There are two methods for paying for any vehicle you purchase, whether in the dealership or with a private seller: cash and financing.

If you have cash in any amount, you are in the driver’s seat. If you find a motivated seller and you tell him that you can pay $500 less than he is asking in cash, you may be able to strike a better deal.

Buying online for cash doesn’t negate the need for inspecting the vehicle. This inspection includes a test drive, close inspection of the title document and a Carfax or similar vehicle report.

Once you are satisfied with all the terms, invite the seller to meet you at your bank at a certain time and date. Tell him to bring along a Bill of Sale and the Original title to be signed over to you. Your job is to present him with a Certified Check drawn on the bank where the meeting takes place.

Assume we are not talking about a $500.00 cash purchase here. For $500.00 you can hand over hard cash at your bank meeting. What you will not do is hand over say $10,000 in cash as you have no recourse should anything go awry.

If the seller balks at receiving a Cashier’s Check, you may want to ask him why. Then again, you may not want to know the reason. You can merely say that this is the way you conduct business.

Any bank meeting between you and the … Read More ...