8 Ways to Transfer Funds in a Private Car Deal

PrivateAuto Pay is the only payment method that is instantaneous, secure, convenient, and fee-free.

One: Are Cash Transactions Safe?

If you’ve got the funds, paying the full sale price in cash can save you thousands of dollars in interest payments.

But lugging around a bunch of physical dollars can be a hassle, risky, and just plain awkward. Who wants to meet up with a stranger carrying $42,524 in bills to buy that Toyota 4Runner?

Here are the main drawbacks to using physical cash as a method of payment:

Trust: do you know the person you’re dealing with? No one wants to risk getting scammed or robbed by a complete stranger.
Paperwork: do you know how to do the bill of sale and title transfer for your state? Will you have a record of the transaction in case the other party wants to contest it?
Inconvenient: ATMs and banks have withdrawal limits. If you’re trying to do it on the weekend, forget about the car.

PrivateAuto Pay allows you to pay cash—digitally. All the benefits of physical cash, none of the drawbacks.

Two: What About Bank Transfers?

Traditional bank wire transfers are packed with limitations.

Slow. Transfers can take days to fully process as buyers coordinate multiple transactions due to low account limits. This delays sales and frustrates sellers.
Potentially risky. Exposing your bank account details opens the door to fraud.
Fees. Bank wires often cost money.

Three: Are Private Checks a Good Form of Payment?

A personal check doesn’t fly for most sellers; no one wants to sit around waiting for it to clear.

Too many steps, too much trust needed, too much time wasted. What should be a quick peer-to-peer payment turns into a headache.

Four: How About a Cashier Checks?

Cashier’s checks are more trustworthy than personal checks, but even they’re not bulletproof. Plus, they’re inconvenient.

Cashier’s checks can be forged, so the only way for the seller to be certain is to meet the buyer at the buyer’s bank and have the bank verify the funds. Skip the inconvenience and enjoy instant payments with PrivateAuto Pay. Round-the-clock availability means no banking hours restricting transactions.

Five: Can I Use Venmo or Paypal?

Peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo and PayPal seem convenient, but they have transfer limits, fees, or both.

Low sending limits are unsuitable for high-dollar transactions—Venmo has a $5K limit and PayPal has a $10K limit on personal accounts.
PayPal’s fees of 2-3% quickly add up on large payments.

In contrast, PrivateAuto was designed specifically for high-value private-party car transactions:

Send and receive up to $1 million instantly, no limits
Escrow-like safeguards
Encrypted data keeps your information safe

While Venmo and PayPal work great for splitting bills, they’re unwieldy for buying a $33K Camry, to say nothing of a $100K Porsche. For a secure car payment solution with ironclad protections, choose PrivateAuto Pay.

Six: Is Cash App Safe?

Cash App lets you send money via $cashtag, QR code, or phone number. But it has a $7,500 monthly transfer limit—too low for most car purchases. Just like Venmo, it’s suitable for small private sales under a few thousand dollars. For anything more, Cash App won’t cut it.

Seven: What about Google Pay and Apple Pay?

Google Pay seems convenient for quick payments using your Android phone. But this peer-to-peer app has significant limits for car purchases:

Transaction caps of $25,000 rule out high-value transfers.
Linking to credit cards rather than bank accounts adds the risk of fraud and chargebacks.
The lack of biometric login makes payments less secure.

While handy for small daily purchases, Google Pay just doesn’t cut it for large private-party car transactions. For seamless payments with robust protections, choose PrivateAuto Pay.

Apple Pay provides a similar peer-to-peer payment functionality on iPhone and other Apple devices. However, it also imposes unsuitable restrictions for car sales:

Apple Pay transactions are capped at $10,000 per week.
The funds source must be a credit or debit card—no linking to bank accounts.

Convenient for average spending, Apple Pay falls short for big-ticket peer-to-peer auto sales. For payments with no limits and ironclad protections, PrivateAuto Pay is purpose-built for large private-party car transactions.

Eight: What is PrivateAuto Pay?

PrivateAuto Pay is the only safe, fee-free instantaneous, convenient, and contactless payment option for a used car transaction over $5,000. PrivateAuto Pay allows you to have escrow-like safeguards in the palm of your hand.

When it comes to buying and paying for your car, the benefits of PrivateAuto Pay include.

PrivateAuto Pay is our built-in banking integration that enables instant, secure, and fee-free funds transfers up to $1M. It’s a dream come true for private sellers and buyers.
Your PrivateAuto Pay account is an FDIC-insured bank account you own, accessed via your PrivateAuto dashboard.
Instantaneous transfers enable real-time deals—no waiting or coordination. Close the deal when you meet for the test drive.
Instant payments work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. No coordinating around banker’s hours.
Easily move money from your bank account to PrivateAuto Pay and vice versa. A balance transfer can be done 24/7/365.
No exchange of contact information or banking info—your sensitive info stays safe, protecting you from scammers.
Encrypted data protects you from hackers.
You can even buy a car remotely with our escrow-like safeguards.

PrivateAuto Pay is great and all, but what if you’re buying or selling on another platform? We have a solution for that. DealNow allows you close your own vehicle deal, anytime, regardless of where the vehicle is listed.

DealNow is so smooth, so safe, and so fast that you’ll never want to buy or sell a car without it.

Payments FAQ

What’s the best way to pay for a car on eBay Motors?

eBay Motors has a lot of great inventory. Their transactional infrastructure? Not so great. When it comes time to pay for a car you found on eBay, we have the perfect solution.

Our DealNow feature lets use the PrivateAuto backend infrastructure to safely do your eBay deal. Simply invite the other person to join you on DealNow and enjoy PrivateAuto’s streamlined process, security, and instantaneous payments.

There’s no need to mess with mailing checks or risky wire transfers on eBay. DealNow lets you wrap up your eBay Motors deal quickly and securely.

How to verify a cashier's check is real?

Here are some ways to verify that a cashier’s check is legitimate and the funds are valid.

1. Inspect the check closely for any alterations, blurred areas, or errors that may indicate a fake check. Authentic checks have defined backgrounds and formatting.
2. Call the bank branch listed and confirm the check number, account holder name, amount, and available balance. Make sure details match and sufficient funds exist.
3. Visit the issuing bank with the buyer and have a teller physically validate the check, account, and ID of the buyer.
4. Deposit the check yourself and wait 7-10 days for it to fully clear before giving the car to the buyer.

Does that sound like a lot of effort and inconvenience? We think so too. That’s why we created PrivateAuto Pay.

What is the maximum amount for a cashier's check?

There is no universally standard maximum amount for cashier’s checks, but most banks impose limits in the range of $10,000 to $50,000.

Here are some common cashier’s check maximums at major U.S. banks:

– Bank of America: $10,000 per check
– Wells Fargo: $10,000 per day
– Chase: $10,000 per check
– Citi: $15,000 per check
– TD Bank: $7,500 per check
– US Bank: $50,000 per check

For amounts above the cashier’s check limit, banks may issue an official bank check, which operates like a cashier’s check for larger sums. But bank checks usually need to be specially requested and take longer to get.

What’s the best way to pay for a car on Craigslist?

The easiest way to pay for a car on Craigslist is to invite the seller to DealNow. Craigslist doesn’t have a payment system, so a buyer and a seller need to navigate payment outside the platform. Don’t fall for Craigslist scams: make frictionless payments via PrivateAuto Pay’s fee-free, unlimited transfers between accounts in seconds.

Is there any way to avoid paying dealership fees?

To buy a car without paying dealer fees, don’t go to a dealer. Buy from a private seller and get way more car for your cash.

How do I buy a car with physical cash?

If you buy a car with physical cash, here are the steps you’ll go through:

1. Withdraw large sums of cash over multiple days, if banks even allow it.
2. Transport large quantities of bills, making yourself a target for theft.
3. Meet a stranger in a random location with no protection.
4. Spend what seems like an eternity manually counting and verifying stacks of cash under the burning eyes of the stranger.
5. Hand over the cash, crossing your fingers that the seller will sign over the title and not double-cross you.
6. Hope or pray if you encounter difficulties.

We thought that all sounded like way too much hassle, so we created a better way. Use PrivateAuto Pay to pay cash digitally.

How much should I sell my car for?

Use a guide such as Kelley Blue Book to get an idea of the fair market value (FMV) range for your car.

How you price your car is going to depend on:

– How quickly you want to sell. If you want to get rid of your car quickly, price it in the lower part of the fair market value range.

– What upgrades you’ve added. If you’ve had a better and newer sound system installed, that could increase the car’s value.

– What it costs to sell. If you’ll be spending money on advertising, you want to price your car to recover those costs. Consider all the ways you can sell your car.

– The prices of similar used cars near you. Look at a few car-selling sites and search for your make and model. Limit the search to a 25-mile radius of your zip code. Compare prices from other private sellers (not dealer inventory).

Do I need an escrow service when buying a car privately?

If you’ve found a good used vehicle and are ready to buy it, a legitimate escrow service can help the transaction go smoothly. Unfortunately, escrow services are expensive and cumbersome.

PrivateAuto gives you escrow-like safeguards in the palm of your hand. Where escrow services charge fees, PrivateAuto Pay enables instant, fee-free payments.

What are the tax implications of buying a car in cash?

Unless you live in a tax-free state, you’ll need to pay sales tax on your vehicle purchase. Other than that, there aren’t a lot of tax implications when buying a car—whether you pay cash or get a car loan.

Additional Reading

What are my rights when purchasing a car from a private seller?

What are some common car escrow scams?

How do i pay the seller if i’m buying an out-of-state car?

What is the cheapest way to buy a car?

What is the safest way to recieve a payment on Facebook Marketplace?

How do I sell a car without getting scammed?

How do I buy a car out of state?

How can I buy a car long distance?

Landon Epperly

Contributing Author

Landon Epperly is the Product Manager at PrivateAuto, where he thrives on turning innovative ideas into reality. With a deep passion for cars and boats, Landon combines his love for vehicles with his expertise in product development to enhance the online marketplace experience….