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Craigslist scam buyer?

4K views 41 replies 28 participants last post by  Droptop72 
#1 ·
Have a car up for sale on CL, have this potential buyer from 100's of miles away who says he will pay the asking price. First off that's a bit odd, usually buyers offer what they will pay after actually seeing the car. Wants to pay for the car with what works out to be ~54% cash and the rest a Classic car loan. I assume with a bank check from one of these classic car loan lenders. Says he has already secured the loan and griping that I will accept cash only. It sounds like a scam to me. Guy gives some cash to make it look like he's serious, also gives me a bogus bank check and then expects me to sign over the car, then I wait weeks for this check to clear only to find out my bank tells me it's a fraudulent check...

Question: Has anyone ever sold a car where the buyer partially pays with a classic car loan? Do these lenders not give the potential buyer cash? they only hand out a bank check?

I'm not moving off my cash only stance, just wondering if this is a legit way of selling cars these days, and how the whole private seller/classic car loan is supposed to work.
 
#3 ·
Gene,
I have never sold a car that I didn’t get cash. I’m thinking it’s a scam. How could he get a pre approved check? Who would that check be made out to? The lender is not going to hand out cash. Most lenders would hold the title till the loan is repaid therefore information to a particular vehicle would need to be provided to the lender ahead of time.
Of course never having done so I am assuming all the above. One thing I do know is Craigslist is a playground for scammers and those with nothing better to do.
 
#5 ·
Question: Has anyone ever sold a car where the buyer partially pays with a classic car loan? Do these lenders not give the potential buyer cash? they only hand out a bank check?

I'm not moving off my cash only stance, just wondering if this is a legit way of selling cars these days, and how the whole private seller/classic car loan is supposed to work.
I did that once several years ago with a very nice 1965 Malibu SS convertible but the car did not get shipped until the check cleared. The lender did call me requesting certain information (and assurance they would be the lien holder on the title) about the car which I provided so all went smoothly. Wish I had the car back now!

Your potential buyer certainly seems deceptive. Beware!!!
 
#6 ·
What (or who) is issuing the classic car loan? When selling cars in the past I deal in only cash transactions if I don't know the buyer or a cashiers check/money order if I know the buyer. Don't deviate from your stance.
 
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#7 ·
A real lender would be wanting to make sure they were lien holder on the title. There would have to be a way to ensure their position would be protected. I've seen drafts used for that purpose.

That said, I smell a rat. I have never personally sold a car for anything but cash. This guy hasn't even seen the car, right? I suspect you are not selling a cheap parts car or a rolling project. There's a lot of money involved (yours). Protect yourself.
 
#8 ·
Yeah, from my research, the lender would have gotten ahold of me before issuing the loan to get the cars' information. That never happened. I believe this guy is thinking he can stiff me with a bogus loan check.

My take on it is, a serious buyer will have cash, so that's all I will accept.
 
#9 ·
Well, I’ve financed a couple of cars through Navy Federal CU where they have sent me a check for an amount not to exceed and I’ve filled in the payee and amount info.

Granted these have been on new car purchases, but it’s not unheard of to get a pre-approved check. There’s always been followup paperwork though.

It’s a nice negotiating tool to walk into a dealer with a check not to exceed $80K... ;)
 
#14 ·
This right here. You can call the lending agency yourself to verify the validity of the bank check, but it would be a lot easier and safer to have you take him to your bank with you and have your bank verify the validity. If there is a bank phone number on the check, don't call that one. The check, the phone number, and the person on the other end of the phone can all be fraudulent. Google the agency, find that number, and then call that number. With that said, cash is always king. So if you're not comfortable with the deal he wants, then you're not comfortable, and there's no harm in waiting for an all-cash buyer.
 
#12 ·
I bought my '71 with a classic car loan. I had to pay a certain amount down in cash to the seller, which I did. The seller had to provide a receipt for that amount to the lender, who then provided a check for the rest. I'm not sure I ever actually saw the check. I wish I could remember the details better, but I know the lender required me to have one of those quickie car inspections done, basically to verify the car wasn't a pile of junk, started and went into gear, didn't smoke a ton, etc. The transaction went very smoothly.
 
#13 ·
I agree with the comments stating that if it was a classic car loan, the bank would be involved. They would want the title and wouldn’t hand out a loan check without it.
I sold a Harley to a guy who was getting a loan and we went to bank together. No big deal.
 
#15 ·
I'd be careful even with the guy carrying a stack of $100 bills... The last one I sold the buyer gave me a stack of $100's and I started to count them... He kept talking to me as I was counting them. He stopped and said, are you going to count them? I said yep... he turned to his wife who never got out of the truck they drove and said you better give me that $100... he's counting them.
 
#19 ·
I bought my '71 using a Lightstream loan. In my case, they just deposited the cash in my account. I think it was there the same day.

In the age of computers, banks should make it easier to guarantee on the spot that a check is actually going to clear. That would be a lot more convenient (and safe) than having to count out so much cash...
 
#21 ·
I had a 1980 corvette on autotrader about 18 years ago.
A guy from upstate NY wanted to come buy the car with no negotiations (full asking price).
I told him cash only. He tried to impress me with knowing where the local motor vehicle office was located and that he wanted me to take him there to transfer the title (which isn't how it works in NJ).
OF course when he got here he had a car with NJ plates on it and said that he flew in from HorseHeads NY and rented a car and his daughter was going to follow him to return the rental car and he was going to drive the the Corvette.
He also had a check from some on line lender for the whole amount. I told him that we would go together to my bank and he could cash the check. He all of a sudden got very nervous and said that he and his daughter were going to think about and he left.
I parked my work truck in front of the garage door where the car was parked that night and called a local guy that had offered me $200.00 less and I couldn't wait for him to come get the car (for cash).
 
#35 ·
I had a 1980 corvette on autotrader about 18 years ago.
A guy from upstate NY wanted to come buy the car with no negotiations (full asking price).
I told him cash only. He tried to impress me with knowing where the local motor vehicle office was located and that he wanted me to take him there to transfer the title (which isn't how it works in NJ).
OF course when he got here he had a car with NJ plates on it and said that he flew in from HorseHeads NY .
Nobody says they are from Horseheads. The Airport is the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport and is in Big Flats :smile2:
 
#24 ·
This is almost a way to verify. About 12 years ago, I received a certified check for $1200. My bank paid me it with $100's. A day or two later, I thought to myself I should of left some of it in my acct. So I go back to make a deposit, and the teller said 2 of the bills were bogus! I said , :surprise: What?? This bank is where I got them! He seemed surprised, didnt know what to say, but did give me the total deposit.
I guess we all now have to keep one of those markers they use to verify bills, in our pockets.
 
#25 ·
I always use one of the pens when I accept large amounts of 100's. I've sold cars to foreigners at Pomona Swap Meet, they never object. I've never received a bad bill, but I always check.
A long, long time ago, in a land far away, I was VP of a bank. Part of my job was security officer. It was my job to train employees. One thing I would do was hand a stack of bills to a teller, and ask her to count them. They were very good a feeling the phony bill. If you submit a phony bill to a bank, they confiscate it. I've never heard of anyone getting credit for a phony one.
 
#28 ·
One thing I would do was hand a stack of bills to a teller, and ask her to count them. They were very good a feeling the phony bill.
Always wondered how those tellers can count a stack of bills so FAST!

Takes me 5 minutes to do the same thing.....
 
#26 ·
When I sold my 70, the buyer wanted to use a classic car loan company (Woodside Credit?)... I was leary, but he gave me a decent deposit, and then After dealing with the loan company (and being assured by MY bank), the loan company wired the money directly to my account... A few days later, I wired the title to the lender and not the buyer. On top of that, AFTER I was satisfied, I told the buyer, and only then did he work on securing transport...


so IMO, classic car loan, okay... But I still don't think I'd take a check at all...
 
#27 ·
How do you wire a title? Also, I am in NY and there are no titles for cars '72 or older so wonder if a loan company would have an issue with that.

I did not discuss any of the details with this potential buyer after he told me a loan company was going to be involved, I basically stopped communicating with him. However it seemed like he thought he'd be driving the car home right away. Plus he told me he already secured the classic car loan, and from what I read, and what many here have described, there can't be a loan until the lender contacted me about the car...
 
#31 ·
when I sold my El Camino, the guy gave me 2K cash and one of those cash advance checks through his credit card co. for the other 1500. I kept, the car, keys, title and down payment until the check cleared a week later, which the bank verified. Two days after that, buyer came and got the car keys and title and 5 minutes later, I drove down to the DMV to turn in the transfer of ownership/release of liability form.
 
#32 ·
I bought my car with a bank loan check 12 years ago. It was from a large bank. HSBC at the time. I had gone out to see the car first, agreed on price, gave small deposit, then secured the loan and brought him the check. He was well aware that this was my first purchase of something like this and I had approval for the loan. He didn’t care for the check since he thought he would have to pay taxes on it. I think No taxes selling the car as he was not a dealer, it hurt me more because I had to pay full taxes at the DMV on my purchase.
The OP’s deal sounds a little shady though. I would not only make sure it was real and cleared, but make sure the bank checked that it was 100% legit before giving up the registration/title and the car.
 
#39 ·
I came across the 68 convertible that I ended up buying and after the inspections and test drive, we agreed on the selling price. I got a loan through LightStream. and after applying for the loan and sending the backkup documents they asked for (like any lending institution would do) they sent me the terms of the loan. After that, they transferred the funds to my checking account and sent me a letter stating that the electronic transfer went through. I contact the seller and he sent me the account information for me to do the transfer from my checking to his account. Once he confirmed the transfer was posted to his account, he shipped the car. The whole process took about a week and a half, but there was always a paper trail to track the money. If your buyer can't produce the documents, walk away.
 
#40 ·
Reading this it makes me very hesitant to ever buy another car from any private party who I don’t personally know! LOL!

I have always used a certified bank check from “my bank” to purchase a car and I’ve never had one issue with any seller, private or dealer.

One time I travelled to the car myself and the other time I paid my mechanic to drive down to South Carolina to look over and drive the car, call me, then I had him hand over the bank check to the seller! Not one problem!

Maybe I’ve been fortunate in having dealt with honest sellers, and I like to believe there are more of those than slime balls out there! Trust your gut and be careful, but personally, I have absolutely zero interest in carrying tens of thousands of “cash” dollars on me “anywhere”! To me, that is just plain stupid!
 
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