On-line sale of motorhome

[Dbrote]

I sold a BMW last year. I advertised it online of course. 3 different offers by three different people all with the same script. They wanted to buy it unseen and have someone pick it up. No way. One person came to my home and looked it over and we had a nice discussion. I sold it to him and all went well.

[GlenZ]

Cash is always king!

[wnew813]

Originally Posted by Dave S

In trying to sell my motorhome, have received an offer on-line where he wants to send me a cashiers check for the unit. Once it clears my bank, he will have someone pick it up. Does this sound like a scam?

Just tell him to use PayPal to pay you.

[mnoland30]

My step-mother was pre-alzheimers and fell for every scam in the book. One where they send you a $5,000 check and then you send out $500 dollar checks to multiple people. They contacted the credit union, who said the $5,000 check was good. So they sent out the $500 checks. A couple of weeks later the $5,000 check bounced. Because the credit union had o.k.ed the check, they had to cover it.

I live in NM and bought my boat in Spokane, WA. I took a cashier's check, thinking that was as good as cash. Fortunately, both his bank and my bank were open, and his bank called my bank to confirm the check. No problem. Before the purchase, I checked with Mercury to make sure the outboard was still under warranty, and with MVD in WA to make sure the boat was registered to the seller. Due diligence.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Even a cashier's check can be cancelled, no good, and used in a scam.
You say, when it clears your bank. Does that mean he won't pick the RV up until the check is cleared and the holding period expires so you can actually use the funds?
I would contact your bank and ask for options to complete this transaction.

Unfortunately that would not be safe . Banks can claim the check cleared then turn around a week later and say bad check so sorry . it's on you . Had a friend about 10 yrs ago get bit like that . cashed the check bank says it cleared he then sends so money only to find a few days after the bank said all was good it was not .

I would never sell to a person site unseen if they won't come and look it's a scam

[MR.M]

Back in 72 I had a caddy for sale transmission was bad needed rebuilt . Had a guy come by poured some stp oil additive in it drove it around the block gave me $500. to hold the car till weekend the guy never showed back up . Think he was pretty drunk when he first came and must have forgotten he bought a caddy .Never did the title so sold it to someone else a month later

[RBfromRJA]

A couple of years ago, we were going to host a person for a year at the local college. "She was going to drive out, then had the 'opportunity' to spend two a weeks overseas. So she was going to ship her car to us, and we could pay for the shipping with her cashier's check, and keep the rest as our deposit. Things started getting real wonky after her 'change' of plans, but we played along with him, even to receiving his check. After stalling about depositing his bogus check for a couple of weeks, we finally told him off, and reported him.
The check looks good, but lacks a proper routing number, drawn on an unlisted bank, among other faults.

[BB61inTX]

As the Sgt over the financial crimes section of a medium size police department, I can confidently tell you this is 100% a scam. You get a certified check and deposit it with your local bank. You have a good relationship with this bank so they make funds available on good faith. When the check hits the federal reserve bank, the check is then found to be fake. You are now out all the fiunds the bank fronted you. In almost all cases, this is not going to be covered by fraud protection. You are SOL. Don’t do it. No way. No how.

[flyflotrtim]

A wire transfer is probably safest but I'd consult with your local bank and confirm with them.

[Red Roadrunner]

Originally Posted by Dave S

In trying to sell my motorhome, have received an offer on-line where he wants to send me a cashiers check for the unit. Once it clears my bank, he will have someone pick it up. Does this sound like a scam?

I would go with a wire transfer from their bank to your bank. Talk to your bank to get assured fund transfer that is irreversible before releasing the title. I think it smells a bit fishy if no one has personally seen the motor home before agreeing to purchase it.

I have sold an RV through a buyers agent, the agent came inspected it. Gave a deposit in cash with a written receipt and an agreement of final purchase, then had the funds transferred to our bank via wire transfer. When our bank assured us this was completed (took about 4 days), he returned to pick it up.
Be very cautious there are a lot of scams out there.

I will comment that our bank told us the only real way of getting payed with no percussion is cash.

[Mr. Dan]

The OP may not be seeing all these helpful comments. Last Activity: 08-25-2022 11:04 AM

[zanoffmj]

Have them wire the money to your bank.

[RUTROAD]

Originally Posted by Dave S

In trying to sell my motorhome, have received an offer on-line where he wants to send me a cashiers check for the unit. Once it clears my bank, he will have someone pick it up. Does this sound like a scam?

message me What are you selling? We are looking to step up. What size make milage? Private message me with pictures I may be interested. And NO we are NOT Scaming. If its what we are looking for we will come look at it.

[RUTROAD]

Matt and Connie Im on site as Rutroad. But send me some pictures year make millage and your asking price.

[Eric H.]

I wire transferred over $50K directly to the bank that held the title for the TH we bought. Transferred right into his loan account# which got the lien/title released quickly.

[LarryB.]

Originally Posted by dalford

If he’s willing to send a cashiers check have him wire the money to your bank instead…then see what he says.

Excellent advice. And then insure that your bank has, indeed, received the funds.

Also note that there is a world of difference between a cashier's check and a certified check.

A cashier's check is like a withdrawl slip that you fill out when you visit the bank to remove funds from your account; although a cashier might make it out for you, there is no verification that the funds are actually on hand (at that moment or in the future) at the bank.

When a bank makes a certified check for an account, the teller actually verifies that the funds are available and then puts a "hold" on those funds so that the account owner can not access those funds.

But, yes, any type of check (including a certified check) is nothing more than a piece of paper that can be fraudulently created.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by Dave S

In trying to sell my motorhome, have received an offer on-line where he wants to send me a cashiers check for the unit. Once it clears my bank, he will have someone pick it up. Does this sound like a scam?

Yup. A classic scam.

[Dave1941]

Saw a good deal, too good, on a Class C. Emailed back and forth and asked to see it since it was advertised as only an hour away. Seller said he was in the Airforce and the RV was at a base in the midwest and he would have it inspected and shipped to me once the funds were transferred. He would hold the funds until I had a chance to do my own inspection. I knew this was a scam from the get go. So I kept playing along, asking for his and shippers info. All seemed fine. I googled and called the shipper, they knew nothing about it. Seller said he hadn't contacted the shipper yet. Then I told the seller I had a friend in the AF that was stationed at the base and he would take a look at the RV. Humm, never heard back from the seller after that email.

[PDFOR3]

And I would imagine the "seller" was working this scam simultaneously with many others and "sold" this same Class C several times. Eventually the scammer is caught but not before innocent people lose actual money.

Originally Posted by Dave1941

Saw a good deal, too good, on a Class C. Emailed back and forth and asked to see it since it was advertised as only an hour away. Seller said he was in the Airforce and the RV was at a base in the midwest and he would have it inspected and shipped to me once the funds were transferred. He would hold the funds until I had a chance to do my own inspection. I knew this was a scam from the get go. So I kept playing along, asking for his and shippers info. All seemed fine. I googled and called the shipper, they knew nothing about it. Seller said he hadn't contacted the shipper yet. Then I told the seller I had a friend in the AF that was stationed at the base and he would take a look at the RV. Humm, never heard back from the seller after that email.

[Dave S]

Thanks everyone for your input, it has confirmed my suspicions. After talking to the bank, they suggested a wire transfer which is quicker and cannot be reversed. Otherwise, they said it could take up to w weeks to “clear” a cashiers check. They also offered to contact the issuing bank to check the legitimacy of the check. Thanks again to everyone for your responses.