Technical Buy car remotely - how to sort out payment?

It's a bit of a hassle now that there are no large banknotes, they withdrew the 1000 here a few years ago, just when we are starting to need these bills!

 

OP was on here yesterday, but it's been 3 weeks since he added anything to this thread. I sent him a PM asking for the rest of the story. We'll see if he answers.

 

Yes, darn it! I stopped yesterday for a burger on the way to work, have you noticed fast food prices these days?

 

I still have the feeling it’s a more modern car than in the HAMB guidelines. As I recall the words “inspection station” were used.

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I wasn't able to make the journey, so no go this time. I'll keep looking for something closer. In case anybody has a "perfectly shitty" 1939 Ford Deluxe Tudor Sedan in the vicinity of Kingston NY, please give me a shout. Thanks!

 

So it was a ‘39. Good deal. You realize there aren’t (to my knowledge) inspection facilities for vintage vehicles
There are places that do appraisals, not sure if the folks doing that raise a car up, crawl under it, etc.

But local is best if you can’t swing a trip to look it over yourself, honestly as much as I respect many members on this board, I’d rather see it myself

 

Get your hand gun and drive.

 

Buying a car remotely is about as much fun as having sex remotely.

 

Hello,

Not seeing the car in person is always a big risk. But, if the car is at a reputable dealer or hot rod shop, then there is that. They can verify the build or history, if that is your worry.

Sometimes, even that is not a guarantee that the sale will go through. My wife and I saw an ad for a 46 Ford Woody Wagon in San Diego. It was on our “to buy” list. We were just starting out and we needed a promotional car project for our photo business. the bright yellow paint, the SBC motor and nice wood made it stand out. the dealer was nice enough, encouraging us to “come on down...”


So, at the time it was a couple hour drive to the place. When we arrived and inspected the woody, it was to be purchased on the spot. We got out our checkbook, which at the time was approved on the phone. We wrote out the total cost and handed the dealer/owner the check. Then, he gives us a look like we were from outer space. Despite what we told him we heard on the phone, he would not accept the check.

We had the money, thought about making a money order check, but since the approval was over the phone, we went to buy the woody. Well, the guy would not budge. He said that we were out of town folks… two hours away. It was a Sunday and local banks were not open. No cash machines back then and no one in San Diego was open for business. We spent the next few minutes talking to the owner. We even had our local San Diego friend, Lee Bright, call and talk to him. But, the owner was adamant that we were still "out of town" folks with no local references like banks or savings/loan places.

So, we drove back two hours to home and began our search elsewhere.

Two hours is not 7 hours like in your case, but you have not seen the car in person. We would not buy a car sight unseen unless it is a certified dealer. Hiring someone to check it out would be fine, but that is your choice. Taking the time to spend a nice drive to the destination looks good to us. Grandparents are always good for watching the grand kids… ha!

Jnaki

7 hours is about a nice drive to San Francisco by car for us. We would make it a mini vacation, fly there and then drive the car home. Before the pandemic, we were going to fly out to the East coast to a car dealer and buy a 1940 Ford sedan that looked as if it was built for our choices. (Candy Apple Red, SBC, A/C, good suspension and build… etc.) It was ready to drive and was calling for us to get back into the hot rod cruising scene.

So, we were going to fly back and drive home as if we were on an extended vacation. There was no guarantee that the 1940 Ford Sedan would make it home to So Cal in one piece, but it would have been a fun adventure. Although, we have done the West to East drive, (and back) it was in one of our daily drivers. No, we did not buy the 1940 Ford Sedan, the beginning lock down pandemic put a stop to everything…

 

I used to always take one of my three daughters with me when I was going to get parts out of town, they were all young. Best one was the 3 hours or so to Santa Cruz with my youngest, she must have been about 5 or 6 at the time. Picked up a rearend or something to big to ship, then went to Aptos and spent the afternoon at the beach. Think it was Aptos, man that seems like a long time. It was her first trip to the beach.
I rinsed a Gatorade bottle out and scooped up some sand and filled the rest with Ocean water.
Whenever she had a friend over it was “wanna taste the beach “?

 

You say that like there’s something wrong with it?

 

So you are posting this now and still
believe your personal check on a
Sunday should have been accepted
and you would just drive off into the Sunset ?

Any check is just a promise that pay.
You should have brought cash.

Jim

 

That's a good point.... although obviously Jnaki is upstanding, the dealer didn't know him or his reputation. He'd probably be suspicious to be presented with a check on a day it just so happened that the banks weren't open.
Maybe he got burned that way before.

 

Hello,

I included the story due to it being a hot rod purchase almost 100 plus miles away from our old apartment. The description was ok, it was what we were looking for the next project.

Back then in the late 1960s, checks were common tender. A postal money order would have been more secure and regulated, but it was a Sunday road trip. Plus, the check was ok on the phone a hundred miles away. No one in those days carried around big time cash. We certainly did not and still, today in the credit card world, only carry a couple of $20s.

The odd thing was, the guy wanted to sell the woody and he knew we were coming from our OC house all the way to inland San Diego. So, he wanted to make the sale. He said nothing about bringing cash or a money order. If it were a Saturday, perhaps a local bank branch would have been open for a check cashing. That would have solved the problem. But, it was not for several years later, that any bank or savings & loan was open for business on a Saturday and certainly not open on a Sunday.

Jnaki

Yes, cash is legal tender as we all grew up understanding. But in times when we were limited in commonalities, as per today’s standards, it was something in every community. We look at that point in our hot rod history and our own lives and it was a sign to move on to the next phase. We could not stay in that disappointed state and still be involved/happy/ and enjoy our 20 something lives.

The old guy actually saved us money, as we had enough to buy another hot rod project (327 powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery) that took us months to get it straight and safe for our road trips. Then, within several months of hard work and repairs, we were able to buy a new Harley Sportster for our photo trips, too. So, we moved on in a different direction. Sometimes it is fate or the way it was going to be from the beginning and we just did not know it then. YRMV

 

Showing proof that the funds are in your account at the time you present a check is not proof that the funds will still be there when the check eventually works its way through the system. The "cash on hand" can run off and hide while the check is still in the wind.

 

I bought my 40 coupe from pictures in CA and had a friend go look. Wired the seller the money, everything went good. Reliable hauled the car the car to NE and it worked out fine.. If I were you I'd make the drive, 7 hours each way is a one day trip. Let the kidos stay at grandmas over night. Also new Federal banking rules are requiring more stringent reporting of wire transfers and withdrawing cash from a bank. Times are changing.

 

I ran into what Gary just mentioned this last year about transferring money. I was surprised at the paper work involved. I live in a small town where everybody knows you . Made no difference. We all are potential drug dealers or money launders. LOL.

 

Back when "Bank Check" still meant something - that's where the bank takes the money out the persons account, put it in their own account and hands you back a check drawn on the bank's account. I took a Wachovia bank check for a car - which was the same bank as mine. So it was a Wachovia bank check being deposited into a Wachovia bank account. But they still held it for several days despite the fact that his home branch was a phone call away.
Waaaaay back when, I sold my MGB V8 (Buick 215) conversion to a guy in Albany NY - I was in Wash. DC area. He said if you drive it up here, I'll pay for you for gas and to fly back. We agreed on what the flight cost would be and I drove up with my girlfriend (now wife of 31 years) instead and we took the train back. Since I knew the deal would be done on a Sunday, I tried to figure what the best option was - not wanting to ride an Amtrak train from Albany through NYC to DC with $7500 cash in my pocket. At that time Sears and Discover Card were still married and I was told by the lady at the 800 number that if I overpaid my bill it would be refunded to me by check. So I went to the local Sears store and made a $7500 payment to my Discover account. Fast forward probably a week or more and they finally sent me the check. At the time I was kinda pissed it took so long, but I guess it wasn't something they encountered every day.

 

I'm an old man who lived in a country that people trusted each other and rarely were disappointed. I still run my OT business that way and have rarely been screwed. I can count the bad checks on one hand over 60 years of doing business with others. I wont take a check from just anybody but if they look Ok I will and the last one that screwed me was a lawyer in CA. I wont change my ways because of one asshole. I would have taken Jnaki's check, sent the title when the check cleared and he would have had the car and I would have the money and we would both have been happy. Thats how it should work IMHO.

 

Since we’ve gone off topic, I do recall the days where all that was needed to use a check was a drivers license. Store would write the number on the back of the check, and you walked with the item(s).
But I haven’t had a checkbook in a good 20+ years, no idea how it works now.

 

Hello,

In 1967-68, my wife and made several trips to Santa Cruz. It should have been for surfing, as the waves at the point and were on fire, but our trips were to scout out places to buy and live. We loved So Cal and its surroundings, but this portion of California had surf, coastal cliffs and access to nice forested areas nearby. Yes, it gets its share of fog and rain, but that is to be expected. But the coastline was almost as good as So Cal.

At the time, Aptos and Soquel were two places we had selected and found several properties that would give us a good start on building a small home with some surrounding property and views. Beach front properties in this Santa Cruz area was just like So Cal. Overpriced and not in our league. But, in the neighboring communities with the same access to the ocean were places we could afford, as long as it was up in the hills.

We found two places in each community. Aptos was nice. The beaches were all accessible and very nice. But for some reason, we found this 1+ acre property up in the hills of Soquel, nearby. It was surrounded by tall trees, but the view to the ocean was as clear as day. The other 180 degrees was a nicely forested area and it was not that far to the ocean and pristine waves. So, we gave it some thought as we stayed for the night.

Jnaki

The small houses were fine but the empty acre property was a little more private and would fit our needs quite well. The problem was we knew no one and our contractor friend was located in So Cal. So, for the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area tour and vacation photo shoots, we thought nothing except for living in a small house on top of that private hill in Soquel… that would have been something. Yes, we had enough saved to buy it, but it would have been extremely tight for a long time.

These two friendly dogs came up to see us as we were walking around the hilltop site. That area in the forested part is/was facing away from the ocean.

As far as distance to the location, we would drive up there if it was what was necessary to see the hot rod that was for sale if needed. but, we would have made sure it was the right one we wanted. then to make it easier for us, fly up there to get to the car, U.S. Postal money order in hand, and then drive it home together. YRMV

 

39 Deluxe Tudor in Buffalo;
https://buffalo.craigslist.org/cto/d/springville-1939-ford-deluxe-tudor-sedan/7623362555.html

40 Tudor in Milford, Ct.
https://newhaven.craigslist.org/ctd/d/milford-1940-ford-sedan-project/7620268617.html

 

Damn good story on the Tudor! Was well worth the few minutes to read it. Real or not, still a good story.