How to pay for an RV?

[KRum]

I am interested in buying an RV from a private seller in another State (This requires me to fly across country)...

The price should be about $50K...

 

My question is how would you recommend I transfer the funds to the seller?

 

I really do not want to fly across country with $50,000 in cash...

I look honest enough but do not want to do any explaining at airport security...

 

I was thinking of coming with $5,000 in cash and then if the RV looks good having my bank transfer the balance of funds to the sellers bank account - I can set up a standing transfer at my local bank and with a call have them transfer funds that day... But I worry about the timing of the funds receipt versus the release of the title?

 

I also want to make sure the seller in comfortable with the transaction...

 

How have others handled this?

[Ranger Smith]

I just brought a bank check with me when we did it.

[Yarome]

I just brought a bank check with me when we did it.

 

X2.

 

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a name on tap at your local bank and give them a heads up in the event the seller wishes to confirm the validity of your cashiers check.

 

I wouldn't take any cash.

[Mariner]

I did a simple bank to bank transfer 6yrs. ago when purchasing ours out of state. Bank transfers are even easier now. If your hesitant, talk with someone at your bank to explain the steps to get it done.

[Kirk W]

While it was not my RV, just last week I acted as agent for a neighbor who is not present to sell his truck & travel trailer. In this case the truck & trailer were physically here in TX, the owner and titles were in AK, and the buyer was from MO. Cell phones allowed us to discuss the transaction with all parties. The buyer arrived here to inspect the two with my assistance. Deal was closed by phone, then the buyer contacted his bank, where he had made prior arrangements for a money transfer. His home bank was supplied the name and address of the seller, the bank routing number and account number, and of course the amount to transfer. I acted as middle man in this because of the locations and held a written bill of sale for the two vehicles listing each one's VIN which I supplied to the buyer once the owner verified that the money had arrived. It is a bit more complicated today because the Patriot Act requires extra information for any transaction exceeding $10k and this was similar in amount to your purchase. Yours should be a bit less complicated with you, the RV, and the seller all in one location. If there is no lien on the RV it is less difficult but you could still arrange to do the transaction at the seller's bank to simplify things in knowing the money is there. If there is a lien the office of the lien holder is the place to do the deed.

 

I would not consider carrying any large amount of cash as you can just as easily transfer all of the money, as we did. It will make things much less complicated if you visit your bank before you leave and set it all up, so that you can then just call the bank and everything will be ready. There are forms that the bank must supply to the feds and those could be filled out before you travel to the purchase site. That way you can be sure that you have all of the needed information. The one hitch that we ran into was that the seller uses a PO box for mail and the bank needed his physical street address. The money transfer was accepted in the AK bank in less than 1/2 hour after the call to the MO bank to send it.

[TXiceman]

A bank to bank wire transfer is the safest way to do this. But with the new rules, transactions over $10,000 are slowed down a bit. Discuss the options with your bank. You do not want to release the money until you have a title and the owner does want to release the title until he has the money.

 

Ken

[AlCherry]

You fly across the country with 50K in cash and it WILL be confiscated. Period. It will test positive for drugs (as all money does). Go with Kirk and the other ideas on electronic transfers.

[Twotoes]

Kirk, the Patriot Act expired May of 2015 and was not renewed. The banks are still claiming that they have to abide by the Act but it is really only the banks internal policies.

[LFDR3116]

We used a cashier check which is guaranteed funds.

[Kirk W]

Kirk, the Patriot Act expired May of 2015 and was not renewed. The banks are still claiming that they have to abide by the Act but it is really only the banks internal policies.

Expired or not, some of the provisions are still in force, as this one is. The following is a quote from the IRS website.

 

Generally, any person in a trade or business who receives more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction or related transactions must complete a Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business (PDF). Form 8300 is a joint form issued by the IRS and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and is used by the government to track individuals that evade taxes and those who profit from criminal activities. Although the cash reporting requirements apply to many types of businesses, auto dealerships frequently receive cash in excess of $10,000 and are required to comply with the filing requirements.

[pugsly]

Something I've done before is travel with a cashiers check for maybe 90% of the purchase price, and carry the rest in cash. It gives you a little wiggle room in the negotiations if things aren't quite as described.

[RangeMaggotBob]

You fly across the country with 50K in cash and it WILL be confiscated. Period. It will test positive for drugs (as all money does). Go with Kirk and the other ideas on electronic transfers.

Yeah, there's a cutoff when it comes to cash and flying; 50K is way above that. Everything AlCherry says is correct.

[wildmandmc]

no to carrying any cash, as there are so many false sellers , along with "oh dam i forgot to tell ya about that problem".

altho im not a fan of bank of america they seem to be a bank around the whole country, if ya have them , would make things easier.

[pugsly]

no to carrying any cash, as there are so many false sellers , along with "oh dam i forgot to tell ya about that problem".

altho im not a fan of bank of america they seem to be a bank around the whole country, if ya have them , would make things easier.

 

We have Wells Fargo and they seem to be all over the place too (I liked them better than BofA)

[Riverbud]

It's always stressful on both ends. When we sold our trailer recently, it was an out of state transaction and I delivered it to a midway point. We decided on a cashiers check. Before the trip, I called her bank branch and got a point of contact and was able to call and verify the check during the transaction.

 

When we bought our Class C last month (also out of state), it so happened that both we and the sellers were USAA members and we were able to transfer the funds between our accounts. We did this over the phone at the time of purchase. We did need to get approval because it exceeded the daily limit for transfers, but we explained what we were doing and it went very smoothly. The sellers were then able to go online and saw that the funds were in their account and the title was signed over.

[oscarvan]

Something I've done before is travel with a cashiers check for maybe 90% of the purchase price, and carry the rest in cash. It gives you a little wiggle room in the negotiations if things are quite as described.

 

This.

[pugsly]

I remember one particular purchase where I had flown in and there was a problem with the chassis that was going to cost me maybe $500 to fix. The seller generously said that as soon as my certified check processed he would send me a check for $500...I said, no worries, I'm paying partly in cash.

 

Never seen someone so glum to be handed cash before.

[a1rstreamer]

When I bought my rig I had first sent a deposit to secure the deal. Then I obtained a bank money order (the Canadian equivalent of a cashier's check) and flew down to meet the seller. I went with the seller to his bank, and they called my bank to confirm the authenticity of the money order. At the bank he then signed the title documents (truck and trailer) over to me; then went to the licensing office to get temporary tags.

 

Since my purchase was complicated in that I was also importing them to Canada, I had to send the original documents to the US point of exit 3 days before I could export them from the US. When I got to US Customs, they stamped their approval on the original documents and allowed me to cross into Canada, where I filled in the import documents and paid the GST. The trailer was easily registered (just paying the Provincial Sales Tax and license fees), but the truck had to go through additional paperwork with the Registrar of Import Vehicles followed by e-test, certificate of mechanical fitness, and the RIV inspection (daytime running lights and speedo reading in Km/hr); after that, just had to pay the Provincial Sales Tax and license fees. Months later the RIV sticker came which is affixed to the driver's side doorpost.