JonBoy

No updates or resolution. I've been following it pretty closely on bimmerforums.

QUIKAG

Thanks, Jon. I can't believe the guy hasn't picked his truck back up. Did BH ever cash his check?

If I was that guy, I would be sitting down at the police station all day long with a copy of the signed sales contract waiting for them to press theft charges.

Slamnasty

It depends on the state you're in. In California for example, the lienholder keeps the title. In Arizona the owner/loanee does. I'm sure there's several different shades of that around the country.

PilotKD

Do dealers usually accept personal checks for that amount of money? I've never wrote a personal check to a car dealer before. I've always got a certified check from my bank.

JonBoy

His cheque wasn't bad. It was just only good after a certain date (ie, they had to hold it for a day or three) - apparently that's against their policy, which is why they made a comment about a "bad cheque". So no, they didn't cash his cheque.

JonBoy

Yes and no. Some will, if you're a repeat customer and they know you've got the dough. It's preferred to have it certified, of course.

At their option, the dealership can go to a bank and have the personal cheque certified right then and there (ie, they'll pull the money from your account to cover the cheque), so it's easy to verify funds fairly quickly.

Traveler

I bought both my S and my truck using personal checks for the full purchase price. I'd never been to either dealer before. Of course they both wanted to run credit checks before they would accept the checks.

I was a bit surprised that the truck dealer even let me do a test drive, let alone accepted a check from me. I had lost my wallet the day before, so I didn't have a drivers license or credit cards. I was lucky that I at least had a passport to show as ID.

gsolman

Bill Heard's mission statement is weird, funny, and a little scary:

To be the dominant dealer in every market we serve; because we are a dynamic, world-famous auto megadealer, with a corporate culture of focused, high-performance people, that exceeds its expectations of sales and profit by exceeding the expectations of its employees and customers.

They also have a scrolling message:

Keep America Strong! Buy an American Car Today!

I hate it when thieves and liars hide behind patriotic slogans. Its also dumb to promote low mpg vehicles and ignore the law of comparative advantage, but I don't think Mr. Heard really cares about those real world considerations.

g60racer

I don't get it. He has the keys and the paperwork. It's sitting on the lot. Why doesn't he just walk up, get in, and drive off with it? Steal it back, baby! It's yours~