Author Topic: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party  (Read 2253 times)

maustache

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Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« on: July 19, 2019, 05:48:53 PM »
We needed a car and I found one on Facebook Marketplace in our town for a fair price. My husband and I checked it out and decided to get it, we're going back tomorrow. The owners are reliable (a police officer and his wife who live in our town). How should we pay for it? I was going to pay with cash, but read somewhere it's better to pay through PayPal or a check so that there is a record. As long as we do a bill of sale, is that enough? Never done this before and neither has the seller. I've searched the Internet but haven't been able to find an answer. What do most people do?

Wrenchturner

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2019, 05:53:39 PM »
Cash.  Payment systems are annoying and slow.

Raenia

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2019, 05:56:16 PM »
Cash is fine.  You will have a record from when the two of you go to the notary/tag+title place and transfer the title, pay the sales tax (if applicable in your state), and get your plates+registration switched over.

maustache

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2019, 05:58:10 PM »
OK, thank you!

pdxvandal

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2019, 09:59:29 PM »
Cashier's check from a bank. Costs maybe $5. I've bought cars this way as well as with cold-hard cash.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2019, 03:10:40 AM »
Cash , just obviously get a receipt that says you paid in cash

rothwem

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2019, 05:52:48 AM »
Cashier's check from a bank. Costs maybe $5. I've bought cars this way as well as with cold-hard cash.

This. 50 hundreds for a $5k car is a stack of money.  Meet them at either your bank or the sellers, since most banks offer notary services to get the title signed over easily.

terran

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2019, 06:51:13 AM »
I can only say that as a seller I would only accept cash. Or a check, in which case we would be meeting at the buyer's bank and I would be cashing the check immediately before handing over the signed title. I would only go for the second option if it was a more expensive car with a reasonable expectation that any buyer would need to get a loan to buy the car.

Bernard

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #8 on: July 21, 2019, 01:55:24 PM »
I've calculated that I spent about $37,500,000.00 on used cars in my lifetime, as I'm co-owner of a classic car dealership in Southern California. The only time I do not use cash is when I buy a car that's too far away to look at, in which case I do a bank wire transfer. That's as safe as it get. Otherwise, cash is king, always, and almost all sellers want cash, and cash only. Since I have often up to $100,000 cash on me, I also carry a concealed firearm.
If the car you are buying is rather expensive, and you do not feel comfortable to have a large amount of cash on you, you could also suggest to meet at your bank and have them issue him a cashier's check in his presence.

SwitchActiveDWG

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2019, 07:04:44 AM »
Cashiers check, make sure there's a paper trail for everything.

Syonyk

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2019, 08:22:02 AM »
A cashier's check is only a valid option if you're literally watching them pull it from their bank and it's handed directly to you.  They're easy enough to forge if you don't have continuity from bank clerk to your hands.

Cash is king, and remains so for even larger purchases.

Just Joe

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2019, 11:58:00 AM »
I pay cash for low cost used vehicles. For cars beyond a chosen threshold I use a cashier's check. Last time i bought a used car I had the seller meet me at the bank and handed him a casher's check. He saw it being issued so he knew it was real. Online I've held vehicles until wired money or cashier's checks cleared (a week last time I did this). Didn't want the car to be gone and have the bank tell me that the check wasn't any good afterall.

FWIW I live in a state (among several) that has seized cash money from people on their way to purchase pricey things. State claims that it was suspicious and possibly drug dealing money. Private citizen then has to use a lawyer and sue to get it returned. I have no idea how common this is.

RedmondStash

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2019, 12:07:50 PM »
I've used cashier's checks, both as seller and buyer. Always at my bank, though I would go to a branch of the seller's bank instead. Check handed directly to the buyer by the clerk.

I have sometimes used cash, but I'm generally uncomfortable carrying that much cash on my person. Cashier's check relieves that worry.

MilesTeg

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Re: Best Way to Pay for a Used Car from a Private Party
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2019, 12:12:43 PM »
Carrying that much cash can get your money seized by a cop if you get stopped with pretty much no recourse in many states, because of forfeiture laws. (look it, up, it's crazy).

Just go to a bank with the seller /w cashier's check and make use of the bank's notary.