Technical Buy car remotely - how to sort out payment?

Don't buy a car without looking at it. I have driven all over the country pulling a car trailer to buy cars. Pulled the trailer home empty about half of the time. Even with pictures the cars were mis represented. The fact that he only wants cash may or may not be a tip off it is not what it seems.

 

If this is a $3500 car, maybe you won't feel bad if it isn't as represented. If it's a $35,000 car, you best find some way to get there, crawl underneath it, drive it and spend some time going over the car carefully. Everything is relative. To some folks, $35, 000 is pocket change. Sadly, I'm not one of those people.....I have a neighbor who just bought a car sight unseen (just pictures in the ad) and had it shipped to him from 3 states away. The car looks great, but it had a host of expensive issues that needed addressing.

 

Do the road trip. Maybe do it as a mini vacation. Even if you go down one day, make the deal and return the next with a couple of kiddo interest stops in there somewhere.
I'm not sure I want to show up at a stranger's place 7-1/2 hours from home with several K in cash on me these days. You are far safer to figure out what banks are in that area and see if a branch of the one you do business is close enough for you to have the seller go with you to the bank, draw the funds out, exchange funds and****le in the bank and have a bank official notarize any papers that may have to be done especially if you are buying a project car that needs to be inspected even if it has a****le. You might even ask the seller if they have local bank close to them that they do business with and check with your bank to make sure that things will go smoothly .

As for bank transfers, a good banker who knows how to make transactions work is a real blessing. That is on both ends.

 

I live in NC. I flew to Kalamazoo and bought a car and drove it home. The last car I bought, 34 Ford was a project car. I borrowed a trailer and drove to New Jersey and bought it. I also made new friends and came home with cars I was happy with.

 

To me it would also depend on the agreed price. A car worth 20k to me is worth the 7 hour drive, 3-4K maybe a wire transfer. Nothing worse than buyer a car and having it misrepresented.

 

I have only agreed to buy one car sight unseen but did fly in and drive it 12 hours home. Every other car I have bought, I drove to look at it first.

 

I’m old school, I want to look at what I buy before the money changes hands. Too many scams and scammers today to be sending money willy nilly anywhere. I know there are thousands of transactions everyday that go fine but that one that doesn’t if it happens to be yours can not only ruin your day it can empty your pockets of hard earned money.

Pics can hide lots of stuff. A good hands on inspection will always turn up unexpected things, sometimes even the seller doesn’t know about.

 

Must have scared the OP off

 

If looking in person, you can also check that the papers are in order.
Like the VIN on the car matching what's written down.

 

NEVER use that, zero recourse if something goes wrong.

 

Isn't that what grandpa and gradmaw are for

 

...hire a baby sitter for the kids, take a buddy along and drive em back

 

Or Paypal friends and family. No recourse with that either.

 

Pay a babysitter or family member to watch the kids, and go get it.

 

Yeah for the amount of hassle of paying someone else to hand over cashI’d get a baby sitter and drive myself. Your chances of a cash only 7 hours away dude taking the money and running is pretty good and you’re gonna have to go down there and get the car anyways . Save a trip and just go down

 

My son was in diapers when I took him on a 900 mile trip to get a 1940 Farmall. His mother left when he was three so both boys grew up with me

 

My oldest is in college and my middle daughter in highschool and they will voluntarily come with me on car buying trips, sometimes 16-18 hours in a truck. I appreciate that they want to hang out with dad!

 

Whut he said........^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Then there is the consideration of getting a****le thats good and getting it changed. Nothing works better than a face to face transaction. I can't count the number of times I have gone to a licensing bureau and they have found some problem that would prevent transferring a vehicle****le. Get it all done while you are there.

 

Do you have friends/family nearby that could watch the kids for a long day? Pay them. That's part of buying the car (included with fuel, tow truck, etc). 15 hour round trip including an hour for inspection. That's a long day, but not unreasonable if you're paying a sitter (or relying on family). This is really your best bet. If you definitely want to buy it (you're willing to send $ without seeing it) then get a sitter and drive out there and get a tow truck to meet you there. Pay, get****le, leave with the car. If you're hiring a transport company that may be difficult. You could get a local truck to haul the car to a storage unit or maybe a local HAMBer will let you store it at their place (for a fee) for a few days while waiting for the shipper.

As for shippers, there are great car haulers on the HAMB, but are often booked for months or only regional. I sold a car and the buyer in IA had it picked up by Montway. Russian driver. Barely spoke English. No issues though. I bought a car in TX. A HAMBer inspected it for me. The seller arranged to have it shipped here, again by Montway. Again, Russian driver who barely spoke English. Wanted to be paid in cash and arrived 2 days early... on a Sunday night when the banks were closed... but no issues otherwise.

 

Also, lots of scams on Facebook, so I would definitely ask someone local to check it out for you if you can't do it yourself.

 

Thanks for all the advice! Really appreciate it.

Buying it unseen seems like less of a problem to me - I could always ask the seller to bring it to a local inspection place and have them confirm it's in good shape. And it would cost $40-50.

I called around to a few local lawyers and dealerships to see if there was a way to wire money to their escrow account and have them oversee the transaction, but no luck there, everybody thought I was a scammer and couldn't wait to hang up. :/

Maybe face to face is the only feasible way then. There are more factors than kids, but maybe I have to find a way to go up there somehow.

Thanks again!

 

What is it? Where is it (no I don't want it)?

 

Find someone to watch your kids.
Put the money in your pocket.
If you don’t have the equipment
then rent it or borrow it.
Go get the car.

Jim

 

"Inspection place"?, what is that?, also, the term "sort it out" is a phrase used in Europe, which may explain why you believe car dealers and lawyers would be willing to act as a go-between in a vehicle transaction. Frankly, the only way to avoid getting royally screwed is to inspect the vehicle in person, pay the man, load up your treasure and head for home.

Before you buy, make sure the****le matches the vehicle serial number plate (if you don't know where the serial numbers are on the vehicle you are buying, look it up on the internet, also, if there are more than one serial number locations on the vehicle, as in one on the body and one on the frame, make sure both numbers match) then take the****le to a local tag agency to make certain it was signed and notarized correctly, while you're there, have them check the computer to make sure the vehicle isn't stolen or has a lien against it, once money changes hands be sure to get a receipt (if you make the transaction at the tag agency you can get the bill of sale properly notarized as well).

Last but not least, before you go, find out what the requirements are in the state you live in as far as licensing a vehicle that is coming from out of state to avoid potential problems.

 

I'd also add that the only car I've ever bought sight unseen has been the biggest mistake of my life. I'm now approaching $40,000 of additional money into the car that "only needs a fuel sender", not to mention 3 years of work to get it here.

 

My preferred method of buying is to tell the seller we will go to the branch of my bank in the nearest town where he will receive the cash or transfer he prefers and then go to the office and transfer the****le. If that makes him balk, I reconsider. That works in my constituency. Nowadays I don’t feel as comfortable rolling up onto an unknown place with a wad of cash in my pocket as I used to. That’s all, because ironically, I have to leave and do a craigslist type of deal with a lady in a white BMW in a lumber store parking lot.

 

Was just on the selling end of a remote sale and the buyer wired the money to my bank. Seems to have worked ok. But, even as a seller, I would rather a buyer see the car in person so there are no surprises.

 

did you finally sell the edsel or buick?

 

he sold Bob the Buick

 

Folding green money and personal inspection are the only safe ways for both buyer and seller to make a transaction. That's the only way I handle large transactions after some expensive lessons in finance. I always advise the seller that I will come look at the vehicle and then go to a bank at his location to withdraw the money. I prefer to make the transfer at that bank or in a populated place. The only time I send money is when its a small enough amount that I can afford to lose it.