# Question about Auto insurance



## Robert59 (Oct 9, 2020)

If you sell a vehicle to someone and they pay by check and check is no good will your auto insurance consider it stolen?


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## win231 (Oct 9, 2020)

Probably not, unless you could _prove_ that the buyer knew the check was no good at the time he wrote it.
Of course, stealing a car is a crime, but intent has to be proven & it won't be as easy to prove intent from writing a bad check as it would be if someone hot-wired the car & drove it away.  The buyer will say he didn't know the check was bad.....he forgot to make a deposit to cover it.....he thought other checks he wrote were not debited yet, etc.


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## Robert59 (Oct 9, 2020)

The buyer told me the check will be from Loan company. I'm thinking about holding the vehicle till the check clears.


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## win231 (Oct 9, 2020)

Robert59 said:


> The buyer told me the check will be from Loan company. I'm thinking about holding the vehicle till the check clears.


That would be the only smart way to handle any private-party transaction involving a check.  AND don't release the car until the title is changed to the new buyer's name, otherwise you'll be responsible for anything that happens while he's driving it.


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## Robert59 (Oct 9, 2020)

Thanks for the help.


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## mathjak107 (Oct 10, 2020)

there was a story  locally about a guy who sold  a 60k Porsche ... he went with the buyer to his bank . he got a bank check and signed the car over .

when the check didn't clear he called the bank .

it seems the buyer put a stop on the bank check claiming it was lost .....

so the seller went to the police only to find out the car was legally signed over so it was not stolen . the police said this is a civil matter   and not criminal .

i never heard the follow up to the story to see if he ever tracked down the buyer


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## win231 (Oct 10, 2020)

mathjak107 said:


> there was a story  locally about a guy who sold  a 60k Porsche ... he went with the buyer to his bank . he got a bank check and signed the car over .
> 
> when the check didn't clear he called the bank .
> 
> ...


Yeah, a good scam artist can really create a nightmare.  Not worth it to me.  I've never sold or bought a car privately.
I knew a guy who bought a Corvette from someone.  Later, he found out it was a stolen car.  His attorney suggested he trade it in immediately for a new car at a dealership.  He did.  The dealership contacted him a few days later & tried to make him give the new car back.  He wouldn't & the dealer had to eat the loss.


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## mathjak107 (Oct 10, 2020)

my last car went through a crazy situation .

our dealer gives you a choice trading in the car .

you can take the regular wholesale price dealers give you or if you don't mind waiting to get paid they will put the car on their used car lot and  sell it retail , then give you a higher price when sold ,.

we opted to do that .

well a buyer left a deposit for my jeep and came back a few weeks later to buy it .

they could not find the jeep ... they then noticed that about a dozen used vehicles were missing from the lot .

turns out a sales manager they had fired had sold the cars under the table  very cheaply and stole the money .

it was a mess since the vehicle was legally sold by someone authorized to do so ...  the only crime was he stole the money .

he fled to greece  so he was gone .

the cars were sold legally interstate .so the fbi i had to get involved .

it took just short of 10 months to finally get paid by the dealership . they did give us full retail though to make up for the hassle which was thousands more .


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## win231 (Oct 10, 2020)

mathjak107 said:


> my last car went through a crazy situation .
> 
> our dealer gives you a choice trading in the car .
> 
> ...


Their insurance likely covered it.  But it is a hassle when you have to wait for your money.


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## mathjak107 (Oct 10, 2020)

win231 said:


> Their insurance likely covered it.  But it is a hassle when you have to wait for your money.



it was a sticky situation since they never bought my car ....they were prepared to pay me out of pocket but they were waiting to see if they could get paid through their insurance . it was a mess because legally my car wasn't stolen under vehicle insurance


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## win231 (Oct 10, 2020)

I just remembered another similar situation with a girl I dated when I was 20.  Her father got a good deal on a Cadillac that was 5 years old & in excellent condition (private party).  He bought it for around $6,000.00, which was a lot of money back then.  A couple of weeks later, police showed up at his house & said the car was stolen & they took it.  He was out the money and the car.


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## Camper6 (Oct 10, 2020)

Since man to man is so unjust.
I do not know which man to trust.
I have often trusted to my sorrow.
So if your check clears today I'll trust you tomorrow.


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## jerry old (Oct 10, 2020)

punk stold my pickup, used it in a robbery, then drove it to a  deserted area and burned it;
it was my second vehicle,  had  liability, no comp. insurance.
thieves never caught. 
Live in the  deep rural, who would'a thought?


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## Robert59 (Oct 22, 2020)

Sold my vehicle on Facebook and had no problems with payment.


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