Quick question, paying for used car privately

ScarySquirrel

ScarySquirrel

ScarySquirrel

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Joined
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Hi all,

I just bought a new car (yay!) and I said to the guy that I can do a money transfer.

He seems like a really nice guy but naturally my Mum is worried about doing an online transfer. Is there any cover for me by paying this way?

If suddenly I go to his house and he has disappeared or something, would I be screwed? How would you pay?

Cash isn't really a viable option.
 
FPS (fast payment service) on day of purchase, the money will be in his bank within 2 hours of transferring and it's non-reversible. Check with your bank if they offer it, most do these days.
 
Howard said:
Why isn't cash viable? It's the best option really.

What car?
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If the value were upwards of £3k, I wouldn't take cash either. Thats a large sum of money to have to carry into town to pay in, and it is not traceable. HPI specifically say not to purchase a car with cash > £3k in value.
 
ci_newman said:
FPS (fast payment service) on day of purchase, the money will be in his bank within 2 hours of transferring and it's non-reversible. Check with your bank if they offer it, most do these days.
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The problem with FPS is that it can and does fail sometimes - an instant / same day transfer is not guaranteed. If a payment fails through FPS it goes through the normal BACS process which can take up to 4 days.

You can do a CHAPS transfer which is guaranteed to transfer the same day, but costs £25-£30. However, even this is not guaranteed to be instant, but it will be in the recipients account by 4pm if transferred by an earlier cut off time.

Given that even CHAPS can leave you waiting for several hours, cash is really the only viable option. I recently bought a car for £10k with cash. The seller and I went to my bank, withdrew the cash, then walked next door to his bank and deposited it straight into his account. The cash was only out of the bank for about 10 minutes.

There's still an element of risk with cash, but you can minimise it.
 
Thanks everyone.

Oh, the car is a Renaultsport Clio 182 (with both cup packs). I can't wait to pick it up next week. I've been driving a 1997 Corsa for 7 years.
 
I've nearly always used cash, but the most expensive car I have bought was £5k and it was a pain checking and double checking the amount.

The last car I bought on a whim on a Saturday morning though and I couldn't get the cash out of the bank in time so I rang the seller and he was with HSBC also. I went to the blokes house, checked the car over. He let me on his pc and did an online bank transfer. He logged in checked he had received and then let me on my way. Instant and convenient.
 
ScarySquirrel said:
Thanks everyone.

Oh, the car is a Renaultsport Clio 182 (with both cup packs). I can't wait to pick it up next week. I've been driving a 1997 Corsa for 7 years.
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That Clio is going to feel like the most awesome car in the world - 7 years?!
 
I will be going from this:

corsa1k.jpg


corsa2o.jpg


To this:

clio1b.jpg


clio2w.jpg


To say I am excited would be an understatement :D
 
Last edited:
Just have a Building society cheque made out to the man in question, costs nothing & should be no problem there providing of course you or your parents have an account in the first place
 
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