Ok to suggest using PayPal to buy a second hand car

RoyMi6

RoyMi6

RoyMi6

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Joined
9 Mar 2010
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Hey folks, had a wee post on here about a month back asking about buying MX5's. Think I've found the one I want but it's a little over my budget in terms of disposable cash.

Rather than going the cheap and cheerful Mk1 route I've decided that a Mk2 with air bags, electrics and a hardtop as well as a soft top would be good.

It's a local seller and he was kind enough to let me know where the car was so that I could view it without interruption during the week. Liking what I saw we've agreed to meet in person so that I can give it a wee run about.

However, in an ideal world I don't want to pay ~£2K in cash. My ideal situation would be to pay for it on my credit card that still has 10months 0% and is currently sitting unused.

This is where PayPal comes in. In theory I should be able to make a payment to him with my credit card but with so many scams out there I'm wondering if this is something that's even remotely considered by sellers.

This is my first time buying a car so it's a genuine question to sellers out there. Would you consider it? I suppose it's all down to the individual but I don't want to suggest it if it's something that's frowned upon! :)

Cheers in advance guys,
Roy
 
Personally I dont think I would consider it unless I knew the person. Its too easy for buyers to claim money back on paypal.

Unfortunately in terms of private car sales £2k isnt a lot to russle up and I would certainly insist on cash.
 
this is something best discussed in person over a cup of tea.

Explain to him your reasons and be honest about it. Leave the ball in his court and see what he says.

Saying this face to face should make things easier as you can usually tell if somebody is BSing you face to face or comes across as too confident and swarmy
 
Ross1234 said:
Lolwut. You want to use Paypal so he DOESN'T think you're a scammer?
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No, my reference to PayPal scams what that people are often scared by people offering to use 3rd party services when payment in cash, in person, can be made.

BinnsY said:
Personally I dont think I would consider it unless I knew the person. Its too easy for buyers to claim money back on paypal.

Unfortunately in terms of private car sales £2k isnt a lot to russle up and I would certainly insist on cash.
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It's a fair enough opinion to have. I don't know this person but he does work in the same organisation as me (a University) so hopefully he'll be open to the suggestion.

Hxc said:
Just give him cash.
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Unfortunately although I would be able to scrape the money together in cash it's not an option as I would be using all my savings. I was originally budgeting for half the price.

Mucky_Pup said:
If you gift the money to him on paypal, there's no way for you to reclaim it, is there not?
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This does seem to be the case but after a quick Google the first thing that comes up is people getting conned by this process regardless :)


reevsy said:
Paypal protection does not cover any payment made for cars.
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Got a link to the source for this? Does this mean I won't be covered or he won't be covered? Obviously I don't particularly care about "cover" as I wouldn't have any paying in cash.
 
You wont be covered so you couldnt claim back off the seller, which may help you convince the seller to accept paypal. I'm on my phone at the moment but if you search on the paypal site it's all there. I too was in the same position as you a while ago, cars are not covered under paypal protection scheme.
 
Yep someone has to take the hit on fees. You can only gift if you already have the balance - so not from a credit card. I sold a car as spares or repairs on an eBay auction last year for £410 and accepted a papal payment. Think the fees were about £20-30ish.
 
Yeah fees are 3.4% which works out at ~£68 charge for me.

This is a manageable amount in my opinion considering I always intended on haggling just a little so hopefully I could cover these costs by a reduction in price. Obviously I'd make it clear in advance that I would be intending to pay by PayPal rather than cash so that both parties are happy with the agreed price.

The fact that the buyer (me) is not protected by PayPal in this instance is a non issue as in my opinion it's no different than buy cash in hand. However, what is unfortunate is that PayPal does not protect the seller either in this instance:

The following are ineligible for seller protection coverage:

• Significantly Not as Described claims
• Transactions that cannot be proven via proof of delivery or proof of postage (where applicable)
• Transactions above £150 that do not have proof of signature from the recipient
• Transactions that were not posted to the buyer within 7 days of payment

This may be enough to dissuade some sellers from using PayPal if, like others have said, they don't know them personally.

Obviously this discussion doesn't take into account other methods such as a unsecured personal loan from the bank (which would cost me about £250 in interest over 12 months for the ideal amount of money I'd like to take out) or simply waiting until I could afford it :)

In my personal opinion, from what I've read, if I was selling I think it would be based on the person I was selling too.

Think all I can do is ask! :)

Cheers for you help guys!
Roy
 
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