Texas private party vehicle sale to buyer out of state questions, plates and title. (Wink: insurance, home)

[jlemon02]

I'm having a buyer from California fly in to purchase my car and drive it back to California this Friday. He'll be paying with a cashiers check, leaving for the drive on Friday and registering the car in California.

A couple of questions about this transaction:

1) Do I keep the TX plates on the vehicle?.... I'd assume that if there were no plates on the vehicle that he would eventually get pulled over somewhere along the 1500 mile trip back to Cali.

2) When should I release the title?.... Do I wait until the cashiers check clears or hand it over when he gives me the check.

Any other advice or input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[txdemo]

You don't keep the plates.

I'd go with him to the bank to cash the check.

I'd meet in police department parking lot to do the transaction.

[Texas Built]

Your buyers story sounds fishy to me. I would be highly suspicious of someone claiming they are going to fly in from Cali and buy and car a drive back the same day.


What kind of car is it? Is this a Craigslist sale?



I would tell them to bring CASH and meet you at a police station to do the transaction. Nothing less. Do NOT take a check of any kind. You are the one taking risk, not them. Play by your rules. If they want the car they will have no problem doing it.

[SuperPollito]

I’ll bring you a .... “cashier’s check” today and buy the car. For $1,000 more than what you’re asking. But let’s meet somewhere that’s not a police station. Wink wink.

[Texas Built]

Originally Posted by SuperPollito

I’ll bring you a .... “cashier’s check” today and buy the car. For $1,000 more than what you’re asking. But let’s meet somewhere that’s not a police station. Wink wink.

I see you have been on Craigslist.

[mikeyyc]

I've flown in to buy cars and motorcycles before. It's not that odd if you're after something specific.

If it's for an Accord, something's off.

That being said, forget the cashier's check, get a bank wire. It's instant, and likely cheaper than a check for the buyer, and you have instant verification and cash in your account.
If you insist on taking a check, hang on to the title until everything clears. Personally if I was taking a check, you wouldn't get the car until it clears.

I'd keep the plates, as any tolls etc. racked up would be your responsibility. Make sure you file your paperwork with the state to have the title vacated, and the registration ended.

It should be up to the buyer to ensure they have insurance and whatever temporary tags are needed. Again, I've ridden bikes across multiple states with no tags, but insurance and the bill of sale/old title, and have never been hassled. I've been stopped once, but was on my way quickly.

[Texas Built]

These "1 post" people never reply. I need to quit helping them.

[jlemon02]

Update:

The car I was selling was highly modified and rare, probably one of only a few in the country.

I picked the buyer up from the airport and after getting home to see the car he was immediately sure it was what he wanted. He handed me the cashiers check, we did the title paper work and bill of sale and he left that night for the journey back to Cali. I let him keep the plates on the car so that he wouldn't get hassled on his way through the multiple states he would be traveling through and filed the notification with the DMV that night online about the car having a new owner.

He made it back to Cali without any issues and the check cleared the day after I deposited it into the bank.

If this was a regular Craigslist sale I would be more hesitant to do things the way I did them but given the higher value of the car and communication I had with the buyer I was comfortable with how things went.

Everything worked out perfectly!

[TexasTony]

Originally Posted by jlemon02

Update:

The car I was selling was highly modified and rare, probably one of only a few in the country.

I picked the buyer up from the airport and after getting home to see the car he was immediately sure it was what he wanted. He handed me the cashiers check, we did the title paper work and bill of sale and he left that night for the journey back to Cali. I let him keep the plates on the car so that he wouldn't get hassled on his way through the multiple states he would be traveling through and filed the notification with the DMV that night online about the car having a new owner.

He made it back to Cali without any issues and the check cleared the day after I deposited it into the bank.

If this was a regular Craigslist sale I would be more hesitant to do things the way I did them but given the higher value of the car and communication I had with the buyer I was comfortable with how things went.

Everything worked out perfectly!

Glad everything worked out. May I know what kind of car was it. I have done out of state transactions but usually dealt carchex or alliance auto etc to get a car report and some sort of escrow.

[texsn95]

FYI, you're supposed to keep the plates when you sell a car. There is a temp tag that can be printed out ahead of time to cover the buyer for the transit home and I believe for about 5 days after.