Accepting money on a used car deal, private party

[Craig D Peltier]

I was wondering what precautions to take when receiving used car money. Over 20k. Should I demand cash? Or if check must clear first? or must go to there bank with them to cash? I know there's scams with both postal and money orders.
When I bought my motrocycle, I gave him cash and check but he went into a bank of mine and cashed it while I waited inside with him.Or I cashed it, I forget.

[Fred Voorhees]

Cash always works. Well, that is....unless it is pretty good counterfeit stuff.:mad:

[glenn bradley]

Some form of cashier's or certified check would be OK with me. I wouldn't really want someone to hand me $20k in cash, then I would have to deal with it. Better yet, if you both bank at 'major' banks, just do an electronic funds transfer.

[Anthony Anderson]

I just did what Glenn suggested. Last year, I bought a '05 Tacoma in Kansas City. The owner and I happened to have our accounts at the same bank, so we just transfered the amount between our accounts. Worked out great. I wouldn't accept a cashier's check, unless you go to the bank with the buyer, and watch them draft it. I also wouldn't accept cash, unless you made the transaction at your bank, so you could make an immediate deposit. Good Luck, Bill

[Mike Henderson]

Glenn's got it - an electronic funds transfer. If that's not possible, I demand some form or guaranteed funds, which could be a certified check from a local bank.

Cash is always good but as someone else pointed out, $20K is a lot. If you have any suspicions at all, go to his bank with him and have them count out $20K in your hand (or give you a cashier's check). Then go immediately to your bank and deposit it.

Mike

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Personal checks for large amounts can be a real trouble spot. Even from some one you know.

[Joe Cunningham]

If you deposit more than 10K in cash (I believe) you will be reported to the IRS. There are a bunch of forms you need to file to not fall under suspicion of money laundering.

My brother ran into that when he sold his Harley and the guy gave him cash.

[Jim Becker]

When I sold my Tundra, I agreed to accept a business check since it was drawn on my own bank and we could go there immediately to process the transaction. I drove the buyer there, cashed the check and then took him to the license plate place to complete the transaction. Personally, however, I'd prefer an electronic funds transfer, too. especially with a private buyer.

[Mitchell Andrus]

You may get an inquiry from the IRS. They'll ask for docs to show you didn't male a profit on the car.. that's all.

On the money deal, do it early in the day and have a person with you til you get to the bank with the cash. Once the cash changes hands, the car is the buyer's and the cash belongs to the buyer's friend if he's of a mind to relieve you of it 5 minutes down the road.

[Craig D Peltier]

If you deposit more than 10K in cash (I believe) you will be reported to the IRS. There are a bunch of forms you need to file to not fall under suspicion of money laundering.

My brother ran into that when he sold his Harley and the guy gave him cash.
Put 9k in one day 9 another yadda yadda.

Thanks for all the good suggestions and experiences. Id like the transfer or cashiers check drawn at bank in front of me I guess. Could deal with cash too cause we can just buy another car in cash.

[Curt Harms]

If you deposit more than 10K in cash (I believe) you will be reported to the IRS. There are a bunch of forms you need to file to not fall under suspicion of money laundering.

My brother ran into that when he sold his Harley and the guy gave him cash.

That may have changed although I don't know. There was an drug operation in New York doing transactions thru ATM machines. Deposit cash in New York, withdraw it in South America. Relatively small sums on each end but a lot of transactions. How about an escrow account? Would that protect both parties' interests?

[Ben Rafael]

Electronic funds transfer is the best way.
ALL checks can be counterfeited including cashiers and bank checks. Cash can be counterfeit as well.
Also, 2 deposits of $9,000 each will be reported to the IRS by most banks. Most banks have software that automatically does this.

[Tom Godley]

If you deposit more than 10k -- You just fill out a quick form.

I used to have to do it when I would return from trips to countries where I had to have cash with me and I had an excess on return. Thankfully banking has arrived to most places and cash like this is no longer needed.

The requirement IMO is Big Brother. But you are just accounting for it.

You also need to declare in/out on customs when you have large amounts of cash.

[Rob Russell]

When I sold my pickup truck, the buyer had a checking account at our bank. They wrote me a personal check, we went to the bank and deposited it. The bank could verify that the funds were in the account, so there was no risk to me. I then drove the truck over to the buyer's house in the next town, wifey followed me in my car. Pulled off my plates, gave the buyer the Bill of Sale and we were done. Did it that way because otherwise the buyer had to get plates to be able to move the truck out of our yard.

BTW, if you are selling a vehicle, have the buyer sign a copy of the Bill of Sale that you keep. That's the only solid proof that you'll have that you sold the vehicle if the tax folks still want you to pay property tax on the vehicle thatyou no longer own.

[Shawn Walker]

When I sold my pickup truck, the buyer had a checking account at our bank. They wrote me a personal check, we went to the bank and deposited it. The bank could verify that the funds were in the account, so there was no risk to me. I then drove the truck over to the buyer's house in the next town, wifey followed me in my car. Pulled off my plates, gave the buyer the Bill of Sale and we were done. Did it that way because otherwise the buyer had to get plates to be able to move the truck out of our yard.

BTW, if you are selling a vehicle, have the buyer sign a copy of the Bill of Sale that you keep. That's the only solid proof that you'll have that you sold the vehicle if the tax folks still want you to pay property tax on the vehicle thatyou no longer own.

He still could have cancelled that check.
In that case the best thing to do is pay the 5or 8 bucks and get the buyer to get a Bank Draft made out to you.
It takes about 5 minutes.

[Rob Russell]

He still could have cancelled that check.
In that case the best thing to do is pay the 5or 8 bucks and get the buyer to get a Bank Draft made out to you.
It takes about 5 minutes.

They couldn't cancel the check once it had been processed by the bank. Remember - this is all within the same bank. Furthermore, I cashed the check and then deposited the "cash", although I told the bank I didn't need to actually take possession of the cash. My account number isn't even on the back of their check.

[Ben Rafael]

They couldn't cancel the check once it had been processed by the bank. Remember - this is all within the same bank. Furthermore, I cashed the check and then deposited the "cash", although I told the bank I didn't need to actually take possession of the cash. My account number isn't even on the back of their check.

Not exactly.
Some banks do not post checks til end of day. Some post checks immediately upon deposit. Even then you can still get stuck.
The safest way is to cash the check. If you have an account at that bank request that the check not be cashed against your account.

[Brad Wood]

banks have to fill out a SAR when receiving deposits over 10k, as already noted.
spreading out the deposits over a day or two doesn't really work anymore, if you want to go that route, you will need to spread the cash out over a longer period.
Our systems will pick up and report the transaction anyway, if you split it over a couple days.

Its not a big deal as long as you are making a ligitimate transaction. If you are doing "stuff" on the side, like selling drugs, running scams, printing money, etc, you might want to spread the deposits out over a month :D

edit: oops, ... SAR = Suspicous Activity Report

[Ben Rafael]

The system at the bank I worked at would randomly choose large cash deposits below $10,000 to report. The $10,000 is mandatory to report, other amounts are judgement calls on the bank employees.

[Shawn Walker]

Not exactly.
If you have an account at that bank request that the check not be cashed against your account.

That's the key.

[Kev Williams]

There's nothing wrong with a Cashier's check from a local bank or credit union, you can walk in to said bank or CU alone without the buyer and they can verify it's authenticity. Once verified, you're good to go.

6 years ago I sold a boat to a guy for $9,000, he just wrote me a personal check, from a local bank. I just went to that bank, they verified the check was good, then they called MY bank to let them know they were issuing me a cashier's check. When I got to my bank (about 2 blocks away) they were waiting for me, took the cashier's check, credited my account and that was that.

The buyer checked the boat out at the boat harbor, called and made the offer, then left the check with a friend at the harbor. I never even met him till he picked up the boat and my house. Easiest private sale I ever did :)

[Matt Day]

Kev - did you check the date of this thread?