Question about sending deposit on ZHP

[jcollins03]

Hey zhp family,

I might actually be getting my first ZHP. I’m planning on sending the owner a deposit to hold it for me as I will be out of town for a week and was wondering if anyone knows a safe way of doing this without getting ripped off. Any ideas please let me know.

Thanks!

James


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[EDS]

Congrats!!

The deposit shouldn't be more than $500 - $1000. So, in my mind, the deposit acts as a way to secure the car without taking the risk of sending the entire payment to the seller before you can pick it up. It is sort of already your way to reduce the risk.

Probably the best option is to send the deposit through paypal or venmo using your credit card. This way if the seller rips you off then you can file a dispute with paypal, and/or with your credit card company.

Technically, you could use an escrow service like escrow.com to send the deposit to sell, and then release it from escrow once you buy the car. But, it's unlikely that the seller would agree to that. And, escrow.com is a nightmare to use.

Ultimately there isn't really a way to protect yourself 100% from getting ripped off other than trusting your gut and putting trust in the seller and humankind.

[jcollins03]

Congrats!!

The deposit shouldn't be more than $500 - $1000. So, in my mind, the deposit acts as a way to secure the car without taking the risk of sending the entire payment to the seller before you can pick it up. It is sort of already your way to reduce the risk.

Probably the best option is to send the deposit through paypal or venmo using your credit card. This way if the seller rips you off then you can file a dispute with paypal, and/or with your credit card company.

Technically, you could use an escrow service like escrow.com to send the deposit to sell, and then release it from escrow once you buy the car. But, it's unlikely that the seller would agree to that. And, escrow.com is a nightmare to use.

Ultimately there isn't really a way to protect yourself 100% from getting ripped off other than trusting your gut and putting trust in the seller and humankind.

Thanks for this! Turns out the guy was selling one on Craigslist a few weeks back listed $5k less and didn’t mention the tears in the interior and lied about the maintenance. So my search continues ..

[Vas]

Sorry to hear. Good luck on your search

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[fredo]

I have done $300 deposit a couple of times. The transaction was local, so it was cash.