buying a car from Montreal, private seller

[rach]

hey guys
thinking of buying a car from Montreal from a private seller, is there anyway for me to be on the safe side?
the car is under his company name, and the only way for me to pay is wire him the money then he ships the car.

will the Bill of sales protects me if he doesnt ships the car?

[blitz]

Not really.

[spikerS]

you best bet is to find an escrow agent there to act on your behalf. It will cost you a bit more, but it will make it a heck of a lot safer for you.

This is a pretty scary situation, is there any reason you HAVE to buy this specific car from Montreal?

Remember, if a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

[jacky4566]

Have you spoken with this person over the phone? Usually eliminates most fraud stuff. Or hire an escrow as mentioned.

[rach]

im thinking of flying there myself if i have to use escrow...its the same price..

[lilmira]

And check out the strippers there while you are at it.

[rach]

yes i spoke to him couple of times. and he seems to be legit.
he said he will make a bill of sale and bonded for the car with his company...so if i dont get the car i will get my money back.
im not sure what bonded means...some kind of insurance?
and he called Hansens and got a quote number for me for shipping.

[rach]

Originally posted by lilmira
And check out the strippers the
re while you are at it.

LOL
is it really that good??

[rach]

He also sent me the registration of the vehicle, recent maintance on it with the VIN..
The vehicle does exist...its just a matter if he is gonna ship it after recieving money or not..LOL

[spikerS]

it may be worth a call to the RCMP or whatever police are in MTL and ask them to verify the VIN to make sure it is not stolen, and possibly the company to make sure he has authorization to sell it.

Just thinking out loud here.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

If its over 3 years old it may be rusted to hell underneath. Cars are cheaper over there for a reason.

[Mista Bob]

Generally people try to hide the fact that a car is from out east. Don't usually see many people go out of their way to buy one from there.

Even ignoring that, IMO unless it is an extremely rare car I wouldn't bother with this deal.
Even if it goes perfectly, it will be a giant headache.
Add in potential for getting screwed over and many other problems that could pop up..... not worth it.

[CompletelyNumb]

+1 for probably not worth it.

But if your heart is set on it, fly out there and drive it home. Flight + gas will be the same as escrow + shipping. At least this way you can see it in person before giving him money.