I am working with a volume lexus dealer in houston area. I live 200 miles from them and they agreed to ship the car to my home and we have agreed on a price. We want to pay cash. The issue is how to pay cash while having the car delivered. One option the dealer is suggesting is for me to wire that funds to the dealer citing that its needed before they could put it on a carrier. We are not keen on wiring the funds before we see the car in person. So wanted to get inputs on how others have worked around such a situation.

 

FedEx a certified cheque to the dealer....then the car gets delivered. Simple. We have bought cars with cash our whole lives, it is the easiest most simple way to pay.

“I want this...and....I will pay that”

Done!

 

Certified Check works when everybody, Buyer, Seller and Bank are all in the same state.
Wire Transfer is far better when dealing with Interstate transactions.

 

Can you pick up the car in person? Find a cheap air fare, take the check with you and turn it over after seeing/inspecting the car and drive it back home.

 

Just go see the car in person!

 

With all the online phishing attacks going on these days, i would be cautious with wiring money. Very easy for instructions to get changed and not realize it. Certified check is the way to go, IMO.

And i also agree with the flying in and driving it home. 200 miles shoudl be a cheap flight these days, and maybe get a delivery discount to pay for it. Assuming you are ok with flying right now.

 

Facetime/.video chat with an employee and make them do a walk around of the car to check for issues

 

Personally I would not feel comfortable wiring money in that circumstance. Once you wire money out of your account it is gone forever. There is no "undo" button- I'd be extremely cautious and consider getting a cheap rental car to drive the 200 miles or halfway there to buy the car with a check.

 

200 miles is a small drive for us on the west coast. i would make a road trip out of it especially if it's large sums of cash on the table to ensure it's exactly what you want.

you can also still opt for them to ship it to you once you see it and are satisfied, then drive home in the same car you came with.

 

I live in the northern burbs of Houston. There are four Lexus dealerships in our metropolitan area, but in reality only two as the Northside & theWestside are owned by the same corporation.. and the Clearlake & Sugarland by another. For years at any given time, I used to have four Lexus products in my driveway, but then I moved on to other manufacturers. It was quite evident to me that all the four dealership's after sales service was quite lacking bordering on deception.

In Texas driving 200 miles should not be a big deal; approximately 3 hours to Houston from any direction. I like others strongly suggest inspecting/ test driving the vehicle before handing over the check.

 

Thanks all for the wisdom.. we decided to drive down. The dealer also seem to favor us going down and is giving a small discount inaddition to the shipping fee discount. I believe from their perspective it ensures the paperwork, car leaving the dealership can be comfortably done on time before the end of the month when the manufacturer rebate and monthly quota are set to expire. The dealer was also ok with personal check if I am there in person!!

 

Sounds like a good plan. Good luck