Congratulations on the sale.

I've bought and sold cars over long distances before and the process you described above is pretty normal in my experience.  I would at least request a good faith deposit from the buyer and have it written into the bill of sale along with title released upon remaining balance received by wire transfer.

Out of curiosity, what is the feedback score of the seller and has the seller purchased large ticket items in the past?  Will the car be shipped?

The transaction should go smoothly unless you sold the car to a Nigerian prince

Congrats on the sale, Chris.  Suggest you ask that the buyer include in the bill-of-sale the words, "conditional upon transfer of funds from buyer to seller's bank account (___ insert name/location of bank & acct no.) in an amount equal to the full, agreed-to price, as noted in this bill of sale, by not later than __ (insert drop-dead date for completed transaction)."  Other items:

• Be sure that the bill-of-sale properly notes the name and address of both you ('seller') and the other guy ('buyer'). 
• Condition of the vehicle should be described as, 'used condition, as-is'
• Vehicle description should include mftr, model, MY, VIN, exterior color, and odometer reading
• List major spare parts (if any) to be included in the vehicle sale

There's probably a sample b-o-s available on-line (somewhere) for this type of private, distance transaction.

The b-o-s is a negotiable item, so don't feel like you have to accept whatever the buyer puts under your nose.

That sounds like solid advice, The buyer is in California and has a 98.5 % reputation within the last year. The car will be shipped by one of the large cross border classic car transport companies, but he is organizing that.

I don't foresee any problems at this point but a small 'good faith' deposit via paypal is in the conditions that I laid out before the auction.

I was just contacted by the 2nd highest bidder in Denmark, the auction ended in the middle of the night there and his automatic bid ran out or he would have topped it up. I'm to contact him if the 1st guy doesn't work out.

John, yes I remember your bill of sale for the 72 Z I bought from you, it was very thorough. I'll dig that out and use it as a template.

Chris

 

Don't overlook that eBay ratings are essentially worthless.  They can be gamed, most sellers will never give a negative rating to another eBay user because they'll get false negatives back in retribution.  So a 98.5% could easily be an actual 75%.  Not to cause undue worry, but using an agent to ensure a proper and legal transaction might be worth the fee.  There are lots of scammers out there, who use the fine print to make their money.  And eBay, PayPal, etc. will only go so far in resolving a dispute.  People get screwed often through internet transactions.

Congrats Chris, must feel great to see a car you built command such a good price!  

Can't wait to see how your next project turns out, you certainly don't lack the funds for it now

Update

 

The Conditions of Sale for my auction  clearly state that a deposit of $2000 is required to be paid by Paypal within 48 hrs, winning bidder is now saying he does not use paypal and he wants me to legally sign over ownership of the car to him before he sends any money of any kind.  That sounds like bidding in bad faith to me. Makes me very nervous to think someone else will legally own my car before I see a penny. He wants me to sign the ownership over to him and sign the bill of sale BEFORE I even get the deposit.

I'm so friggin stressed out right now, I have contacted the 2nd bidder in Denmark and he is fine with a deposit before signatures are put down.

What do you guys think?

Thanks

Sell to Denmark dude. You may also get away without paying the eBay selling fees if you do so.

I would say....relax. You are the one in control. You are the one with the asset. I don't intend this as a criticism but it feels a bit like the buyer is taking control over the transaction. Just put an end to it by telling the buyer exactly what you require in order to complete the transaction and if the buyer walks, then fine; move on to Denmark. If you require paypal then require paypal. If you want full payment before you execute a bill of sale and / or sign over title and registration then tell him that's how it is. And, the deposit is required in order for you to continue with any steps in the transaction- no bill of sale or signing over of titles or registration should happen in the deposit phase.  

Just my opinion. I wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your auction price.

 

The deposit thru PayPal protects both of you whereas a funds transfer to your bank only protects you.  The buyer's reluctance on this part is a bit suspicious.  I agree totally with Jonathan, you need to have the total price in hand or in an escrow account before signing anything away.

I would recommend you selling it to Denmark

That would scare me too.  When I sold mine on ebay, the guy paid the deposit, then paid in full before I drove the car up to his place in LA.  I was fortunate to have an easy transaction.

48 minutes ago, jonathanrussell said:

I would say....relax. You are the one in control. You are the one with the asset. I don't intend this as a criticism but it feels a bit like the buyer is taking control over the transaction. Just put an end to it by telling the buyer exactly what you require in order to complete the transaction and if the buyer walks, then fine; move on to Denmark. If you require paypal then require paypal. If you want full payment before you execute a bill of sale and / or sign over title and registration then tell him that's how it is. And, the deposit is required in order for you to continue with any steps in the transaction- no bill of sale or signing over of titles or registration should happen in the deposit phase.  

Just my opinion. I wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your auction price.

 

Hell yeah.  You have the car.