I have a good offer on my Civic but it leaves me with questions:
The prospective buyer is from MN and says the state requires copies of the seller's and buyer's IDs. I'm naturally a little leery of sending a copy of my license (as requested) to a complete stranger.
Cash or PayPal was offered as the payment method. I want cash and he's leaning towards PayPal,I don't have an account there. This seems like a ripe opportunity for a scam.
What says the hive?
Unless something has changed recently, I've never been asked to produce a copy of the sellers DL or any other form of sellers ID, when I've gone in to transfer the title in to my name. MN historically has required the sellers signature on the title and nothing more. The last title transfer I did was about a year ago. I went to the dmv with the buyer at that time to ensure title transfer. Aside from my signature (as the seller) handwritten on the title, the staff didn't even give me a look or ask me for anything.
There are some crafty con artists out there trying to steal your ID even in the most subtle ways. Many of the fake ads on Craigslist are posted in hopes of eventually luring another prospective victim in.
I have heard there are possible hitches using Pay Pal. The one long distance car deal I did, I asked the buyer to send payment via a certified money order through the US Post office (can get at most PO locations). That worked out great and was probably the least troublesome way for me to accept legit payment.
oldsaw wrote: I have a good offer on my Civic but it leaves me with questions: The prospective buyer is from MN and says the state requires copies of the seller's and buyer's IDs. I'm naturally a little leery of sending a copy of my license (as requested) to a complete stranger. Cash or PayPal was offered as the payment method. I want cash and he's leaning towards PayPal,I don't have an account there. This seems like a ripe opportunity for a scam. What says the hive?
Nope. I bought a car from skyrender when i still lived in mn. All the buyer needs is a title. No ids.
I bought a vehicle in MN a few years ago. No IDs were needed for the sale/purchase. Except, the bank did need to see my ID so they would notarize our bill of sale.
If you send any money via PayPal, do NOT use the gift option. Gifts are not backed up by the Paypal guarantee. Also, make sure anything through Paypal is funded through your credit card. That gives you another option to dispute if needed.
Thanks for the info, guys!
I checked the MN DMV website and found no mention of the ID requirement either. I emailed the prospective buyer to forward the DMV link, if it exists.
He's willing to pay via PayPal and have a local GA friend pick-up the car. I said he should PayPal his friend and have him give me good, old cash for the car and bill-of-sale.
There has to be trust between the two parties, but I'm the one with the most to lose on the deal.
oldsaw wrote: Thanks for the info, guys! I checked the MN DMV website and found no mention of the ID requirement either. I emailed the prospective buyer to forward the DMV link, if it exists. He's willing to pay via PayPal and have a local GA friend pick-up the car. I said he should PayPal his friend and have him give me good, old cash for the car and bill-of-sale. There has to be trust between the two parties, but I'm the one with the most to lose on the deal.
I smell scam. Friend pick up sounds a lot like my shipper will pay you.
Cash money or no deal.
Had to tell a guy that when he showed up to buy my Corvette with a bank check.
Sorry dude, cash or nothing.
Even the nice lady at my bank suggested that even reasonably higher amounts like my Corvette, she would only accept cash or bank to bank wire transfer. This day and age its the only secure means of payment. Anything else can be faked, payments can be stopped on cashiers checks, etc.
oldsaw wrote: Thanks for the info, guys! I checked the MN DMV website and found no mention of the ID requirement either. I emailed the prospective buyer to forward the DMV link, if it exists. He's willing to pay via PayPal and have a local GA friend pick-up the car. I said he should PayPal his friend and have him give me good, old cash for the car and bill-of-sale. There has to be trust between the two parties, but I'm the one with the most to lose on the deal.
Don't know if you will be needing a notary for any documentation (sales/tax discount, etc.) for this sale but usually notaries require both parties to be present and need to witness any signatures they notarize.
In reply to mndsm:
If the MN guy is serious, he'll have his ATL friend show up with cash. He'll just have to wait until I check all the bills (with one of those counterfeit money pens) before he gets the keys and bill-of-sale.
The Prospective buyer emailed this link from Washington County: https://www.co.washington.mn.us/index.aspx?nid=662
It seems legit but your opinions are valued.
He's pretty insistent on using PayPal and the "friends and family" option to transfer funds. Are said funds available immediately to the seller or is there a waiting period?
Oldsaw, I know who wants the car, he was an Atlanta region autox member before moving to MN. I don't think he is trying to scam you. Plenty of us are friends with him on the book of faces. On the ID part, I don't remember having to show an ID when I bought or sold cars in MN, but that was 20+ years ago.
Everything about this screams scam. Even that URL looks very suspect. I would have walked away already.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:
He's already offered to send a copy of his MN license. He's apparently an established member of the MN autocross community and he found the ad on a forum for a pretty tight-knit group of racers/soloists.
It's starting to look a lot more legit...(?)...
In reply to 81cpcamaro:
Randy,
Check your email for a PM and get back to me when you can.
Thanks, Steve
Another web link posted on this site that doesn't open (can we go back to the old format that didn't have this problem?).
I searched on my desktop and found what I think is the same link/info. In that it says only the buyer (not you in this case) is the one who needs to provide full name, dob, address, etc.
If this guy keeps countering you on how you want to handle the transaction, I would question that.
Also why is he so insistent on Pay Pal? That system is not scam proof. The old school certified postal money order is much less risky from my experience as already noted.
Steve, received your pm and replied.
Buy and sell cars all the time for over 30 years in MN. Signed title w/seller/s full signature as it is on title is all that is needed.
Scammy scam!
I mean, maybe not, but if he is legit, getting cash or a bank transfer /wire isn't hard. (He can take cash out of his credit card if he needs to use credit) And if they really do need your id, i wouldn't send it until after you get the money.
And don't entertain any other options.
You'll need to log in to post.
