what's the best way to secure a transaction.

[D111]

anyone know a good way to secure a long-distance transaction.

[redmt]

Originally Posted by D111

anyone know a good way to secure a long-distance transaction.

Purchasing a car from an out-of-state seller who has a bank note on the vehicle. He needs me to pay the bank off so we can get the title. But I would like to secure the situation so if I wired the money to the bank I am ensured of getting the title signed and to me without me going there

Florida is supposedly a paperless state and the actual title is not generated yet until the bank is paid off and then motor vehicle will generate a title?

then I'm having the vehicle ship up to me.

I'm just trying to avoid physically going there.

If you do it in person you can hammer out any issues right there on the spot. There is no way I'd release funds without immediate paperwork transfer. Unless the seller is a relative , you could be paying off a car for somebody you'll never see again.

[D111]

..........

[PANAVIA]

you have a very big down side on this D' --whats the up side >? are you getting an incredible deal >?

[D111]

I would think there must be some other way.

[PDUB]

It's been a while since I did this, but if I remember correctly (no guarantees;-) he signs a form/letter and faxes it to the bank to release his claim, the title goes from the bank to you with their release of lien to you. You register car in your state with title... though I registered mine in FL.

Call the bank... they deal with this all the time. They'll tell you how to do it.

Where abouts in FL is it?

Good luck

[D111]

I'm also having an issue with the vin number when I try to do a Carfax it comes up incorrect. I am going right off a copy of his vehicle registration.

[JST4FUN]

D111, this one seems way too complicated given bank lein payoff, no title until payoff, not sure about applicability of Carfax on these cars, just probably way more possible pitfalls on this one than I would want. Given it still seems to be a buyers market, and there are a number of great deals on Cobra Country and Club Cobra For Sale as well, unless this one is a once in a lifetime deal, I would probably keep looking. My guess is you won't have to look too far! Most probably will have clear titles!

Just my $0.02...good luck!

[digginfool]

D, I know it sounds complicated but it isn't that bad. However, because of the distance, it requires a huge amount of trust. It might be worth an overnight trip to get it right. Small beans for the security, especially for the amount of money at stake. If I have been following this correctly, you bought the silver Backdraft in Boca? I had decided to pull the trigger on it and he said he had sold it that day. That's when you started asking all your questions about transferring a car from Florida. If you decide to give up, tell the guy to get in touch with me.

[Roscoe]

Why don't you have a third party hold the car in escrow? Local car dealer? Club Cobra member?

Roscoe

[D111]

turns out the bank does have a way of doing it.

And I believe the Vin number compatibility with Carfax problem is common with these vehicles.

and it is about trust and the seller seems stellar

[computerworks]

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[JST4FUN]

D111, if it's the silver BDR from Boca on Cobra Country, that does look like a good car at a good price.....don't suspect Carfax is an issue, gets back to trust and sounds like you got that covered. I guess I did that when I bought mine but I did go see it first, left a deposit, wired the balance a couple days later and had it shipped...all went well! I know it's hard to trust sometimes in today's world, especially when $$ is involved......enjoy the car! These things are one heck of a ride!

[madmaxx]

When I did it I had the sellers title transferred to my name before I wired the money. I actually went to the courthouse. That being said trust nobody, there is no pride, honesty or integrity left in the world. He dont have it paid off and he wants to sell I would have the car in my driveway then I would go to his bank with him and get the title and then he would get the money. You pay for the plane ticket he pays shipping of the car. He dont want to do it, sell it to someone else. No title and YOU DO NOT OWN THE CAR!!!!!!!!!!!.

[trularin]

Guy purchased an engine from me from Germany. Used Western Union.

It is secure and immediatly negotiable ( within reason ).

Just suggesting an option here.

[4RE KLR]

The bank does have means for doing this. As a former Banker, we did this type of transaction all the time.

Contact the bank, verify payoff. Speak with a human being, and get a name. Tell him/her the car owner will be calling them. Then have the owner contact them and release the title "subject to" payoff of a specific amount by a specific day.

If you are happy with the details of the purchase, have your bank wire transfer the funds to the sellers bank to be credited to the seller "Subject to" release of the title and ownership of the vehicle to you (or your bank if their is a lien).

I would suggest you going to your bank and borrowing $1,000 or $2,000 on the car, let them take the responsibility of the transfer of the paperwork. When they get the paperwork clear, payoff the note. This is the cleanest way to do it and your bank will make damn sure you get the correct paperwork. This route would also save you the $50.00 wire transfer fee.

[AZ Shelby]

Have an attorney escrow the funds and the paperwork. The fees to do it aren't that expensive. If the parties don't agree to it then there is usually something fishy.

[tcrist]

If it were me, I would take the flight to Florida and walk into the bank that holds the title with the seller & finalize the deal right there on the spot. If you can't bring the car back right then, negotiate the storage with possibly a CC member in the area (not the seller and not someone that he/she knows) and have a transporter come pick it up from there. Take as many pictures of the car as you can to insure that it is in the same shape when you receive it at home.

Just a thought.

[twobjshelbys]

I went through this for my Mustang. He was going to wire me the funds and I'd send him the title but I felt much more comfortable with this process. He just happened to be in Florida. Note there was no lien in this transaction.

He was already having a dealer purchase on his behalf. There can be advantages to doing it this way especially if another sale is involved - it looks like a trade in and can significantly reduce sales tax which in CO is computed on the difference.

So I went to a local guy who does consignments and asked him what he would do. What we did was I brought the title to the local guy. Signed it to the buyer and left it with him. He told the buyer that he was in possession and the wire transfer happened within an hour. Once the funds were in my account I told my local guy and he FedEx'd the signed title and other papers that day. If the deal had fallen through I still had the car and the title (as a piece of scrap paper) which the DMV will reissue as an original if the spoiled one is returned. He charged me a whopping $200. (The car did stay at my house for another 3 days while the shipper came but it was his - he had the title.)

Basically, a third party acts as an intermediary Most car dealers will provide this service.

[slider701]

Has anyone ever used www.escrow.com ?

They look legit and fairly straight forward, and is recommended by eBay, Cars.com, and autotrader.com

Looks like a $50K transaction would cost less than $500.