[Sham001]

Is it safe to Wire Transfer money to a seller when buying a car listed here on the forum?

[Aragorn]

Will you have the car and title in hand? If not then it does not sound safe.

[Sham001]

The seller wants the money wired because he is concerned that once the buyer takes possession of his car, there is a chance the buyer can call his bank and ask to halt the cashier's check/certified check and get away with the car....seller has emailed me the copy of the title with a 10 day pay off letter from his bank.

[ex-SS-ve]

I deal with this all the time with $350k+ cars. Key is to have everything in writing and notarized. As long as he is straight forward it shouldnt be an issue. Feel shoot a message if you have any questions.

[Jsreo]

Originally Posted by Aragorn

Will you have the car and title in hand? If not then it does not sound safe.

This, if you have car and title I would go to your bank with the seller and do the transfer there.

Never wire money before you have possession of whatever it is that you are buying, that is one of the most frequently used scams

[Petrol Head]

Originally Posted by ex-SS-ve

I deal with this all the time with $350k+ cars. Key is to have everything in writing and notarized. As long as he is straight forward it shouldnt be an issue. Feel shoot a message if you have any questions.

I watch Chasing Classic Cars on Motor Trend (previously Velocity) all the time. If you're a car guy you've probably watched it but for those who haven't the guy the show centers around is Wayne Carini and his classic car restoration shop in Portland, Conneticut. He buys, sells, and restores classic cars. Many times he's mentioned calling his bank to wire the funds to the seller after agreeing on a deal. When both parties are trustworthy it's the easiest way to pay for a large purchase. You normally don't write personal checks for high dollar amounts, and as in Wayne's case he's often in areas of the country where the bank he uses for business may not have a branch anwyhere near so getting a cashier check may be difficult/not possible at that time.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by Jsreo

Never wire money before you have possession of whatever it is that you are buying, that is one of the most frequently used scams

Agree. This is absolutely a red flag. Your bank will probably tell you as much.

[jamala00]

This happens all the time. (People wiring money for the purchase of a vehicle) I actually just did this to purchase my Camaro. It was a private seller in MI and I'm in WI. I had to have the car shipped too. He did not send me the title until he verified the money was wired into his account. It's a trust thing. If you were a seller would you send someone the title to your car signed before receiving payment? If you don't feel comfortable then don't do it. Since you are posting this on here, I'm assuming you don't feel comfortable. My credit union tried to also stop me from doing it. I talked to the seller for over an hour all about the car. I looked him up on many sites. I was 100% comfortable with wiring him the funds to buy the car. He sent the title the same day after the funds were in his account. Then I lined up shipping. No issues at all. Not everything is a SCAM and yes, it pays to do your homework. Matter of fact I actually still keep in touch with the seller. He'a car guy, I'm a car guy.

[nancygrl]

If you're close enough, go check out the car and meet the seller.

[CTS]

i sold a car (in Michigan) to a realtor in Wis. via wire transfer. He sent his agent and met me at my bank. A bank officer (loan VP) acted as facilitator. We went for a test drive, he took photo of clear title and sent it to buyer in Wis. He in turn had the money wired to my bank and about 15 min later the bank person told me sign the title (she was holding on to it) the money is here and here is a passbook to the account. I did nothing and the bank charged me a $20 wire transfer fee.

One thing the bank person advised me was to not use a current account to have the money wired to just as a precaution hence they opened a new acct.

[c4racer]

I have done it a few times - once as a seller, once as a buyer - previously I had always used cashiers checks. The money actually clears faster with a wire. I recommend it. But agree the key is to have a bill of sale and the wire transfer details documented and notarized. Most bank branches have a notary so they can set this all up at once. It's best to both be in person, but that's not always feasible. I was sweating bullets when the buyer drove off in my car before the $37K showed up in my account - but sure enough it was there within a few hours. Do it early in the day if possible - cutoff time is somewhere 11AM-1PM on the west coast depending on bank.

[pauly1119]

I would only accept a wire transfer as well. I have sold cars on the Camaro5 forum this way. Make sure its a person that had been around a while.

[Silveradoss573]

My wife and i have a seperate account setup only for wire transfers. We keep the bare minimum balance just to keep it open. Then whenever we need make a transaction, we just move the funds needed from our other accounts to that one. Vic-versa when receiving funds. It's just another layer of protection that we use.

[Envious_Ivy1LE]

I personally would just let the seller have a bank explain cashier's checks to them. They aren't as easily 'voidable' as just calling the issuing bank. Along with notarization of intent to purchase, the buyer (in a legitimate transaction turned fraudulent by the buyer) would be in legal trouble for trying to cancel/stop pay a cashier's check they used to purchase something.

It also doesn't go back into your account for 90 days without you bringing in the original cashier's check. I don't expect fraudsters to want to have money tied up this long. A wire on the other hand is instant (from your account at least) and cannot be cancelled or reversed. Cashier's check essentially removes trust from the equation

https://www.thebalance.com/lost-or-s...need-it-315028