Carsales - Scam Or Not?

[VNS 24]

Hi everyone,

Long story short, I've decided to sell my car about 6 months ago and put it on carsales. Since then, I've had more scams than real interests/offers. Today, I got another enquire for the car. I just want to know what everyone think on this case.

I received a phone call from a guy, who lives near Sydney, is planning to come to Brisbane next week. He offered me $22k + with my GT-C wheels which is not bad. He said he applied for loan from a small banking group on NSW and VIC boarder called Hume Building Society and wanted me to contact them regarding to prove that I am the real owner of the car with registration/vin detail, etc. I looked them up and they do exist. So once I call them/gave them these details tomorrow and after he get the loan approved, he will come to Brisbane to inspect the car. He also said he's likely to pay with cheque.

Although it's a good thing to get to sell the car, I still have my suspicion. Do you guys think it's legit?

Thanks.

Edited December 21, 2011 by VNS 24

[Nightcrawler]

Sounds legit - just make sure it is a bank cheque and is 100% legit.

[VNS 24]

Sounds legit - just make sure it is a bank cheque and is 100% legit.

Hey mate, thanks for your input. Thing is, I know nothing about how cheques work. How long does it normally take to actually receive money? I've heard of fake cheques before. Shall I just say I prefer cash payment?

[sonicii]

As long as it is a real bank cheque you will be fine.. these are as good as cash and once you bank it the money will be available in your account almost straight away. Most people use bank cheques when paying significant sums of money. like any cheque, make sure it has the watermarks and security features.. If you are worried, you could probably call the bank that supplied the cheque and give them the cheque number and ask them to confirm the name and amount.. Not sure if they will do this, but that is all I can think of.

Just make sure it is not a personal cheque.. I wouldn't accept a personal cheque for payment for a car unless the buyer is willing to wait until it clears into your account before taking ownership of the car. (can take several days).

[Nightcrawler]

Hey mate, thanks for your input. Thing is, I know nothing about how cheques work. How long does it normally take to actually receive money? I've heard of fake cheques before. Shall I just say I prefer cash payment?

As sonicii said, check the cheque for watermarks etc (hold it up to the light), and yes, I recommend calling the bank that issued it to check it authoenticity if you are worried that this is a scam.

An no, you can't ask for cash, as 1. anyone who withdraws over $10k cash draws the attention of anti-money laundering legislation and this will cause him and you plenty of trouble, and 2. he is not going to be comfortable rocking up with a big suitcase of money - and you don't want to rock up to your bank with a big suitcase of cash either - it just seems to dodgy.

[VNS 24]

Thanks for inputs, guys.

So I was thinking like this. Let me know if I am wrong.

- He will come inspect the car. If he likes everything he sees, he can write a cheque.

- We can go together to my bank to clear the funds afterwards. Will I be able to know if it clears straight away?

- We can sign transfer papers and proceeds according.

- After that, I can hand over the car?

Does this sound ok, and can it be done in a day or two?

Edited December 21, 2011 by VNS 24

[projectx]

A bank cheque will not clear straight away. It will take 3 working days. Unless you pay an extra $20 for fast clearing but it will still take at least 1 day. You could always ring the bank where the cheque is from and ask them if its legit before you let him take the car. But I would get him to pay cash. 20k can fit in your pocket. (ask for $100 bills) All he has to do is give the bank 24 hours notice before he picks up the cash.

As for the money laundering. Even if they do investigate it, they will just link it to the sale of the car and that will be the end of it. Just make sure he puts the right amount on the transfer form and pays the correct stamp duty

Edited December 21, 2011 by projectx

[R6n350GT]

A bank cheque will not clear straight away. It will take 3 working days. Unless you pay an extra $20 for fast clearing but it will still take at least 1 day. You could always ring the bank where the cheque is from and ask them if its legit before you let him take the car. But I would get him to pay cash. 20k can fit in your pocket. (ask for $100 bills) All he has to do is give the bank 24 hours notice before he picks up the cash.

As for the money laundering. Even if they do investigate it, they will just link it to the sale of the car and that will be the end of it. Just make sure he puts the right amount on the transfer form and pays the correct stamp duty

He has to get the bank to write a check, he cant do it.

Basically the bank holds $money of his and its no longer his really, then you give the bank their cheque and they transfer you the money, the cheque cant bounce as the bank already has the money ... best way to do it. even better is to do it on a week day and go into the bank with the cheque and then hand over the documents to him saying the car is in his name.

[pistol-pete]

An no, you can't ask for cash, as 1. anyone who withdraws over $10k cash draws the attention of anti-money laundering legislation and this will cause him and you plenty of trouble,

never heard of anything like this before. bought my stag with cash, took $14k out at my local branch. just called them a couple days in advance to make sure theyd have enough cash available.

also i wouldnt be letting anyone drive off in my car until the money was either in my hand or account. if he's legit he'll be fine with waiting a couple days while the check clears

[VNS 24]

He has to get the bank to write a check, he cant do it.

Basically the bank holds $money of his and its no longer his really, then you give the bank their cheque and they transfer you the money, the cheque cant bounce as the bank already has the money ... best way to do it. even better is to do it on a week day and go into the bank with the cheque and then hand over the documents to him saying the car is in his name.

Thanks, mate.

So you are saying bank cheques safe? I thought they were like credit cards. Sorry I am a noob at cheque.

He is still waiting on getting his loan approved with that bank. After that, he's using it in a form of cheque, I believe?

[VNS 24]

Also, he asked me for rego and vin number to prove I am a rightful owner, etc. Is that normal procedure and I am not giving away any unnecessary info?

[zei20l]

is rego and VIN not required to advertise on carsales? maybe he wants to verify the details.

also, he may want to check to make sure its not an encumbered vehicle, more likely the bank wants to.

as already mentioned, if he pays by bank cheque, call the bank to confirm its legit. maybe speak to him before he goes to see the car and let him know the cheque will need to clear before he can take delivery of the car. the same thing would happen at a dealer.

theres nothing wrong with paying cash, been there done that too! $21,000 was counted, i drove away. fastest transaction ever.

[sonicii]

A bank cheque is quite safe. As the others have said, the issuing bank secures the funds before they issue the cheque, but the bank needs to issue the cheque complete, there is no such thing as a blank bank cheque that can be filled in later.. they are quite different to a personal cheque.

Just make sure he gets the spelling of your name correct on the cheque!

Most banks will make the funds from a bank cheque available to you immedeatly after you deposit it, they generally don't lock out the funds for several days waiting for it to clear like they do with personal cheques.

Most companies would consider a bank cheque a 'cash transaction'

As for the vin/rego, he will need this to check there is no outstanding money oweing on the car and to confirm the car is not listed as stolen, written off, etc. Some banks may require this check before they will lend the money.

Edited December 21, 2011 by sonicii

[shiva]

hey victor, if he is getting a bank loan, the bank will ask him details of the seller and can transfer the money into your account straight away.....my suggestion would be like not to involve with cheques....i have done payment to the seller when i got the car, the loan money acts like this....

once it is approved, the bank transfers money into his account, if he provides your bank details, the bank will transfer the money from his account to yours and it will reflect into your account in 15mins....i have done this before.....since he is interstate buyer, i would recommend this option....

[ObiV35]

An no, you can't ask for cash, as 1. anyone who withdraws over $10k cash draws the attention of anti-money laundering legislation and this will cause him and you plenty of trouble, and 2. he is not going to be comfortable rocking up with a big suitcase of money - and you don't want to rock up to your bank with a big suitcase of cash either - it just seems to dodgy.

I withdrew over $20k to buy mine (I would have preferred to use a bank cheque), the only issue they had was not having the cash in stock for 2 days. Its not even close to a suitcase size.

But yeah a legit bank cheque is totally safe.

[Commsman]

A bank cheque is quite safe. As the others have said, the issuing bank secures the funds before they issue the cheque, but the bank needs to issue the cheque complete, there is no such thing as a blank bank cheque that can be filled in later.. they are quite different to a personal cheque.

Interestingly, I once had a blank bank cheque (actually from a credit union) which stated it was valid for up to $xx. That allowed me to shop around for a car, negotiate the amount & then fill it in with the sale price. Not sure if any institution is still doing those, but was very handy.

[Daleo]

As sonicii said, check the cheque for watermarks etc (hold it up to the light), and yes, I recommend calling the bank that issued it to check it authoenticity if you are worried that this is a scam.

An no, you can't ask for cash, as 1. anyone who withdraws over $10k cash draws the attention of anti-money laundering legislation and this will cause him and you plenty of trouble, and 2. he is not going to be comfortable rocking up with a big suitcase of money - and you don't want to rock up to your bank with a big suitcase of cash either - it just seems to dodgy.

You can ask for whatever you want; it's your car.

If you want to be paid in Mars bars, giant stone coins or Easter Island statues; you can ask for that, doubt you'll get a buyer, but don't let that deter you.

I withdrew $55,000 from my bank to pay the deposit on my house; it didn't cause me any trouble at all.

The purpose of the legislation is not to cause "plenty of trouble" to legitimate people doing legitimate business; it is to catch criminals moving large sums of cash that has no history.

What are they going to do? Arrest him for spending his own cash?

I'm not saying don't go with a bank cheque; definitely do, and check it's authenticity with the issuing bank, but this nonsense about using cash; what's with that?

You could easily do business in your local bank branch to take the risk out of a cash transaction, bank cheques can be cancelled by the person it was issued to (in the case it might be stolen, or lost) so they carry an element of risk.

[armada350gt]

You can ask for whatever you want; it's your car.

If you want to be paid in Mars bars, giant stone coins or Easter Island statues; you can ask for that, doubt you'll get a buyer, but don't let that deter you.

Would opt for the above options of payment any day of the week.

As for cash, no issues whatsoever in withdrawing any amount required. If it's in your account, you can withdraw it. If some government agency wants to track you, they will, but if there is a legitimate end to a transaction it's all good, you won't even know you're being looked at.

Personally, I would have whoever is lending him the money transfer it straight into your account. Less steps/transfers means less chance something could go wrong.

[VNS 24]

Thanks, guys. These information are helping me alot.

I will be talking with his bank consultant today and see how that goes.

Another 2 interesting things are, one is, he wants to have some sort of written legal agreement letter for both of us to sign about selling the car. I don't know what's the go with that.

Second is, will and how stamp duty will involve in this private car sale? I thought it only involve in dearler sales.

Thanks heaps, everyone.

Edited December 21, 2011 by VNS 24

[sonicii]

once it is approved, the bank transfers money into his account, if he provides your bank details, the bank will transfer the money from his account to yours and it will reflect into your account in 15mins....i have done this before.....since he is interstate buyer, i would recommend this option....

It depends on the bank, if you are both with the same bank, then yes a transfer will be very quick (usually less than 15 minutes). However interbank transfers are often much slower, sometimes a coupe of days. This would be a safe option, but the seller will need to be willing to wait for the funds to arrive in your account. Even when transfering funds between the big banks, you are normally looking at 2 day processing time.

I wouldn't stress too much, Bank cheques are a very common way of paying large sums of money. If you buy a car from an dealer or a auction house, a bank cheque is generally the prefered way of paying. I certainly would have no problems accepting a bank cheque as payment for a car. They also give the buyer a bit of flexability, they can turn up with the cheque, if the like the car, they hand it over, if they don't like it, they walk away with the cheque in their hand.

I believe it is also quite difficult to cancel a bank cheque if you can't return the cheque to the bank. I would expect you would need to make some sort of police report or stat dec. stating that you lost or had the cheque stolen. Then when the person named on the cheque tried to bank it, you would have some explaining to do.. Banks put their name/reputation on bank cheques, so they don't want to get a bad rep from some dodgy buyer.

Again, if you are worried about this, call the 'hume building society' with your concerns and check what their policy is.