Paying for a trailer

[BuzzBunny]

Being new to all of this, how does one pay for a used trailer without handing the PO a handful of cash?
If I leave him with a down payment, how can I be sure that he won't sell it to someone else before I can finish paying for it and towing it away?

Getting jittery about buying a trailer......


Kathy

[tractors1]

If you do a deposit, get a bill of sale showing balance owed that has the VIN number, make, model, etc - just like a car.

[Bob Miller]

A Bill of Sale indicates that the item was sold to you and not just being held with a deposit.


A "Receipt of Deposit" is what you need to have the seller sign when you make a deposit. Here are some of the things that must be on the receipt. You can find one on-line or write one up yourself before going...


1. Yours and the Sellers names and addresses.
2. The agreed upon selling price
3. The amount of the deposit and the current balance
4. The Terms of the Contract:
A. How long the deposit is good for, list an exact time and date when it expires.
B. Sellers and Buyer recourse if default occurs. Who gets to keep how much.
C. Any special conditions that must be met by either party. i.e. repairs, included accessories, paperwork issues etc.
5. The date and time of the acceptance of the deposit.
6. The Sellers and the Buyers signatures.

And, because you are in Canada, pass this by a legal eye first, there may be more needed.

In California (the other CA) if a seller sells a vehicle out from under you, and you have a valid "Receipt of Deposit", you can either sue for damages or you can request that the DMV rule the sale invalid as you were holding a lien on it when it was sold. Just giving back the deposit will not release a seller from legal obligation as you "Owned" the trailer, via an agreed upon temporary lien, much in the same way that you own a vehicle with an outstanding bank loan.

Payments are usually made in cash, but for larger amounts the transaction is often made inside a local bank. Let us know what the seller wants.

[David Tilston]

I just hand the PO a wad of cash.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

I just hand the PO a wad of cash.

But Dave, you seem to buy Trilliums for so little, wouldn't a "Handful of Loonies" be more accurate??? LOL

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

But Dave, you seem to buy Trilliums for so little, wouldn't a "Handful of Loonies" be more accurate??? LOL

[gcssr39]

Along with a bill of sale get a picture of the sellers drivers licenses, easy with a cell phone, then you have a record;

[stevebaz]

Make sure the trailer is titled and registered by the person selling it. Anything other than that opens up a big can of worms that you may or may not be able to resolve.

In some states the title transfer has to be notarized. Can't get it notarized if the person selling it isn't on title. Read the title papers very carefully. Never trust a person that the new title will be mailed to you. Once they have the money there is no incentive for them to drop their life and deal with your new found problems. A trailer with paper problems are not bargains and you will wish you never got involved if things go badly. A bill of sale may make it your property just doesn't mean you can ever get it legally on the road. Some localities are easier to deal with issues and some are impossible. You won't know until your knee deep in it.

I have auto club when I can, I meet the seller there to make the transfer. Then its all done in one visit. title transferred, registration done and security cameras everywhere. Handing over 5-10 thousand dollars makes me feel much better inside Auto Club than a super market parking lot or an alley someplace.

Its also better for the seller too since the transfer is complete they no longer have liability running down the back roads someplace. I haven't always gotten sellers to corporate with this but most responsible people will do it.

[Ziggy]

Cashiers check. If the seller is nervous about it have him meet you at your bank, sign the papers and get the check while he is there.

[Ttocs M]

Once title issues settled, you can work through your bank and seller's bank. My bank mgr via phone confirmed title/notary with seller's bank mgr - was quick and painless.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by gcssr39

Along with a bill of sale get a picture of the sellers drivers licenses, easy with a cell phone, then you have a record;

MMMM, after buying and selling well over a hundred vehicles, using standard paperwork with not one problem, this comes off as way over the top. If a seller was trying to scam you, a fake drivers license is just as easy to get as a title. Has anyone here really had a problem or is this just making a mountain out of a mole hill? I've only read of one person that had a problem and that was with buying one sight unseen.

[Bob Miller]

It would be nice if there weren't problems but, unfortunately, with RV's, they seem to multiply. Primary problem seems to be Hot Titles, Where the seller bought it from someone else who brought it from someone else etc. and no one bothered to re-register it along the way. That's currently illegal in California unless you are a dealer, but that won't stop others from trying.


In some cases the seller isn't even aware of the problems but, once they get their money, they have little interest.


I once bought an Airstream Bambi in VA, with a title in the sellers name, albeit an out of state title. When I tried to track down a previous owner via the Wally Bynum Club number on the coach, I discovered that it had, unknown to the real owner, been stolen out of a storage yard almost a month earlier and retitled.


Bottom line, I managed to get the "seller" to come pick it up and refund my money and as he drove off with the Bambi the sheriff picked him up for having a stolen vehicle. Turned out he was related to the storage yard manager.


Although most of my RV dealings have gone well, I have turned several down for myself, as well as for customers I was doing inspections for, usually because of questionable paperwork.


BTW: Any check the sellers gives the buyer, even if immediately deposited, can still bounce if it is stopped before it clears. At the bank, have the buyer give you cash in hand, after they cash their check.

[CampyTime]

I had to drive several hundred miles to meet the PO to buy my trailer and he insisted on cash and I didn't blame him. Absolutely wonderful human being so I was fortunate and understand your feelings as I had many thousand in 100 dollar bills below my rear end as I drove.

He had no way of knowing whether I would hand him a fake bank check and I would have felt the same, especially since deal was being made with considerable travel for both of us. Sometimes you gotta do whatcha gotta do.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[BuzzBunny]

Encountered an ownership issue when we viewed a Scamp today.
Thanks for all the great advice.

[Bob Miller]

Well Guys, tell us what happened.....

[BuzzBunny]

Apparently the gentleman selling the Scamp was the 3rd owner but not really. The papers were still in the original buyer and owners name : somebody from Tennessee. Alarm bells went off with that disclosure. We passed on what was in other words a good deal.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

Make sure the trailer is titled and registered by the person selling it. Anything other than that opens up a big can of worms that you may or may not be able to resolve.

In some states the title transfer has to be notarized. Can't get it notarized if the person selling it isn't on title. Read the title papers very carefully. Never trust a person that the new title will be mailed to you. Once they have the money there is no incentive for them to drop their life and deal with your new found problems. A trailer with paper problems are not bargains and you will wish you never got involved if things go badly. A bill of sale may make it your property just doesn't mean you can ever get it legally on the road. Some localities are easier to deal with issues and some are impossible. You won't know until your knee deep in it.

I have auto club when I can, I meet the seller there to make the transfer. Then its all done in one visit. title transferred, registration done and security cameras everywhere. Handing over 5-10 thousand dollars makes me feel much better inside Auto Club than a super market parking lot or an alley someplace.

Its also better for the seller too since the transfer is complete they no longer have liability running down the back roads someplace. I haven't always gotten sellers to corporate with this but most responsible people will do it.

I see you are in California, things are a lot different here in the U.S.

[BradPosey]

I don't have a lot of trust any more. If the title is with the unite and the tags are up to date. Should be ok. If your not sure, make the deal contingent upon doing the transfer at the motor vehicle department. If there trying to rip you off that won't do it.


Sent from Brad, new scamp owner. 2014

[Rzrbrn]

I see you'all live in the US...I live in Tennessee.

A national news program did an expose on a certain county in TN through which interstate 40 runs. Seems when the deputies pull people over for a traffic/moving violation, some folks will mention that they have large sums of cash on hand. Said cash is confiscated under the ruse of it most likely being related to illegal activity. Sums ranged from several hundred dollars to $30,000.00 in one case. None of it had been returned. Even after national attention was focused on the problem, the activity still continues.

I am not trying to cast dispersion's on law enforcement. My point being that having a lot of cash on your person is not a good idea.

Be safe. Don't carry large sums of money. Do the deal in a bank.

[monB]

If I withdraw a large sum of money from my bank for a trip, or whatever. I carry it in a bank envelope *WITH* the bank printed withdrawel receipt. Pretty easy to prove where it came from.

Mon