Paying a car deposit by bank?

Soldato
Joined
26 May 2009
Posts
22,160
If this would be better in a money section or something please move.

Hi guys, A friend of mine just called me for advice (my friends think im smarter than I am, its not hard given my friends) hes putting a deposit down on a car over the phone but the traders card machine is broken so the guy has asked him to go to the [traders] bank and deposit the money into his account, he has given my mate the sort code, account number, name, etc but the guy doesn't know how safe this is.

I know BACS are safe but this isn't account to account its just a deposit, obviously he will have a receipt to say he deposited the money into the traders account but what if the trader tries to screw him, does she have any protection, surely the trader couldn't claim that money into his business account from a 3rd party was a gift or something.

I'm inclined to think its safe but then I shot myself with a staple gun...
 
More interesting is when exactly does he become a she? :D

Does he/she have say an email confirming the bank account details etc... as the only thing I'd be really worried about is getting incorrect details over the phone and then you have no proof as to who to blame.

I also don't see how a BACS transfer would protect he/she any more or less but then again I am a bufoon :) On a side note if the trader did decide to do a dirty then only a deposit via a credit card would likely protect, a debit card or cheque and certainly for me my bank has turned around and said sorry we can't help, you did the trasnfer so your problem.

EDIT: Also how much deposit are we talking about?
 
It's equivalent danger to a BACS transfer but decently more dangerous than a card transaction. As previously said, get the dealer to give their details in writing/email/sms.

To put it in context though, it's pretty standard for say a deposit on a rental agreement.
 
When I bought my car the guys card machine "was broken".

I don't think he had one. I didn't mind he was a pretend trader as the car was exactly what I wanted and had an extensively detailed service history so he didn't add any value (as per usual I find) or mask any of the cars past. Usually I'd of ran a mile though.

Why do you hate these small-time traders so much Fox? I wouldn't say a larger one with forecourt is any better. They all couldn't give a toss. So in theory you should hate them all. I know we agree on the private-seller preference.
 
I know we agree on the private-seller preference.

I'm not so convinced with private sellers any more either. Currently on the hunt for a car and so far 9 out of 10 private sellers have been utter idiots. They just out-right lie over the phone. Almost all said the car was in great / pristine / brilliant condition. We turn up and the cars a mess, one had a huge dent in the boot, another quite literally had a dent, scrape or scratch on pretty much every panel on the car. One person wouldn't say how many previous owners the car had and kept asking ''why do you want to know?'', he finally revealed the car had 7 previous owners.

Just can't believe how these people are able to lie (significant lies) to someone over the phone who is then going to come and see the car. What is the point? Absolute waste of time.

Who'd have thought trying to buy a Focus for 5k would be this difficult... All the really nice ones which tick all the boxes and actually look pristine seem to be automatics!

Saying that the dealers I've dealt with have been just as bad. When I was looking for my first car a few years ago, I saw an 07' Corsa at a private dealer, rang the guy, confirmed everything on the phone - he assured me it was immaculate, everything is working great, never been in an accident etc on the phone. So drove 70 miles to get there and the car was non-runner! It didn't even start, he went to get a battery pack. The bonnet was misaligned, the badges had fallen off the car, the passenger door juddered when you closed it and the inside reeked of smoke. To say I was in disbelief was an understatement.
 
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