Accepting cash in payment for a car - how much is ok?
Discussion
My car is for sale at the moment, and one potential buyer called asking if I would accept cash if everything was ok. The thing is, the sale price will be around £25k, and I am a bit nervous about the prospect of accepting this much cash.
Has anyone else undertaken a sale involving this amount of cash, and is there anything I should be concerned about? The deal would take place over a weekend, so no prospect of a bank checking the notes. He would want to take the car away there and then, as he would be travelling a few hours to get to me.
Any advice or thoughts would be welcome.
Has anyone else undertaken a sale involving this amount of cash, and is there anything I should be concerned about? The deal would take place over a weekend, so no prospect of a bank checking the notes. He would want to take the car away there and then, as he would be travelling a few hours to get to me.
Any advice or thoughts would be welcome.
Hmmmm. I'd be very suspicious.
The last thing you want is to turn up at the bank on Monday morning and find they're fake / dodgy / nicked notes.
Oh, and you can only cash £8000 (IIRC) without a declaration.
However.... I sold a car for north of £20k to a guy from Germany. Before he made the trip i insisted he mail a scan of the banker's draft, and a copy of his passport along with all his address details. The draft was drawn on a small local bank and I called them in Germany (got the number off the internet). They knew the buyer personally and all his address details checked out on Google. Still a risk but there comes a point where you have to trust your gut feel.
The last thing you want is to turn up at the bank on Monday morning and find they're fake / dodgy / nicked notes.
Oh, and you can only cash £8000 (IIRC) without a declaration.
However.... I sold a car for north of £20k to a guy from Germany. Before he made the trip i insisted he mail a scan of the banker's draft, and a copy of his passport along with all his address details. The draft was drawn on a small local bank and I called them in Germany (got the number off the internet). They knew the buyer personally and all his address details checked out on Google. Still a risk but there comes a point where you have to trust your gut feel.
Edited by Rocksteadyeddie on Saturday 16th October 21:21
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Richardsix said:
If you pay that amount in it may generate in banking terms what is known as a SAR, suspicious activitity report and be looked at for money laundering.
Why?Just fill the AML form saying you sold a car. Its 25 grand, not 25 million.
Had a similar dilemma a few years back when I sold my car for £12k cash! I asked the buyer to come with me to the bank, to place that cash in my bank before I would hand over the keys. Buyer (a trader!) agreed and the deal was done.
I was worried about fake notes, counting the money etc. But this seemed to work for me. Did not get any of the problems mentioned above, but regulations may have changed....
Best of luck,
Mike
I was worried about fake notes, counting the money etc. But this seemed to work for me. Did not get any of the problems mentioned above, but regulations may have changed....
Best of luck,
Mike
Chris71 said:
Why not just do a direct transfer and check the amount has been paid in before releasing the car?
(Genuine question rather than rhetorical I hasten to add, I'm facing this dilema myself at the moment...)
Presumably the buyer would not want to make the transfer until he has satisfied himself that the car is ok?(Genuine question rather than rhetorical I hasten to add, I'm facing this dilema myself at the moment...)
I don't think payments credit same day over the weekend.
When you pay 25k into the bank, the cashier will almost certainly innocently drop 'where did you get this sort of money from?' into the conversation - they have to do that for money laundering, as if they don't spot it, they're at fault.
If you're feeling brave just say something like 'ma biatches did well over the weekend, plus the new batch of coke flew out of the club saturday night'
If you're feeling brave just say something like 'ma biatches did well over the weekend, plus the new batch of coke flew out of the club saturday night'
I would be happy with it, but I would check the notes. If you aren't used to handling significant sums of cash, its a bit daunting.
If you can get a transfer or do it on weekday and pay into a bank, that will give you peace of mind.
You don't need to worry about money laundering - you aren't. Whether the buyer is laundering or not is their concern, not yours.
If you can get a transfer or do it on weekday and pay into a bank, that will give you peace of mind.
You don't need to worry about money laundering - you aren't. Whether the buyer is laundering or not is their concern, not yours.
AndrewW-G said:
Internet transfer using the faster payments system (mainly the bigger banks) has a limit of IIRC £10k, so three payments snd they should show up in the OP's account within a few minutes 
no need to mess about with having £25k in cash sitting in the house over a weekend 
Is it instant at the weekend though? no need to mess about with having £25k in cash sitting in the house over a weekend Rocksteadyeddie said:
AndrewW-G said:
Internet transfer using the faster payments system (mainly the bigger banks) has a limit of IIRC £10k, so three payments snd they should show up in the OP's account within a few minutes no need to mess about with having £25k in cash sitting in the house over a weekend
Is it instant at the weekend though? no need to mess about with having £25k in cash sitting in the house over a weekend 
may take a few minutes to go through, but would suggest that as a good time to walk a buyer through the paperwork and the cars controls Rocksteadyeddie said:
AndrewW-G said:
Internet transfer using the faster payments system (mainly the bigger banks) has a limit of IIRC £10k, so three payments snd they should show up in the OP's account within a few minutes no need to mess about with having £25k in cash sitting in the house over a weekend
Is it instant at the weekend though? no need to mess about with having £25k in cash sitting in the house over a weekend Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff