Paying for a used car question

Went to look at a C4 'vette yesterday, so far everything appears to check out (Autocheck etc) and the seller accepted my offer.

As i don't like wandering around with lots of cash in my back pocket, I suggested to the seller to give him a cash deposit today and pay the balance using a certified/cashier's check. Seller however wants to be paid in cash for the whole purchase price which sets off a few alarm bells, especially as he also seems to be in a hurry to get the deal concluded.

Any advice? Especially as the way I understand the law here in NV, the seller has to take the plates off and I have to get a movement permit to be able to take the car so I'm not too keen on untraceable cash.

I'm not up on the laws for NV, but I would tell him to meet you at the Bank, or at a Notary Office/DMV...someplace neutral where the Title can be signed/sealed/delivered...with lots of people around...if it's a cash only deal.

I have always payed for cars with cash until I bought my WRX, of course that was nothing over $3000. I payed for the WRX with a cashiers check. I would think that it is perfectly reasonable to pay with a cashiers check. Maybe the seller has never used a cashiers check before and would rather have the money in his hand?

I've done cash only deals. Heck just 2 weeks ago I spent 20 hours on a train with almost $4,000 cash in my pocket. I would worry (just a little) about how he wants to make the deal. I would have him meet you at yours or his bank to make the transaction. I had a seller say no to this and I walked.

I've never bought a car with anything other than wads of cash, and honestly that's my favourite way to sell them too. His insistence on cash alone wouldn't set off alarm bells with me, unless he seemed really dodgy for some other reason. Offer to go to the bank with him if you don't want to carry that much around.

We're talking around $7k and I don't like the idea of that going missing, obviously. Hence the cashier's check as I consider that a lot safer than plain cash.

Nevada DMV says that you can't drive the car until you have the movement permit (which requires the signed title) and I'm not driving a car with no plates through the middle of Las Vegas. I might be stupid but not that stupid. The DMV is open today but it's unlikely that we can get the insurance sorted out, get the money and get across town to pick up the car and the permit.

Seller seems to be in an awful hurry to complete a cash deal today even though my original offer was deposit today and certified check on Monday or Tuesday. I'd do the exchange/sign over at the DMV anyway as we have to be able to move the car.

The seller doesn't seem to be really dodgy but we noticed a few small things that might mean nothing but combined with the hurry, it makes us uncomfortable, hence my question.

Is there a lien on the car, be careful, check it out for any signs of a recent wreck

The problem with a cashiers check is that many are fakes. If I was selling a car, I would either insist on cash (if the amount was low) or meet at my bank and have them orchestrate the transfer of funds (if the sales amount was higher).

Given the seller's hurry in this instance, I would be concerned.

The undue urgency in completing the transaction would raise a vigorously waived yellow flag, not red, though. There may be a perfectly valid reason he needs the cash soon. For example, he may need to pay his drug dealer/bookie/loan shark/pimp.

My personal philosophy on payment is to accept cash or meet the buyer at his bank where I can watch them cut me a cashier's check.

I've also had a buyers bank wire my bank the money....

I will take only cash whenever I sell something. Checks can bounce, bank drafts can be forged, wire transfers cost extra and most people will balk at it(not to mention the banks), money orders can be copied and no good, etc., Just plain old cash. Hand me cash-I hand you the free and clear title. If that's too complicated, you don't need to buy it or I don't need to sell it.

I've paid cash for the last four or five cars I've bought. I put down a deposit, ask them for a photocopy of the ownership, then purchase the temporary plates and get the car insured. When I return with the balance of the money, I've got the plates with me and they give me the signed ownership.

Well, the urgency's been dialed back a little - I've just come back from the seller's house after giving him the deposit. Title is clean and checks out, no lien on it either.

We'll meet up at his local DMV on Monday, he'll get the balance in cash for all the reasons everybody listed and we'll get the movement permit right there.

I guess I'm just a bit of a paranoid so-and-so at times.

You're not paranoid just cautious. Personally I blame the Nigerians, they've made everybody a little crazy when buying or selling stuff.

Last year (or 2) there was article in my local paper about a guy who sold a Big Dog chopper for over $20K. The buyer was from Chicago and was supposed to meet the seller at local bank on a Friday afternoon to transfer funds. Buyer said he was running late and offered to bring a certified check with him. The transaction took place later that night after the bank closed. 3 weeks later the certified check came back as fake.

billy3esq wrote: My personal philosophy on payment is to accept cash or meet the buyer at his bank where I can watch them cut me a cashier's check.

I used to insist on a cashier's check, until laser printers became commonplace. I remember making a photocopy of a bank check when I was buying a car and I was shocked that the quality of my own copy. That's when I began insisting on cash.

As a seller, I'm almost always anxious to get the deal done.

In reply to Woody:

That's why I only take one if I go to the bank with the buyer and watch them cut it. I'm pretty good at telling a bank from something that's not a bank.

A few years ago, I stood by as my father worked a deal to sell his Accord to three young kids from the big city.

They showed up in a lowered/tinted/fart canned Honda, along with a very young girl with a baby. After a tense test drive that included spinning the tires, they had a brief conversation in another language and told my father that his asking price was too high (of course it was, maybe $1500 over book value) and offered him $200 less. My father agreed, and they opened their trunk to reveal a safe mounted to the floor. The kid grabbed a stack of $100 bills and counted off 75 of them. He had at least three times more that he returned to the safe.

This time, I suggested to my father that he not even accept their cash. We followed them to the bank in separate cars and went inside while they got a cashiers check. All the paperwork was done inside the bank, keys were exchanged and the check was deposited.

It was an uncomfortable morning.