[s-cars] Out of town buyer.

Walter Moore moorewr at gmail.com
Mon Jul 29 08:04:56 PDT 2013


Fantastic story! This whole discussion has been very useful, too, for a
long-distance buying tiro like me.

I have a couple questions about brokers. How should you go about finding a
reputable broker long distance? Are brokers paid a commission or a flat
fee? typically by the buyer? Also, what would you expect to pay to ship a
car?



On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 9:52 AM, Bruce Mendel <brucem105 at comcast.net> wrote:

> Wire system closes at 2PM EST, no?
>
> As a dealer, I'm required to get DL# to issue a temp tag. As far as it
> being useful, it's just one more point of data you can check. When you call
> buyer's insurance company or agent to verify insurance has been placed on
> the car (and that's a pretty sophisticated scam if they fake that one), you
> can verify that DL# is attached to that insurance policy which is attached
> to that buyer. Can't hurt to verify.
>
> As a general rule, holding title is a bad idea, so that's good advice. But
> it's really bad only if you are holding a blank title still in your name
> with the back not completed to buyer, meaning technically you still own the
> car. If you hold it only as security interest, and it has been completed in
> full in the buyer's name, and you give buyer a copy (stamped "COPY" in
> large letters on it), then you should not be liable any more than a bank as
> a lienholder is liable when holding a title filled out in your name. Of
> course if sale falls through you have to go get a duplicate title, but odds
> are very low that will happen if you did all your other checking.
>
> True story: Sold a cool old AMG Mercedes 560SEL on ebay like 8 years ago.
> Never heard from buyer, no payment, no nothing, ebay no help like usual.
> About three weeks later, on a cold December night, I get a call around
> 10PM. Hi, it's Mike, I won your 560SEL on ebay....can you come pick me up
> from the Philadelphia airport? I want to pick up the car.
>
> Uh, sure, I'll be right over. I call my mechanic and ask him to go over to
> shop just to make sure everything looks OK for test drive and stuff,
> although it should be.
>
> I go to Philly airport. Driving along arrivals lane, I see tall white
> haired guy, long ponytail hair, in t-shirt, jeans, and sandals. No luggage
> at all. Just a backpack, but it was weird, like usual big backpack straps
> but on his back attached to the straps was like a man-purse, looks like a
> backpack that got hit by a shrink ray. Keep in mind it was about 20 degrees
> out, at night, some snow on ground. Guy looks like he used to be hippie
> back in the day maybe.
>
> This is my guy of course.
>
> We drive back to mechanic's in relative silence, he does not really want
> to talk. Very weird.
>
> We get to shop, get out. He looks at car and says OK, looks fine, let me
> pay you. I ask him don't you want to drive it, look under hood, etc? No, he
> says, it's fine.
>
> We go into shop, he takes off 'backpack', takes out $10K bank check made
> out to me personally (this was before I was a dealer) and pays me. Looks
> legit, but what the hell did I know back then? I sign over title to him,
> give him copy, give him MS Word bill of sale that he signs, tell him I will
> send him original title after he gets back and check clears. The only thing
> I can not remember now is if he had his own plate, I left plate on car, or
> what. I think it had plate from previous owner to me and I left it on, but
> I am not sure. Too long ago.
>
> He gets in car, and asks me how to start heading west. I ask where he's
> going, and he says California. The car has summer half-bald performance
> tires on it, RWD with no traction control. I tell him how to head west, and
> ask him to at least call or email me when he gets back to let me know he
> made it, and I will send him title.
>
> I never hear from the guy again. Ever.
>
> About a month later, I get a letter in the mail from the San Bernadino
> sherrif dept. It says "Your car was used in the commission of a felony. It
> is being held at impound, and if you want to pick it up you need to bring
> proof of ownership and $628 plus blah blah blah."
>
> I call and ask what the felony was, but they won't tell me. I tell them I
> do not own the car any more, but they tell me someone has picked it up and
> paid the impound fee already. I ask how that is possible since they sent
> the letter to me as the owner, and no one can answer that. But it's gone,
> so who cares.
>
> A week later, I get a letter from Allstate. Your car sideswiped our
> insured's car and left the scene. You owe us $5300, plus any fees, blah
> blah blah. Now this one was much tougher. I had to prove to them I sold the
> car. Showed them bill of sale, bank deposit for $10K check, copy of
> completed back of title, etc. After a week of investigation, they let me
> off the hook.
>
> I think the only thing that saved me was that the title was signed over to
> his name. I then sent original title out to his address, did not want it in
> my possession any more!
>
> That's it, right?
>
> A few weeks later, I get a letter from San Fran sherrif's office. Your car
> was used in the commission of a felony. It is at the impound lot and and if
> you want it......
>
> I threw the letter out and never responded, and did not hear from anyone
> again.
>
> Until......
>
> About two years after that, I get a call from a guy that says his
> grandfather, Mike, owned an AMG 560SEL and he passed away. They wanted to
> know if I had any documentation, title, etc as they could not find anything
> in his papers. I finally ask about Mike, and all guy would tell me is that
> he was 'a free spirit and a pretty cool guy'.
>
> I give my condolences, and that was that.
>
> Bruce
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 7/29/2013 8:08 AM, Scott Justusson wrote:
>
>> Never, ever, ever, never ever hold a Title until a check clears.  Unless,
>> you also hold the car until it does. You become liable for all actions of
>> the Buyer with that vehicle if you have not transferred ownership of it.
>> Most think 'I will let Buyer take the car but hold the Title until his
>> check clears'.  Sounds like you covered yourself, but if the Buyer has the
>> car, and it's a scam, do you really think he needs the Title?  Assuming he
>> didn't already take out the Neuro-surgeons on the way to the chop shop.
>>
>> Easy Button says:  Sellers don't take checks because you assume more risk
>> than you should.
>>
>> SJ
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Eric Sanborn <esanborn at gmail.com>
>> To: Bruce Mendel <brucem105 at comcast.net>
>> Cc: s-car-list <s-car-list at audifans.com>
>> Sent: Mon, Jul 29, 2013 6:54 am
>> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Out of town buyer.
>>
>> You can wait to mail the title until the check clears.
>> On Jul 29, 2013 12:27 AM, "Bruce Mendel" <brucem105 at comcast.net  <mailto:
>> brucem105 at comcast.net>**> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
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-- 
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
Walter R. Moore --  moorewr at gmail.com

"We would rather be ruined than changed;
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.”
             W.H. Auden


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