title? / what payment options for USED travel trailer are YOU comfortable with?

You didn't specify where you bought your van but seems like it was from a dealer. They take my personal checks too ($5K limit for credit cards typically), however you are also most likely signing a credit document whereby you will have a loan on the vehicle should the check bounce.
 
You didn't specify where you bought your van but seems like it was from a dealer. They take my personal checks too ($5K limit for credit cards typically), however you are also most likely signing a credit document whereby you will have a loan on the vehicle should the check bounce.
Yes, it was a new vehicle from a dealer, but there was no loan or other financial arrangement or agreement with them. This was over a decade ago, too; I don't know what they do now. When I bought my most recent (used) vehicle from a different dealer - again with no financing - they wanted a certified cheque.
 
Good advice from DMV.org. This advice would be sound for any vehicle, not just a car:

Personal Check After Selling a Car

Accepting a personal check is not advised. If the buyer insists, stipulate you will not hand over the title until the check clears. Or, better yet, agree to meet the buyer at his or her bank with the personal check and have the buyer cash it. You can then accept the cash or have a cashiers check made out to you.

If the potential buyer balks at this, void the agreement and begin looking for a new buyer.

Cashiers Check for Car for Sale

A certified cashiers check is the next best thing to cash, but the risk of fraud still exists. Should you be handed a fake cashiers check, there’s a good chance the bank may not detect it until days or weeks after depositing it, but by then the buyer is long gone, leaving you neck deep in a financial hole.

Protect yourself by insisting on meeting at the buyers issuing bank with the cashiers check. This way you can verify if funds exist. If the buyer finds this unacceptable, walk away from the sale.
 
Good advice from DMV.org. This advice would be sound for any vehicle, not just a car...
In combination, they're saying to insist on a cashier's cheque (rather than a personal cheque), and to avoid fraud with that cheque by either watching it get issued by the bank (so you know it really came from them), or seeing the issuing bank successfully process it.
 
Tons of great info here.

Much appreciated.

And very interesting.

I think I will insist on cash, (that they hand me at the bank)

or bank wire .... And wait 😃For the wire to clear. :popcorn:

Hmmmmm cash is king.
 
I think the easiest thing to do is to meet at the police parking lot, make your deal and then both you and the buyer walk over to your bank to deposit the money........

Yes. Absolutely. :)

As I said "then if anyone wants to buy it, then we'll go 1 block north to my bank, hand me the payment, and I'll deposit it into my account, unhitch the Casita from my vehicle... do paperwork.... and they hook up and drive away."

;D
 
John, Just an overview of how we felt comfortable purchasing our used EggCamper (seller, buyer and transaction all within Alabama). We knew what we were willing to pay and moved that amount from savings to personal checking ahead of time. We informed our insurance agent that we might be purchasing a camper over the weekend, and if so, we'd be in the following week to square away the insurance coverage (he was cool with it). Drove four hours, looked the EggCamper over (drop cloth to crawl under and check out the undercarriage, ladder to climb up and check out the top, grease gun to lube the hubs if purchased, etc.). We liked what we saw, did a little final negotiating, and shook hands on the deal. We exchanged driver's license information. She showed us her original title and current registration for the EggCamper to prove she owned it outright then gave us photocopies of each plus an original signed Bill of Sale (important protection for us under Alabama law) to take with us that day. We wrote her a personal check for the full amount. She removed and kept the license plate (Alabama law), handed over the keys, and we hitched up and drove away. After our personal check cleared her bank, she mailed us the original title signed by her on the back transferring it to us (we had it in about 5 days). With signed title and original Bill of Sale in hand, we headed to the county courthouse for a license plate and to our insurance agent to add the coverage. We were comfortable with everything, and it all worked out great for us and the seller. Relevant laws in your state may vary.
 
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... She showed us her original title and current registration for the EggCamper to prove she owned it outright then gave us photocopies of each plus an original signed Bill of Sale (important protection for us under Alabama law) to take with us that day. We wrote her a personal check for the full amount. She removed and kept the license plate (Alabama law), handed over the keys, and we hitched up and drove away. After our personal check cleared her bank, she mailed us the original title signed by her on the back transferring it to us (we had it in about 5 days). With signed title and original Bill of Sale in hand, we headed to the county courthouse for a license plate and to our insurance agent to add the coverage.
With this system, you have the trailer for the waiting time with no way to get a license plate (in our terms here in Alberta, that means no way to register it); that's probably okay for a trailer in many places, but could be a legal problem for the time it's on the road. It certainly wouldn't be a good idea with a motor vehicle here, or likely in any province. It might still be a good solution...
 
Brian, The State of Alabama gives you 20 days from the date of purchase to get it registered. Our bigger problem would be if we go all the way to Chilliwack to pick up our new Escape, we would need to have it back in Alabama in less than three weeks. So our time to tour the Northwest on the same trip, and still allow time to drive all the way back to Alabama, would be limited. Bummer....
 
In Pennsylvania you have 30 days to transfer tags from one vehicle to another, so keep your old tags for the new one. Check Alabama, this may give you a little more time.
 
And is it 20 days from pickup or when you cross Alabama state line? Then, what if any penalty might appply? I wouldn't want to limit my trip solely based on DMV rules.
 
Yes, it was a new vehicle from a dealer, but there was no loan or other financial arrangement or agreement with them. This was over a decade ago, too; I don't know what they do now. When I bought my most recent (used) vehicle from a different dealer - again with no financing - they wanted a certified cheque.

We just bought a used vehicle in the Lower Mainland a few months ago. The Toyota dealer took a few thousand on credit card and the remainder of the payment by personal cheque. Like a previous poster mentioned they have your DL number, the VIN number and the vehicle has been registered in your name on site so they can recover the asset if needed. I guess it becomes a business decision comparing the payment default risk versus the ease of completing the financial transaction for the customer.
 
In Canada, an Interac etransfer is a simple and inexpensive way to transfer money to a stranger without exchanging any banking information. It works without anyone going to a bank, as long as they're willing to use a mobile banking app or website.

We use Interac e-Transfer all the time and it is great. The only draw back is that it is limited to your bank card daily transaction limits. We keep our withdrawal limits low because we rarely use cash. We would be forced to make transactions over multiple days to transfer a larger sum of money.
 
If taking cash (that's not directly from the bank), be sure to use one of those counterfeiting detection pens on it. Granted, they won't work if the fake money was make with real money. You can get these pens at Office Depot and similar places. I've never had to use them on Canadian money, though. We used them all the time at a store I worked at for any larger bills.

The OP said he couldn't tell a real from a fake $100 bill (or words to that effect). Go to a bank and I'm sure they'd be willing to show you all the things to look for. Especially if you're withdrawing that $100 bill! :laugh:

Good luck!
 
If taking cash (that's not directly from the bank), be sure to use one of those counterfeiting detection pens on it. Granted, they won't work if the fake money was make with real money. You can get these pens at Office Depot and similar places. I've never had to use them on Canadian money, though. We used them all the time at a store I worked at for any larger bills.

The OP said he couldn't tell a real from a fake $100 bill (or words to that effect). Go to a bank and I'm sure they'd be willing to show you all the things to look for. Especially if you're withdrawing that $100 bill! :laugh:

Good luck!
Hi: NW Cat Owner... With US dollar bills of any denomination the ink never dries. Smudge them on a clean white sheet of paper to test them!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie;)
 
I've sold quite a few valuable items... and i really do prefer cash, handed by the buyer to the bank teller, at MY BANK, and it gets deposited, and we are done.

least risk.

revised plan:

if buyer sees Casita and wants it, then I say OK meet me at my bank in 30 minutes and I'll be inside. Casita parked outside.

pay me, and then we hook up to you. then you drive off.

if they wanted i could even be unhooked, with my big secure yellow Trimax wheel clamp lock on, and hand him the wheel lock key as he or she pays the teller. :thumb:

:)
 

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