bit as well. Best of luck to you.