How to handle an out of state sale of your car..

[yoda888]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but since I'm selling to purchase an NSX, I figured it might be! :biggrin:

So it looks like I have an out of state buyer for my M3. However, it's someone of a unique situation I think. Here's how it breaks down:
-buyer is in Texas
-I'm in CA
-buyer comes up to CA about 1x a month, but won't be here for another month
-buyer is going to have his buddy meet me, pay me, and take the car to Sac (where the buyer is when he's in CA -- about 2hrs north of me in the bay area)

So, after all that, how do we:
-handle the paperwork? I know we don't need smog for it, but who signs the paperwork when the car is picked up? The buyer won't be there, his friend will be.
-how should I be paid? Most people say cashier's check, but those can be forged too. NOrmally if it was a local sale, i'd say we head down to the bank and do it, or I can call and confirm funds. I guess I could have him wire it into my account directly? Paypal, but the fees would suck and he could dispute the charges later too! hahaha
-what else needs to be done or I need to consider?

Hopefully I won't have seller's remorse!

Now all you guys looking for NSXs will have another competitor! :tongue:

 

[Teej]

I'm not in CA, but I believe all you need is certified funds and you can sign the title over. Everything else is pretty much the buyers problem once he gets the car back in TX.

Take insurance off your vehicle, buyer will probably need to already have insurance on the vehicle before picking it up. Also be careful. I have heard of similar transactions that almost always end up being fraudulent in some way shape or form. Even if your financial institution calls to verify funds.

I mean, a guy you don't know (and normally wouldn't) wants to buy your car, but he is sending a different person to hand you the funds? So this person can drive just 2 hours away and meet the actual buyer? Have you even met your buyer?

 

[shawn110975]

he hands you cashiers check you drive with him to the bank deposit it and or cash the check hand him the title that your signed over.

the person you handed the title to doesnt need to sign it

your done.

if there are issues with the title then the guy that has the car needs to call you to fix it.

 

[Mike O]

Cash or wire transfer. Cash is always good, and once someone wires the funds to your bank account and your bank says the funds have been received, the money is good. Cashier's checks can be stopped or can be fake.

 

[Soap]

I just bought a mini cooper out of state. I brought cash to the seller, the seller signed the title over to me and away I drove off. I would also make a bill of sale and sign it put your name the amount for the car the date and time and any other particulars you want on there and have the "friend" sign in in place of the buyer. Then your covered, I believe.
My insurance covered my newly aquired car for 14 days no questions asked to the higher rated policy that I have on my other cars. Monday morning I called the insurance company and everything was taken care of and went to the tag office to cover everything else with the title and registration.
my $0.02

 

[Nefarious]

Last vehicle I sold was to a guy from Tennessee and I'm in Oklahoma. We went to the bank and had them draft up a bill of sale for me, verified the funds, then I signed over the title. This gave us a public place with security, allowed proof of valid funds and a receipt to the buyer and one for my records.

 

[yoda888]

Ugh the problem is the buyer isn't going to be present.

Yes, I'm leery of even a cashier's check to tell you the truth. Those can easily be forged nowadays. I guess I can ask him to wire the money into my account. I'll call the banks tomorrow and see what info is needed.

Also, he CA you need the buyer to sign the paperwork as well. This releases you from liability on the car. I'm just wondering how we would go about doing that since the person picking up the car is different than the person buying the car. Once I'm paid, I don't want a liability issue for the car.

 

[Sulley]

Go to the CA DMV site, it tells you what is needed.

You sign the title, put in the odometer reading and fill out a release of liability.
You only need the buyers name and address for that. Bill of sale. I think they have one on the website.

As far as I can tell, you don't need him to sign anything.

No smog stuff since it's leaving the state.

Getting the money, that's a whole other problem. If he really wants the car, I think he could manage to get down to your location. Heck, I flew to Denver to finish the deal on mine and then drove it home.

Hope it works out,

Sulley

 

[Hapa88]

For the money situation, get CASH and CASH only, unless he does money at the same exact bank you do (buyers Bank of America account to your Bank of America account.. etc)

Wire transfers, cashiers checks, money orders, verified funds and all that stuff can be easily forged, especially between different banks.
Keep in mind that even though they might give you a cashiers check and it "cashes" fine.. you don't actually have to funds until the check CLEARS which is 4 days later!! By then the guy is long gone with your car.

Do all your business in CASH and invest in one of these.. (i bought mine at a Office supply store.. 3 pack for $10 or something)

 

[sidwac]

Ugh the problem is the buyer isn't going to be present.

Yes, I'm leery of even a cashier's check to tell you the truth. Those can easily be forged nowadays. I guess I can ask him to wire the money into my account. I'll call the banks tomorrow and see what info is needed.

Also, he CA you need the buyer to sign the paperwork as well. This releases you from liability on the car. I'm just wondering how we would go about doing that since the person picking up the car is different than the person buying the car. Once I'm paid, I don't want a liability issue for the car.

Couple of thoughts for you:

1. Could ask the seller for their home address. Ask the person buying the car on the sellers behalf to provide copies of the seller drivers license and credit card/debit card, AND, a copy of their most recent electric/gas bill.

2. Is the seller willing to transfer money to the person acting on behalf of the seller. Maybe a relative or friend. Could this person then pay you for the car versus directly from a cashiers check that may be forged.

3. Get the same information as in #1 from the person representing the seller.

4. Prepare an informal bill of sale (in addition to the DMV documents) that outlines how the transaction is to be/will be executed.

5. Go with the person acting on behalf of the seller's bank to get a cashiers check. That way you know it is not forged. Or use/do a wire transfer with this person.

6. Fill out the DMV documents ASAP and send in to show you no longer have possession/ownership of the car.

If things don't add up then walk. Use your gut and red flag signs of a problem. Good luck. siD

 

[yoda888]

I just talked to the guy that's going to pick up the car.

His friend (the buyer) has already wired the funds to him. The guy picking up the car was planning on getting me a cashier's check. I chatted him and indicated that BofA is his bank. Which works for me since I use BofA as well, so I can just go with him to see him get the cashier's check and deposit it right away. Can verify the funds that way right away.

Once that's done, I can just give him the title to the car. Send the "release of liability to DMV" to get me off the hook. Thought I suspect with CA DMV, who knows how long it will take them. They're months behind from what I understand. I'll make a photocopy prior to sending it in.

Thanks everyone! But feel free to continue giving me tips that hasn't been discussed or I hadn't thought about.

 

[Aluminsx]

I guess it boils down to how you feel (in your gut) about the buyer (although a good con artist can make you feel warm and fuzzy). The cashiers check thing would worry me because there are a bunch of scams going on with them these days as does the third party "friend" thing. When I bought my NSX I flew from New York to Indiana, paid, and, with the agreement of the seller, left the car there for a couple of months until the weather was more agreeable to drive the car home. I had insurance on it and it was garaged out in Indiana (I was in the process of building a garage). Would that be an option for you? Have the guy pay and leave the car with you while the check officially clears?

I guess the bottom line is you should feel 100% confident that the sale in legitimate. If not don't go through the transaction.

 

[rbilder]

Be cautious.

I purchased my NSX from NV and I live in NE.

Cash is best, but like in my case, I wasn't comfortable walking around with close to $30k on my person, meeting somebody at an airport I had never met.

I could have been robbed somewhere along the line and been out, what to me is a very large sum of money.

On the buyers side, he was leary of forged money orders and certified checks. Which is rightfully so, also.

Our best bet would have been if we both banked at the same bank. We could have gone to the bank and just cashed a check and had it clear.

In my case, I gave him a certified check for the car. He gave me a bill of sale and the DMV transit paperwork. He kept the title of the car until the check cleared. Then mailed me the title.

In my case I purchased the car from a private party, but he worked at the Honda dealership, so he had access to all the legitimate paperwork.

With him working at the dealership and our doing the transaction there, I was comfortable in the process.

Good luck... there are lots of scammers out there, so one does have to be careful.

 

[larrynsx]

If the buyer is banking with B of A and so do you, just go to any B of A's branch, watch him buying the cashier check from the teller to ensure it is real, and then deposit it right into your account while you are there. The cashier check should cleared in your account immediately since you both are B of A account holder.

 

[sidwac]

If the buyer is banking with B of A and so do you, just go to any B of A's branch, watch him buying the cashier check from the teller to ensure it is real, and then deposit it right into your account while you are there. The cashier check should cleared in your account immediately since you both are B of A account holder.

+1.....this should significantly reduce your risk.

 

[yoda888]

Quick update...

So I took the name of the buyer and Googled/LinkedIn it. His name is unique enough that I would not run into 500 people with the same name. Seems to check out. I also googled his email address as well.

I then the same to his friend (person picking up the car) and it looks good as well.

Picked up the "driver" from the airport today. Then swapped seats and let him drive the car home to test drive it and check it out. Went to the bank (we use the same bank), and basically said, we want to transfer money from one account to the other. Swipe my ATM card, he swipes it, bam! Done! I was surprised how fast that process was.

Came home, filled out the paperwork. Loaded all the stock parts into the car, and shook hands.

I just checked online, the "payment" is "processing" per the bank. I called and they said the funds are there with no hold. The processing will go away by tomorrow. (I guess they need to run some batch or something, so 1980s).

So I'll have another update tomorrow.

 

[Teej]

Sounds like the perfect situation... being able to find him and the other guy online was good too. It wouldn't have been 100% bad had you NOT found them, but some pre-validation always helps. So thumbs up to that.

Given your breakdown of the transaction, I think you should feel safe that everything is what it appears to be. Congrats on a successful transaction.

 

[yoda888]

Yeah, I have to say, the ATM card swipes was really straight forward. We both had to put our PINs in to validate our cards. So even if he had a stolen one, he would have had to know the PIN. Plus the teller asked him "which account, blah blah blah."

And I said "it's NOT going to me from him, the other way around!" Then I mentioned if it was the other way around it would be NSF. :biggrin:

What would have been funny is if I had the guy get me cash. And then I turn around and deposit it right away. I think the bank would be pissed! :tongue:

I would actually recommend it this way for others in the future if possible. Of course, I still need the "processing" status to go away.:wink:

Now onto NSX hunting! (I texted my wife a picture of the empty garage, and she responded back with "Time to get a mini cooper!" )

 

[NSX2398]

Although this thread is from the perspective of the seller not the buyer, I decided that due to the excellent advice, I'd create a Wiki page in the Buying an NSX section that points to it.

 

[Soap]

I would say from how everything went it couldnt have gone any better! Two thumbs up on the postive experience two thumbs down on the empty garage with no NSX. happy hunting