Paying cash for a used car

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by unit731

I was at the local bank this past Summer.

A lady was talking to the branch manager. Lady was sobbing.

She had just sold the family boat to someone who paid cash. Had a Bill of Sale. She went to this bank branch to deposit the cash.

All of the cash paper money was counterfeit.

Go to FedEx/Kinko's and get a counterfit pen. If you do a cashiers check, complete the transaction at the bank.

[CoastalMaineiac]

Originally Posted by SoCalCpl2

I am the kind of person who is not trusting of a lot of things and this cash only throws up a red flag for me

It's precisely because I am not very trusting that I only accept cash when selling a car. The chance of receiving counterfeit money is low compared to the chance of receiving a rubber check!

[CoastalMaineiac]

Originally Posted by Albert_The_Crocodile

In some states, that won't work anymore. Here in Kentucky, when you register a newly purchased used car, the county clerk's computer selects an average value for that particular vehicle, and taxes you accordingly.

Here in Maine, the excise tax is determined by the vehicle's price when new, I believe. However, when you buy a car from a private seller, you have to pay the sales tax when you go to register it for the first time. The sales tax is based on what you actually paid for the car, and they grab that info from the bill of sale.

I have been asked if I would put a smaller amount on the bill of sale. I've also had sellers offer to put a smaller amount on the bill of sale. The answer to both questions is always, "no." I'm not going to commit tax fraud, and I'm certainly not going to lie in order to help someone else do so.

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by SoCalCpl2

I am the kind of person who is not trusting of a lot of things and this cash only throws up a red flag for me

Originally Posted by CoastalMaineiac

It's precisely because I am not very trusting that I only accept cash when selling a car. The chance of receiving counterfeit money is low compared to the chance of receiving a rubber check!

I was going to say, there are ultimately few guarantees in life and a certain amount of trust is needed to go about your daily life. Cash is trustworthy if you check to make sure it isn't counterfit; a counterfit detecting pen from Kinko's or Office Max, will protect you in that case. When I sold a car cash I checked every single bill with the pen.

A guy that wants to write a check better take me to the bank to draw a cashiers check.