Buyer wants to Paypal for car, Can't Find the Thread Options

[JoeDees]

I've spent the last hour trying to find the thread here about why not to sell a car via paypal but can't find it.

A coworker is selling his truck on craigslist and an out of town buyer has offered him asking price sight unseen. The "buyer" wants to pay by paypal and have the vehicle shipped. I'm trying to convince my buddy that this is 95% likely to be a scam but he still thinks paypal is safe. Can somebody please point me to some good stories about A) how he can/will get ripped off by this B) how he should handle an out of town buyer.

I've never sold a car to a shipper, but I've sold engines and each time the buyer paid the shipping company and the guy picking it up gave me cash or certified check, does it work this way for a car too?

[Tom_T]

We're looking for an 08-14 Cayenne S ourselves, & I want to use my Visa to rack up airline points for future use with a purchase that size, & my PayPal where it is linked would be my back-up plan since the card is linked there.

However, as buyer protection, I'd do the transaction at a AAA office in person with the seller (or at dealer), which is what AAA recommends to avoid scams & get your title & registration in hand & properly transferred ten & there.

I don't know if AAA can do something like that with the parties at different offices, but it's worth your coworker checking. I assume the AZ-AAA also has DMV services, as we do in CA.

PayPal is basically a quasi-bank, but you still need to verify that funds clear any bank/etc. & that the check doesn't bounce so to speak - before signing over title.

Good Luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[r_towle]

I did not consider using visa....
good idea, points are good.

rich

We're looking for an 08-14 Cayenne S ourselves, & I want to use my Visa to rack up airline points for future use with a purchase that size, & my PayPal where it is linked would be my back-up plan since the card is linked there.

However, as buyer protection, I'd do the transaction at a AAA office in person with the seller (or at dealer), which is what AAA recommends to avoid scams & get your title & registration in hand & properly transferred ten & there.

I don't know if AAA can do something like that with the parties at different offices, but it's worth your coworker checking. I assume the AZ-AAA also has DMV services, as we do in CA.

PayPal is basically a quasi-bank, but you still need to verify that funds clear any bank/etc. & that the check doesn't bounce so to speak - before signing over title.

Good Luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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