We need a smaller used car for my wife. Thinking ahead, very high mileage Ford Explorer still getting me to dialysis, but for how long, and at 15 mpg. Have my eye on a few cars I like, but most are out of our state, might need to be transported (no huge deal). Want to buy ONLY from private party. How would you pay off such a transaction without some phony skunking you out of the dough? How to send it (maybe $6000), cashier's check, USPS money orders, credit card payable to seller's bank, any other ideas? Thanks. Frank
I would be very careful. Hope you can find one you like local.Be very sure the person your talking to is who they say they are.
I think you’re putting too many limitations on yourself with a private party and a possible out of state purchase transferring money. You’re looking for trouble. I would stay local and face to face with dealers or a private party.
@Ed Wilson The problem is that locally, there isn't a single car available which meets our requirements: good mpg, small to medium size, hatchback (to accommodate my "wheels), manual transmission. Buying private avoids sales tax, which saves many hundreds of dollars. Frank
Frank, are you sure about avoiding tax? In Texas, you pay the tax when you register the vehicle in your name.
If I can't personally "kick the tires", I won't buy it. No tax here in Oregon whether new or used, car lot or private. Just a title fee and a fixed license fee every two years.
Virginia is the same way. The only difference between buying private and buying from a dealer is that you tell the DMV (versus the dealer filling out that amount) what you paid for the car, and the tax is calculated on that value. But there's gotta be a degree of reason to your number. And you still pay tax. Regarding your original question...ask your bank. There are lots of ways to electronically pay these days (my bank is really pushing a service called Zelle), so your bank can tell you which might offer the best protection (if any) for such a transaction. As an aside, I just looked up Zelle on the web, and the search results lead off with "Zelle scammers bilk bank customers out of thousands." Apparently--like everything else--these accounts can be hijacked. Talk to your bank.
Virginia charges sales tax (at a less-than-retail rate) and Personal Property tax every year based on the current depreciated value (in addition to the titling and Tag Fees.) And I agree...I would not buy a car sight-unseen.
In PA there is a 6% sales tax on new. I’m not familiar with used. If you buy new, that’s $1,200 added to the price with no trade in. With a trade you are taxed on the difference between new car price minus the trade. Maybe I'll move to Oregon.
@Beth Gallagher Positive. Every vehicle I have purchased privately in AZ was not taxed for sales tax. I think this came about after much negotiating denoting the fact that NO PRIVATE SELLER of ANY ITEM possesses a Sales Tax License. Yep, you own a business and sell stuff, you are legally obligated to collect and turn in sales taxes. For that "privilege", you too must pay tax for a license! Frank
Virginia (and Arizona) have a thing called a Use Tax. It basically obligates the buyer to pay the sales tax when the seller cannot collect them (out of state company), or when the seller fails to collect them. In other words, most of us have been required to voluntarily calculate and pay Use Tax all those years we were making catalog and internet purchases (or buying stuff while on vacation in a state with no sales tax and bringing it home.) The Taxman always gets paid for things we buy for our own use (not for resale), procedural obstacles notwithstanding. This is most heavily enforced with the purchases that businesses make, for various reasons. Here's the Arizona reg for Use Tax on most goods The private casual sale of goods in both of our states is exempt from Use Tax (Craigslist, yard sales, etc.) Virginia carves out the private sale of vehicles from that exemption (we do pay sales tax on them), while Arizona retains the exemption (you do not pay sales tax on them.) But it seems that Arizona requires proof that you purchased the vehicle from a private party. -I am not a lawyer.
In Wisconsin, they are changing the sales tax. They want tax on private casual sales but how will they know? The exception is cars. When the buyer goes to get his license/registration he tells how much the car was and pays accordingly. I think some fudge but...
Virginia has had the Use Tax (self-reported Sales Tax) forever. It's primarily been enforced against businesses because: -These are a number of significant transactions where sales tax is not collected. Businesses have Tax Exempt Certificates so they don't pay sales tax on things they buy for resale. Out of habit, there are times a seller may not charge sales tax on things they sell to the business, not realizing this particular sale is to be consumed internally. -Businesses buy a significant amount of goods across state lines. -The dollars to be had from businesses is substantial. -Businesses are set up to track & remit this stuff. -Most individuals are completely unaware of this requirement. -It would be political suicide to try to enforce this on voters...businesses are always an easy target. To try to collect on consumer-to-consumer transactions is small-minded beyond belief, screwing with citizens to chase pennies. It's all about intrusion into the most minuscule aspects of our existence.
@John Brunner All I can tell you is that having lived in AZ for over 30 years, I have never been asked by a DMV agent when I was registering a vehicle, any reference to how much was paid, nor was use tax ever mentioned. Not the case, however in Missouri, where everyone prepared a bill of sale with the seller, and called out a sale price far lower than that actually paid. That always "flew". But, if you called it a GIFT, they tacked on fair market value and taxed it. Frank
Yup. That's exactly what the AZ regs say...no tax due if purchased from a private party. Not so in VA. I'd whine about VA assessing sales tax, but for a good chunk of my life I paid under $1,000 for my vehicles, so it's never been much. Car dealers tried to get rid of it once, along with the personal property tax (claiming that it cost them business), and I believe we may have had one or two years where the dealers got tossed a crumb and the taxes were temporarily suspended (most likely an election year), but that's about it.