Cobra purchase question

[azfordman]

Does anyone have any experience with surety bonds when purchasing a cobra out of state? I have found a car at a price that I am willing to buy sight unseen from another member here on Club Cobra. The "smart" thing to do would be to fly to the east coast and handle the transaction face to face, but I would like to avoid that if possible. As much as I trust this person, I want to be "safe" and not just send a cashiers check and trust I will get the car..... Any help would be appreciated! Mark

[snakebitekit]

"trust, but verify."

[RodKnock]

There are escrow companies, but it also depends on the club member. I would definitely trust some club members more than others.

[Got the Bug]

You might want to check with some of the reputable car transport services (intercity) to see if they can handle the transaction after loading the car.

Cobra Transport

Sent you a PM as well.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by azfordman

Does anyone have any experience with surety bonds when purchasing a cobra out of state? I have found a car at a price that I am willing to buy sight unseen from another member here on Club Cobra. The "smart" thing to do would be to fly to the east coast and handle the transaction face to face, but I would like to avoid that if possible. As much as I trust this person, I want to be "safe" and not just send a cashiers check and trust I will get the car..... Any help would be appreciated! Mark

The cost to ensure that you do not get fleeced by using a mechanism other than flying out to the east coast will cost more than simply flying out to the east coast. Don't be "pound foolish" on this one.

[azfordman]

So I should be looking for an escrow company....that helps. I was hoping there were some local members who had dealt with local (Arizona) companies with something like this. I have heard good things about Stewart Transport out of Phoenix, I'll see if they can handle a transaction like this. I trust Nick (mickmate) 100%, but there is that little voice of reason that says to be safe with this amount of money!

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by azfordman

So I should be looking for an escrow company....that helps.

You realize, of course, that involves negotiating an escrow agreement. What happens if the car is delivered to you and you're not happy? What does the escrow agent do? Who pays to ship the car back? What if the seller refuses to take the car back? And so on....

[RodKnock]

Patrick can be the bad your "Bad Mark" and I'll be your "Good Mark."

Does the Nick have an eBay rating, though not a iron clad guarantee, it givves a reasonable indication assuming he's not selling 10,000 two-dollar items everyday?

Assuming you're satisfied with the car (i.e., tons of pics) and representations and a excellent description of merchandise are included in a sales contract, then send the money.

Sometimes you've gotta to say...well, you know Tom Cruise's line from Risky Business.

[azfordman]

Patrickt, thanks for the input. I am 50/50 on flying out there. It is just hard to believe in this world of online sales/the internet/Ebay that there are not a lot of people don't buy vehicles unseen. I have made a verbal commitment to buy the car and I plan to honor that, so it is not a matter of the cars condition, it's the money transaction that I am looking into. A flight to Vegas or L.A. is no problem, but 8-10 hours to New Hampshire....I don't think I would be able to handle that. The only good thing is that it is not wintertime....otherwise there would be a 0% chance of me going out there!!!

[azfordman]

Rodknock, not an Ebay car....it's a CC menber who has a cobra shop and is selling one of his customers cars. I would love to visit with him in person because he seems like he has a wealth of knowledge....but 10-12 hours on a plane without a smoke.....I might loose my mind!

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by azfordman

Patrickt, thanks for the input. I am 50/50 on flying out there. It is just hard to believe in this world of online sales/the internet/Ebay that there are not a lot of people don't buy vehicles unseen. I have made a verbal commitment to buy the car and I plan to honor that, so it is not a matter of the cars condition, it's the money transaction that I am looking into. A flight to Vegas or L.A. is no problem, but 8-10 hours to New Hampshire....I don't think I would be able to handle that. The only good thing is that it is not wintertime....otherwise there would be a 0% chance of me going out there!!!

I understand. If the transporter is a reputable, well known, no question about it outfit, you could give them the check for delivery upon pickup of the car... I suppose. On the other hand, we had a post last year where that was done and the transporter kept the money.

[RodKnock]

AZ to NH can't be 10-12 hours, can it?

I didn't mean that the car was being purchased eBay, but more often than not, sellers of non-eBay items have a eBay and PayPal account. Assuming Nick does, then his eBay seller rating is one of many indicators of good or bad "credit." Does he have a "verified" PayPal account? Again, just pieces to a larger puzzle.

I purchased a car from an eBay seller many years ago and I was happy with my purchase, but I had a lot of detailed pics, someone verify the car locally and a very good sales contract.

[azfordman]

It does help me to hear things that I may not want to hear.....that's why this forum is so invaluable! If I were going to be really prudent I would put all of the money away for my future/retirement......... But you know what Jeff Foxworthy says about rednecks with money.......... Heck, between the cobra and the '31 Ford I am looking at I will have more money in cars than I do in my house!!!!

[azfordman]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

AZ to NH can't be 10-12 hours, can it?

I didn't mean that the car was being purchased eBay, but more often than not, sellers of non-eBay items have a eBay and PayPal account. Assuming Nick does, then his eBay seller rating is one of many indicators of good or bad "credit." Does he have a "verified" PayPal account? Again, just pieces to a larger puzzle.

I purchased a car from an eBay seller many years ago and I was happy with my purchase, but I had a lot of detailed pics, someone verify the car locally and a very good sales contract.

Flight time is around 8 hours.....a couple of hours at the airport pre-flight, changing planes, at least an hour after the plane lands....it adds up!

[RodKnock]

I bought my Cobra sight unseen.

[patrickt]

Uhh, so how do you know that it has a clear title, isn't subject to any liens, pre-judgment attachments, etc?

[Three Peaks]

I've known Nick for quite some time through this forum and done business with him both ways and I think I would trust him with just about any transaction at any time. There have been many times when I've received items from him before the check left my mailbox. One of the best guys I've done business with and I haven't even met up with him in person yet, but that will happen someday also.....

Once you do your due diligence on an internet transaction, it just boils down to a matter of trust no matter how small or large the transaction. I'm quite sure you could poll this board for opinions and you wouldn't find a bad word said about him from anyone who knows him or has done business with him.

Bob

[patrickt]

No doubt he's the salt of the earth... and will guaranty the title since he's acting as the middleman and knows the seller he should be comfortable in doing that, right?

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Uhh, so how do you know that it has a clear title, isn't subject to any liens, pre-judgment attachments, etc?

Excellent question. I would run a credit check and, of course, always review a copy of the title certificate. Run a DMV check while you're at it.

[azfordman]

Here's what I am looking at......