Hi,
When buying a car out of state from a private party, sight unsee & relying on pictures, videos, and having a private inspector complete a PPI, agreeing on the sale price to buy, and then shipping it home, what is the best way to exchange the $$$$ and title?

• The seller and buyer simultaneously Fed Ex the cashier's check & title overnight to each other? There is trust on both sides that each will Fed Ex simultaneously.
• Use an online escrow company like Escrow.com? Their process seems convoluted with lots of steps, but seems secure.
• Wire transfer to the seller's bank and then have the seller Fed Ex the title?

Is there another method short of flying out, doing a handshake, get the car into the auto transport trailer or leaving the car there after buying it until the transport arrives 3 days - 2 weeks later (hopefully), and then fly back home?

Also, is it best to have the VIN inspection done in the state the car is located vs. waiting to get the car in your state?

Thank you.

 

I had one of my banks transfer funds to, well, mine was a dealership, but the owner's bank. That bank sent the title to MY bank upon release of funds.

 

Cee Jay, does this mean the bank actually handled the transaction, in that they did not release the funds until the seller had given them the title, and then the bank mailed the title to you?

 

If you want to avoid escrow.com / some sort of third party, I would imagine that simultaneously overnighting paperwork is the only way to go about it. With your certified check, make sure to add some context to the memo of the check. In the past, I've put the VIN number. I'm not sure how long a memo can be character count wise, but you could put "for purchase of vin:xyz" to at least protect yourself in that sense.

I'm far from a lawyer though so idk how much protection that would give you should something go sideways.

 

Correct. I did have to pay for the FedEx though.

 

My bank also handled the money : title transfer.
@ $20.00 for Fed Ex.
wj

 

I have done this 4 times in the last 2 years. On 3 occasions I was dealing with a used car dealer (i.e. a corporate entity) and I wired the funds to them first and they overnighted the title to me after receipt of funds. All these cars were purchased sight unseen, and in all cases the seller facilitated loading of the car onto a transport truck that I contracted. Keys and books came with the cars in all cases.

On the single occasion that I was purchasing a car from a private individual, I flew out to his city, test drove the car, handed him a cashiers check, received the signed title, one key, and owners books from him, and flew back. Transportation was arranged via his mechanic who stored the car in their shop until it was picked up (with the other key). Since I paid for that, technically the transport (and storage) contract was between me and his mechanic.

 

Last year I purchased a vehicle from a dealer 1200 miles away, sight unseen. The car underwent a PPI at my expense. I wire transferred the funds and they Fedexed one key, the title and books to me. I arranged covered transport using a firm that was recommended to me by a friend. The whole transaction went very smoothly and was satisfactory.

 

When I purchased my XK, I was in the DC area, the car was in Orlando, FL area. I flew down to inspect the car, test drive it and strike a deal with the owner. In a coffee shop, I wrote a personal check for the full amount and the owner signed over the title to me. I flew home, titled the vehicle in VA and flew back in 10 or so days to pickup the car and drive it home. The delay between purchase and retrieval allowed my personal check to clear and gave me the time to title and license the car in VA. When I retrieved the car, I slapped on the plates and drove home..

To be honest, I don't have the guts to make large purchases site unseen.

 

Simple have him take a picture of the signed bank check and you send a picture of the signed title . Then each send a registered letter.