Guy is coming to pick the MR2 up on Saturday, after offering to buy it last night.

I said I would prefer cash, but he said it could be a bankers draft - are these as good as cash, and how do I know whether it is gen-yew-ine?

Any tips - do i give him the car straight away, or visit the bank first and deposit the draft?

Any bankers about?

DW

Phone the bank and get them to check the number on the draft.

Make sure you get the number before the bank shuts !!

DW



Until it is cleared...... its a bit of paper. Only allow them to take car after a visit to bank. make sure they visit when the banks are open.


Many stories of stolen /fake cheques around

[Edited by Luke - 2/26/2003 10:40:45 AM]

A bankers draft is guaranteed to clear by the bank so I would say is as good as cash.
As for how to check whether it's genuine I couldn't really say. I bought my current car with a bankers draft and from what I can remember it was just like a cheque with some holograms on it :D

IIRC it did have a number on to call to check that it was genuine (may just be imagining this tho, as it was a fair while ago)

HTH,

Gareth

Its just a bit of paper.......................... pay for it to be expressed cleared whatever. But until your bank gives you a receipt for the money in your account,No car.

You need to check its genuine and not stolen from the issueing bank. There have been cases of stolen draft chequebooks and of course forgeries.

Cammy

in theory a bank draft is as good as cash. The only problem is if it is stolen/fake. Just tell him to come round in the morning and both of you go to the bank together to pay it in. Having said that, it's only an MR2 after all so presumably we are talking trivial amounts of money here :D

Steve

Call the bank and check the draught with them.
Do the exchange at a time when you can deposit the draught on the same day and do it promptly.
I've bought/sold many cars using bankers draughts in days gone by and always picked up the vehicle before midday. You should do the same as it gives you time to get to your bank and deposit.

A legitimate bank draft means that the issuing bank has effectively taken the funds from their customers account and placed them in a separate bank-owned account from which the payment would ultimately be drawn.

It kind of proves that the customer has the funds and it is therefore preferrable to a a personal cheque that could b-b-b-bounce.

However, I have been told that there is nothing to prevent the customer cancelling the bank draft - just like you can cancel a personal cheque - before the beneficiary gets the chance to clear it.

ie. they give you the legitimate draft in good faith but on the way home the clutch goes and they decide they don't want the car (at all / at the agreed price). They could in theory stop the draft before you have a chance to get it cleared.

Saying all that it really is a matter of trust when you are selling/buying a car with a 'stranger'.

I for one don't feel comfortable handing over a large sum to a completely unknown person because at that point they own both the car and your money and you have to place your trust them that they will give you the keys and the V5.

You just need something to go on that gives you some reassurance that you are dealing with a real person that you/the police/the coutrts could contact/trace if something went wrong.

I believe............ once that cheque is issued. Whilst you have it in your hand its not yours and you have no control. The bank wrote the cheque not you. The money has come out from your account.


When it goes wrong the paper work is terrible!!!

Edited 11.26am
"I stand corrected!!!"

They can stop the cheque..............

[Edited by Luke - 2/26/2003 11:22:38 AM]

The draught just proves the money is in the account of the buyer and has been put aside.
If he cancels it before you draw on it. You're in trouble.
Which is a good reason to get his details on the V5 slip and possibly a proof of address, eg his drivers license [well, he has to drive the car back home] to tally with these details.
What a lovely world, full of honest people we live in.
And get to the bank [is yours open on Saturday] to deposit your money.
I think a draught takes three days to clear. Find out.

a friend sold a car to someone with a bankers draft and it turned out to be fake/stolen. his loss. be careful.

I just sold a car at the weekend. After taking a nice deposit to hold the car, I was expecting the guy to turn up with a draft. He brought cash - to the tune of £12,500.00. Told him it had to go straight in the bank before he got the car. He was fine with this, and after depositing the money, I took him to the car, signed the papers and off he went.

Looking back, I was happier taking cash, as it went in my bank, and I knew it wasn't forged or otherwise. If it was a draft, I would have not been happy till the money had cleared, and till then I would have a doubt in my mind, especially as he would have had the car by then!!

laters

Stu

Have to say I would not be happy letting someone drive away in my car after giving me a bankers draft. Especially if it was a Saturday as there would be no way to find out if it was genuine until the Monday.

Only time I have ever seen a bankers draft is when I needed one for the deposit on my house. To my untrained eye it looked like a normal cheque and had even been hand written. Slightly concerning that a hand written bit of paper was worth £7500...

Why can't he just electronically transfer the money to your account instead? I would much rather go to the bank with him on the Saturday morning and even pay the transfer fee myself (think it is £20 or something) That way your bank could confirm the money was in your account straight away, I would not trust a bankers draft.

Cheers all, will try and get him to bring cash on Sat am.

RB5320 - cheeky fecker. May not be much to you, but tis everything to me - lets just say it would buy 3 PPP's for your Scooby's :) And a much nicer car than the G reg 205 XS that is replacing it :(

Some folk :rolleyes:

only kidding. I had a mk1 MR2 for 7 years. Fantastic car which never let me down once and was much more entertaining to drive than the scooby. I wish I had never sold it. Good luck with the pug!

Steve

My first decent car was a red G reg 205 XS back in 1995 and I absolutely loved it, bought it while I was doing my sandwich year at university. One owner, Full Peugeot Service history and I took out a £3300 loan to pay for it. I couldn't afford Fully comp insurance as it was my first policy (been on my parents until then) so I got TPFT insurance. Bit of a shame I wrote it off two months later and had to keep paying the finance payments for the rest of the year (and only earning £9500 a year!)

Remember being absolutely gutted for months having to drive my rusty old Escort to work each day while paying for a car I had written off. Payday was the worst as I saw half my salary going out to pay for that car.

CASH CASH CASH, too many dodgy fellows out there!!!

Cash.......... could have many fakes included.
could be robbed afterwards

get it sorted in a bank

I would never accept cash for a car :eek:

If you want to be sure get a bankers draft and go to the bank with it or have the money wired direct to your account.

Bankers Drafts were, in the past, 'as good as cash'. For a bank to refuse payment of what is effectively a cheque drawn against them personally would have been unthinkable - reputations and all that.

In theory this is still the case, a BD is only issued against available funds and is issued by the bank itself. These days, however, a bank or building society can and will refuse payment of stolen bankers drafts. The moral of the story being - check with the issuing bank or building society before letting your car go.

The best way these days, as mentioned here already is to ask for an electronic payment via CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) - cost will be around £20-£30 depending on the bank. Much safer as you can check that the funds are actually in your account before releasing the car. CHAPS payments can normally be made in 24 hours.

Chris (former bank employee :) )

get the money transferred directly to yuor account, that way you both have records of the transaction, and a signed reciept should reflect this transaction.

good luck.
BB