Hi All,
After weeks of advertising my car in Carsales I found a buyer from QLD interested in coming to Sydney to test drive and purchase the car. He wants to do cash in hand transaction as bank transfer will take 24 or more. I can only be available after 6pm.
I have rego until October this year and do not have comprehensive car insurance. It’s an European car BMW. I can’t find a buyer for quick sale as I need the money asap.
Can CBA atm detect fake cash?
At least tell us that you have Third Party Property insurance (not greenslip).
If you don't have at least that, you really shouldn't be driving the vehicle on the road. What happens if the prospective buyer crashes it into another high-value asset?
Waiting for the next post: Interstate buyer turned out to be fake, worst thing was he crashed whilst test driving and then buggered off, leaving me hanging. No insurance and $200K damage to other vehicles.
It's not quite that bad for OP. If the Queensland buyer crashed say, into the forecourt of the Ferrari dealership whilst on a test drive - the Ferrari dealership doesn't have a claim against OP, just the Queensland buyer. So if OP doesn't have 3rd party property insurance is not the end of the world for the OP if the buyer causes a stack of damage to someone else.
Of course in causing that damage the buyer probably totals the car and shoots through leaving OP holding the can. But at least 3rd parties can't come after the OP.
Probably easiest to sell the car unregistered for less issues. Someone with a QLD licence I don't believe can buy a car registered in NSW, however I'm happy for someone to correct me on this.
I think NSW is the only jurisdiction that allows registered cars to be "transferred" to someone interstate: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/guide/selling-a-vehicle#inter…
I sold a car in NSW to someone with a Malaysian license with out any issues, only caveat is that you can't submit the notice of disposal online. You have to go into service nsw to do this (I gave the a photo copy of his license and bill of sale). Make sure you have sale date and time on the bill of sale (with buyers signature) to protect yourself from fines before you submit the notice of disposal.
Could you please enlighten me as to how selling a car without rego makes it “worthless”? I’ve bought 2 cars unregistered in Victoria and driven them both back to Queensland for registration and they’re both still worth just as much as what I bought them for.
Overseas and international drivers buying cars are slightly different. Generally speaking to register the car you need evidence of a home/garage address in whatever state you’re registering it. Most people get around this by using a caravan park address or similar, however for the average person looking to buy a car interstate that’s far more hassle than it’s worth. Hence you buy it unregistered, knock the remaining value of purchase price off the selling price of vehicle and then reregister in your home state.
Lastly, at what point did I say the ATM wouldn’t take cash? I simply made a suggestion to check the website.
It sounds like you’ve either woken up on the wrong side of the bed or you’ve got some deeper underlying issues in your life, I’d suggest going to your GP and having a chat with them to get the help you need with your anger.
I wouldn't bother replying to him. The name is very misleading, if not downright deceitful.
So you drove 2 unregistered and uninsured vehicles from Vic to Queensland. Lucky you didn't get pulled over and fined.
@Spuds Mchaggis: Had an unregistered vehicle permit for each one, perfectly legal and covers registration and CTP for 1-7 days. Had additional third party damage insurance as well. No plates on either car, drove past a few police and didn't get stopped.
@Spuds Mchaggis: In NSW they're called UVPs, unregistered vehicle permits, you can get them for specific journeys, i.e. driving it home after purchase.
Seriously the most ridiculous question I have seen on OB
Cash has always been the preferred method of selling anything to avoid scam payments.
How many times have contributors here suggested taking cash payments only for goods sold?
HeWhoKnows has never heard of counterfeit money. Surprising.
They mean if the notes are real…
Anyone from any state can buy a car registered from any other state without a problem. Happens all the time.
I did.
Bought a car for my daughter from the owner in Bathurst.
Did a Revs check, (all ok) and paid cash on pickup.
Drove the car home to the Gold Coast.
The following week took it to Transport Queensland, cancelled the NSW rego, and registered it in Queensland.
Simples.
Ask for ID and take a photo if possible or at least copy name of buyer
Have a friend or family member present for added security - ideally at a police station
Always accompany potential buyers during the test drive
Complete a notice of disposal form
@HeWhoKnows Not sure which state you live in, but Victoria police encourage to use Safer Exchange Sites which they offer at specific police stations.
Not sure which state you live in
based on username don’t think even he knows who he is
You always bang on how you only provide correct and helpful advice.
FFS you are spreading a lot of misinformation here.
Also, please learn how to use the correct markdown for quotes on this forum. How can anyone take you seriously when that simple function is outside your capacity?
hewhoknows not knows 😬
How can anyone take you seriously…………
That horse bolted 10 years ago.
@hewhoknobs has been featured in the Top 10 negatively voted comments - Least Popular Comments for the past 4 months of the OzB transparency reports. I hoped our knob-it-all was aiming for a trifecta, but no, he just keeps knobbing and won’t stop.
Pretty sure this is the best possible outcome.
Just do the scrunch test and scrutinise it.
i did a bank transfer ($20k) and it was 24 hours to clear (we were with different banks) for my first car.
Another transaction i did for my latest car was instant (we were with the same bank).
If you worried, just withhold handing over the keys until the payment clears and is in your account.
You still need to manually initiate the rego transfer, so that in itself would be your fallback.
Most inter-bank transfers are now instant (as all the majors and some of the 2nd tier use the New Payments Platform infrastructure). The OP should ask the buyer who he banks with and then check if that organisation uses NPP (link below). If he can make an instant payment, this will be the safest form, as you avoid the counterfeit money risk.
https://www.auspayplus.com.au/brands/nppa-find-an-institutio…
If the OP is with CBA, they definitely receive NPP transfers and credit your account immediately.
CBA takes 24 hours to new payees, so if buyer is with CBA he would need buyer to send him some money ($1 even) prior to the transaction
The OP is with CBA. Receiving is instant. Whether or not there is an anti-fraud delay will depend on the buyers bank
No way i would transfer money if i wasnt getting keys.
Pretty standard procedure
If you want to be scammed
ATMs in Australia are mostly equipped with an electronic sensing eye and other scanning devices in order to detect fake notes
How much can I deposit in one go? I’m expecting $24k
Thanks to anti money laundering laws, you'd need at least 3 accounts for that amount.
So using my CBA and my wife’s CBA account $10k each deposit and rest risk the cash with me?
@justanick: If you have access to a physical branch you could deposit the rest over the counter, or use Australia Post's Bank@Post.
What, is that restriction for depositing over 10k via ATM?
Edit: answered below.
Call your bank?
Which bank?
Oh no. I already gave my home address to him. He wants to drive the car on the same day to QLD. He suggested for me to see the car during the day but I’ll be at work and he said he can just hand me the cash by going to the bank with me. I really can’t take any time off from work.
he said he can just hand me the cash by going to the bank with me.
So a buyer is making the process so easy for you and handling cash in a bank, and youve still got issues?
Not quite sure if that is what you are saying, but if he is going to a bank branch to get $24k cash, why can't he just get a bank cheque for $10 more?
OP has stated
"I can only be available after 6pm."
when bank branches are closed
I am saying the buyer can obtain a bank cheque during bank opening hours and then provide it to the OP after hours.
@djkelly69: Nope. Don't do this. The OP has no way of verifying the validity of the bank cheque out of hours. As per my post above, push back on the buyer and revert to a instant direct credit to your account. It would be surprising if they can't make an instant transfer.
@atwilliams: The OP has no way of verifying the validity of the bank cheque in business hours either - banks don't offer a 'bank cheque validation' service. A bank accepting a cheque for a deposit doesn't make it valid, which is why you have 3 business day clearance times.
OP should check that it looks 'normal', ie. says 'Bank Cheque', is signed, dated, correct payee and amount. That is about all you can do.
Don't really want to get into the whole bank cheque debate again, but bank cheques are (and have been for decades) accepted for multi-million or billion dollar property settlements every day of the week. It will be fine for the OP's car.
@djkelly69: Agreed, but you can call the issuing bank to check the bank cheque details, to partially mitigate the counterfeit risk, during opening hours.
In terms of use of bank cheques by organisations and for property settlements, the difference is that those are protected to some degree by a contract of sale and usually involve lawyers / conveyancors who are part of a trusted network (who risk loss of license if found guilt of fraud). The OP buying a car from a random guy from Queensland is very different.
@atwilliams: OP could have the buyer log into their account online and show the transaction buying the bank cheque. Pretty hard to fake that without preperation
it's under his bed inside a biscuit tin
Because the cash is off the books from cash jobs or illegitimate business. Probably an unregistered car dealer who will flip it to someone else without his name every going on record.
Dude if you can't take a couple of hours off to protect $24K and your car, you need to change jobs
True. I got a bad new manager and Monday being the worst day of the week.
Make sure you don't get sick or have an emergency on a Monday!
A max $10,000 cash deposit limit applies per CommBank account per day via ATM.
See below
https://www.commbank.com.au/digital-banking/deposit-atms.htm…
can you not deposit at the counter?
Make sure you immediately remove the car from your toll account. Simply removing the tag isn’t enough.
Take a copy of their drivers license, you can also use the QLD transport website to check the validity of the license, although this still doesn’t guarantee the license is valid…
At some point you will have to trust the buyer. If you can’t, then sell the car to a used car dealership instead.
Thank you. Used dealership were trying to give me $10k short. I was looking at trading it but now going with private sell.
Cash in Hand
my personal preference would be bank cheque. Bit more expensive than cash, but as good.
Do the transaction during an extended lunch break?
Which would you prefer $24k straight to bank and a sold car or keeping you nose brown at work?
Just take the cash. Make sure rhe branch will accept cash deposit before hand. Take an hour off work to go the bank, eaither start or end of the day. Tell your boss you have a medical appointment if you think you need to (you shouldnt have to).
the work aint gonna help you once your old and tired, but the money in your pocket will allow to outsource some care when your older
Why is this process being made so difficult? I'm glad you're being cautious but crikey.
When I purchased a car, seller had the same concern as you have now. I had withdrawn the cash from bank at lunch time and exchanged money and sale transfer in the bank. Ask him to go his bank branch together, do the same in the bank under many video surveillance cameras and witness of bank teller/staff etc.
Am I reading this properly I can’t do notice of disposal online right away but need to do this at a service NSW location as the buyer has inter-state?
https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/submit-a-notice-o…
Yes I’m being cautious cause people do all sort of things these days with cars. The last thing I need is getting into trouble or calling police.
I have decided to show him the car in a busy shopping Center
1. Either go to the centre during business hours and do the transaction in CBA or go to the mall at 6pm and if they buyer is okay I’ll deposit $10k under my name and one $10k under my wife and the rest hopefully in cash at hand.
Is that reasonable?
If I was buying a car, I would expect to view it at the sellers address. It would be a red flag if you met me in a car park.
honestly, you are really overthinking this one.
Meeting me at my home is okay but then I have to drive the car at a shopping centre for the funds. The risk reduces if we don’t drive the car at the shopping center from my home. Less driving around. Public place. Etc
Further, I had viewed the car at the seller home, we had coffee and cake there and did test drive the car around his vicinity he had sat in the passenger seat, and after a few tours we returned to his address, he had my driver license, and I had driven the car myself alone about half an hour on highways and streets. Everything was OK, then we had headed to the bank together for exchange.
I mean you are reading into too much. I wrote too long just to relax you. Relax.
@SYLTB: I was afraid that would be Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and your post would take on a whole different flavour.
@SYLTB: Ah well I have my reasons to be suspicious and scared. I live in a good neighbourhood but few suburbs from mine is notorious for crime. I hope the person turns out to be genuine like you.
I’ll ask him to come to my house outside and if they like the car we can go to nearby commbank bank and do the transfer.
It’s also weird he’s now saying he has NSW drivers license.
He drove all the way from QLD just to see my car.
Last time I sold a car, luckily the buyer was with CBA as well as me so we just went to the nearest branch and perform an assisted transfer. CBA said they will refund the fee for assisted transfer. I assume cause they know this is also a large sum of money that will be above the daily limit to perform online anyway.
All they needed was some IDs (including me as the seller) and they will ask the standard due dilligence to ensure the buyer is not getting scammed such as "Have you inspected the car? Have you test driven the car? Are you happy with the car? And do you know who you are buying from but I can see this gentleman is here so you have met the person."
Why not use carsales escrow service, it is free if you have already paid for the ad.
I'd also recommend the CarSales escrow service - there is no charge as you've got an ad already on there.
Alternatively - I met with my buyer a couple of weeks ago at a Bank and we got a teller to transfer the money direct to me. This could be done with a cash deposit also if you go to a bank that you are a customer for.
That's electronic, the buyer has cash and obviously wants it to stay off the record.
Quite possibly - but hard to keep it off the record when you need to register the change in ownership and the seller states the value paid for it in the Notice of disposal.
I was given 20k in cash for a car a few years ago. Having to count it in front of the buyer rang all my self conscious alarm bells.
Took it to a branch (remember those?) to deposit the next day and no dramas.
Get the buyer to PayID you a nominal amount now ($5) and once that clears it makes PayID payments instant…then he can come check your car and if you are both happy he can transfer you the money and it will be in your account instantly and they can be on their way.
this is the answer, although i suspect "bank transfers are too slow" is not the sole reason old mate prefers to deal in cash…
i dunno, there have been a number of reports of PayID's being reversed…
I forget but there's something about transferring the title and registering it with the gov - while it might be assumed to be the buyer's responsibility - if the new 'owner' ran up speeding and e-tag tickets and at-fault crashes while still under your name that could be nasty ugly for you - so check how to register the change of ownership online with the gov
even worse if they pay you some dodgy way so your car is gone and you don't get the money
beware of last-minute changes - guy shows up - 'Oh the atm didn't work - can I pay by instant transfer?' - you agree - it shows up on your screen, you give them the keys, they drive away, then you find the transfer somehow bounces or is clawed-back or was fraudulent, leaving you with nothing.
certainly ask to see their license and verify the photo is of them, and bank details, etc. etc. before even letting them sit in your car.
Get them to transfer you $1 a few days before. Then on the day when they transfer you the remaining cash, it will go through instantly instead of the initial 24 hour hold.
This idea is good.
Be aware also that any large deposits will trigger Austrac - reporting for anything over 10K.
For me - I prefer cash. Done at the bank even better.
Guys I met the guys at the bank and took the cash and changed the car to the guy’s parter’s name who has NSW licence.
This transaction happened at 2pm.
6:40pm I got a call from this guy saying my car got a yellow engine light and stalled on the highway. He called his mechanic and he will inform me of the repairs and hanged up.
I owned this car for 5 years which had no issues.
Every single servicing was done at BMW Sydney, the last was in Jan 2025.
The guys seem shady with thick Arabic accent and breath of pot.
What are my options? Am I liable for repairs? Can they come to my house and do something as they have my address from the servicing and the agreement paper?
Caveat emptor
Yes they can come to your house and do something… illegally
I need more 🍿
Block his number and move on with your life.
After verifying that the cash is real (it most likely is).
Call the non-emergency police line to report a suspected scam if you really want to cause some drama.
this just keeps getting better
🍿
I'd assume a 5+ year old out of warranty BWM with an engine light active would be a good thing, as it means the engine light still works.
What kind of car is it? Might be easier for you to just hold out for a buyer in NSW.