Can someone geie me some guidance about how to sell a car and avoid getting scammed. What's the best payment process? Thanks, Tom

 

Cashier's check. Meet at a bank. Show up with pink slip and cashier's check. Have bank verify authenticity.

Or, hard cash - also show up at bank, for safety...

 

Last time I sold a car, I asked buyer who he would finance through. He said he had an account at Wells Fargo. (Would work if they were paying cash from their account too). Went to Wells Fargo near my home, had them issue a check in my presence, knew it was good, handed over the keys and title.

 

Cashiers checks can bounce later as well. I would only take a bank wire.

 

^Yup - which is why I say do the transaction at a bank and have the bank verify authenticity and clearance.

 

Pretty much any form of check can be stopped, and the larger it is the easier since it takes time to clear.

Show the car, make the deal, and when it's time for funding have them meet you at your bank with cash in hand. Simple. As a buyer, I always preferred to meet at a bank to process the deal, even better if we have the same bank so I won't even need to carry cash (do the deal cash, interaccount bank transfers are not instant). You can even the do the paperwork in the branch, they generally have empty desks that they'll let you finish the deal, it's actually pretty common. If it's a large deal where the buyer has an understandable anxiety for carrying that much cash, consider opening an account at their bank, usually free and you can always close it afterwards, but I've never ran into this problem but something to keep in mind. I once met a dude at a location where our banks were across the street from each other, but generally if you say you want to meet inside a bank, most buyers (myself included) would be totally fine showing up with a wad of cash.

Financing, make it clear you won't give anything until funds totally clear, or meet at their lender and complete the deal with their representative there (common with credit unions, hit or miss with retail banks). All paperwork signed including title with their rep and they hand me a check from the lender not buyer, I'll take that as cash.

You have more in your favor as a seller since police will look for your car, and you can file an insurance claim, as a buyer if you lose cash it's pretty much gone.

 

Depends on a lot of things but I've done PayPal before. Ditto Venmo.