honestly guys, IMPORNTANT! am i walking into a scam.

carbed87

Member
Jun 5, 2005
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ok, well i had my T/A for sale on a message board similar to this (www.thirdgen.org), anyways, monday, some guy called about it and seemed very interested in it. the problem is, HE LIVES IN ALABAMA. like i said, i talked to him on the phone before he even emailed me or anything... we talked for about thirty minutes about the car and agreed on $5400. he wanted more pics before we went any further, but the part that sketches me out is that he wants to use www.escrow.com . does this sound ok to you. he said he'd be getting it transported by a company, and even offered to pay the escrow fees, but i dunno, im still not 100% comfterable with it. i mean, he sounds like a normal, nice guy, but you never know... you know. when i mentioned the fact that my mom might not like the escrow service, he told me he wouldn't be all against flying out here and driving it back, so what do you guys think...

thanks guys, PLEASE help me join the ranks of you guys again:flag:
 
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your the one selling the car it should be on your conditions. Have him give a check or something for the money, and have him scheduale the pick up, as long as you get the money first theres no problemo
 
An escrow is a third party who represents both parties and exchanges the product and funds. People use it when buying houses and things too, as well as on ebay. It protects him from sending you $5400 and losing it. I've never used one, but I'd assume he'd send the money to them and you'd probably have to send the car (maybe just the title, that would have to be discussed). Of course, you'd want to use an honest escrow service, so you might call them and talk to them just to make sure they're legit. If you don't agree to the escrow thing, I doubt he'll buy the car because it sounds like he's cautious and doesn't want to lose his money - and rightly so.

This is just my opinion.
 
mob said:
your the one selling the car it should be on your conditions. Have him give a check or something for the money, and have him scheduale the pick up, as long as you get the money first theres no problemo


well thats just the thing, he also doesn't want to pay for a car that could possabily not be as advertised (understandable). so what should i do... tell him to fly down and either give me cash or to give me a check and not give him the car until it clears.:shrug:
 
If it were me, I wouldn't let the car go without having cash.

My dad is a dealer, and I've sold lots of big-dollar cars on eBay for him and never had anyone complain about paying in full before getting their car. Most of them even bid and pay without even coming to see it, which is something I'd wouldn't do :crazy:
 
Man if he flys down there to give you money id say give him the car and let him be on his way. There are alot of people out there that will scam you, but there are alot of people out there really looking for a car. Tell him if he wants to fly down there, you can pick him up at the airport, and he can drive the car home. If he dosent want to fly, take as many pictures as you can, be 100% honest, tell him everything that is wrong with the car, explain you dont want him to get the car and find any suprises. Its always scary dealing with people online, but just let him know, the car is for sale locally also, if he wants to have someone he knows come check it out, and thats the way buying something online works you have to trust the other person, and as long as you give him as much info an pictures as possible he shouldnt have a reason to not trust you. I think the problem here is getting him to trust you, like I said your the seller, you should have nothing to worry about.
 
TheUser said:
An escrow is a third party who represents both parties and exchanges the product and funds. People use it when buying houses and things too, as well as on ebay. It protects him from sending you $5400 and losing it. I've never used one, but I'd assume he'd send the money to them and you'd probably have to send the car (maybe just the title, that would have to be discussed). Of course, you'd want to use an honest escrow service, so you might call them and talk to them just to make sure they're legit. If you don't agree to the escrow thing, I doubt he'll buy the car because it sounds like he's cautious and doesn't want to lose his money - and rightly so.

This is just my opinion.


makes sence, but i was thinking... what if the escrow does take the money, then the car gets to him and he complains to escrow about false advertisement, and then parts the car out and gets his money back. lol i'd be screwed then wouldn't i. or is there something from preventing him from screwing me.
 
carbed87 said:
makes sence, but i was thinking... what if the escrow does take the money, then the car gets to him and he complains to escrow about false advertisement, and then parts the car out and gets his money back. lol i'd be screwed then wouldn't i. or is there something from preventing him from screwing me.


ok dude, I went and read about it at escrow.com, as I'm sure you've read through it multiple times yourself. First of all, do not do anything you're not comfortable with; it's not my intention to convince you to do something you don't want to do. What I'm trying to do is help you understand how it works and the benefits for you so you can potentially make a better decision.

Escrow.com checks the funds to make sure they're legit. Checks must clear, credit cards must be verified, etc, before you ship the vehicle.

He has an agreed-apon amount of days to inspect the vehicle from 1-30 days. Set that inspection time to whatever you're comfortable with. You'll probably have to negotiate that.

The buyer is paying shipping (I assume) and you said he's paying escrow fee's, so it costs you nothing. If he has a problem w/ the item, he must decline before the inspection period is over. If he should decline, he must ship the item back to you at his expense and it must be in the same condition as when you shipped it, THEN he gets his money back. If he doesn't decline it it by the end of the inspection time you agree on, it's his and you get the money from escrow.

So to answer your question, he would not get his money back until you receive the car back in the condition in which you sent it.

Buying cars online is hard; I've done it and didn't get exactly what I thought I was getting.

Maybe he wants to do escrow because he can't leave home for personal reasons (family, work, medical, etc)...you never know.

Just trying to let you know that it doesn't sound like he's trying to screw you (to me), it just sounds like he's trying to get a fair shake. Think it over and do what your gut tells you.:nice:
 
TheUser said:
ok dude, I went and read about it at escrow.com, as I'm sure you've read through it multiple times yourself. First of all, do not do anything you're not comfortable with; it's not my intention to convince you to do something you don't want to do. What I'm trying to do is help you understand how it works and the benefits for you so you can potentially make a better decision.

Escrow.com checks the funds to make sure they're legit. Checks must clear, credit cards must be verified, etc, before you ship the vehicle.

He has an agreed-apon amount of days to inspect the vehicle from 1-30 days. Set that inspection time to whatever you're comfortable with. You'll probably have to negotiate that.

The buyer is paying shipping (I assume) and you said he's paying escrow fee's, so it costs you nothing. If he has a problem w/ the item, he must decline before the inspection period is over. If he should decline, he must ship the item back to you at his expense and it must be in the same condition as when you shipped it, THEN he gets his money back. If he doesn't decline it it by the end of the inspection time you agree on, it's his and you get the money from escrow.

So to answer your question, he would not get his money back until you receive the car back in the condition in which you sent it.

Buying cars online is hard; I've done it and didn't get exactly what I thought I was getting.

Maybe he wants to do escrow because he can't leave home for personal reasons (family, work, medical, etc)...you never know.

Just trying to let you know that it doesn't sound like he's trying to screw you (to me), it just sounds like he's trying to get a fair shake. Think it over and do what your gut tells you.:nice:



awsome, thank you. just an fyi, i called escrow and personally spoke to someone, and she pretty much said the exact same thing. and of course i understand his side of the purchase, im just being just as cautious as he is. so i think i'll go ahead and use the escrow service:D
 
mob said:
Man if he flys down there to give you money id say give him the car and let him be on his way. There are alot of people out there that will scam you, but there are alot of people out there really looking for a car. Tell him if he wants to fly down there, you can pick him up at the airport, and he can drive the car home. If he dosent want to fly, take as many pictures as you can, be 100% honest, tell him everything that is wrong with the car, explain you dont want him to get the car and find any suprises. Its always scary dealing with people online, but just let him know, the car is for sale locally also, if he wants to have someone he knows come check it out, and thats the way buying something online works you have to trust the other person, and as long as you give him as much info an pictures as possible he shouldnt have a reason to not trust you. I think the problem here is getting him to trust you, like I said your the seller, you should have nothing to worry about.



thats exactly what i did, i took an extra 23 pictures THE DAY he asked, i was absoutely honest about everything. i didn't leave any surprises, so i just hope he returns the favor.
 
GOD ALMIGHTY, WHY MUST YOU TORMENT ME

so i had made my decision about using the escrow service, and i called him to give him the good news, but he said "something came up". so im guessing he bought another car, no big deal, i just dont like people leading me on like that. this happened time and time again with my mustang, i just don't feel like dealing with it again.

uh... oh well, i'll give it a week and it'll hit ebay....i guess i need to get drunk this weekend and have some bewbs in my face to make up for it.

thanks for putting up with the vent.