Want to make sure that you’re protected from fraud while purchasing your used 4x4 truck? Then escrow is the way to go.

 

Have you been a little shaky about making your next 4x4 truck purchase online, because you’re afraid of fraud, everyone talks about people getting taken on the internet every day, don’t they?

 

Maybe you’re afraid that you may send the seller your money and when your truck arrives, instead of that beautiful, like new, low mileage, dream trucks showing up, you have a big piece of junk arrive, or worse, you simply never see your truck or your money again.

 

Well, this can and does happen to people that are not prepared. But, what if I told you that for a small fee you could hire a neutral third party to hold your money for you until you receive your truck, and inspect it…

 

Escrow is the only way to go!

 

If you purchase a book or some other small item on line and it never shows up, or is not what was offered, although it may be a hassle, it’s not a life-altering event.

 

On the other hand, it can be very much a life-altering event if instead of a book that cost only a few dollars, we were talking about a multi-thousand dollar used 4x4 truck.

 

Luckily for big purchases you can have the safety of an escrow company on your side to help make sure everything goes as planned with your purchase.

 

How escrow works

 

Escrow has existed in one form or another for many hundreds of years. The basic idea is that a third party is paid to receive both the money from the purchaser, and the item from the seller, and then transfer the money and the item, once they have both in hand.

 

In the case of used 4x4 trucks the way it works is that a company such as Escrow.com receives the money from the purchaser and places it in an escrow account. The company then informs the seller that they have received the money.

 

The seller then has the truck shipped to the buyer, once the buyer receives their truck and has looked it over, possibly test driven it, they inform the escrow company that they have their vehicle and accept it.

 

The escrow company then releases the money to the seller from the escrow account, and the title is usually transferred to the buyer at this time also.

 

Good negotiation and clear understandings are the keys to escrow

 

Although the information above is a general layout of how escrow works, each deal can be a little different. There are many points that will have to be worked out for both the buyer and the seller, such as:

 

1.    How long does the buyer have to inspect the truck?

2.    What happens if the buyer doesn’t accept the truck?

3.    Will there be a non-refundable deposit involved?

4.    How and when will the title be transferred?

            5.     How long after the buyer receives the vehicle is it assumed they accept it and the money  is given to the seller? (This is if the buyer never officially tells the escrow company they accept the truck).

 

All of these questions often come up in setting up an escrow account, but not to worry a professional company like Escrow.com will have a standard form already set up that you can use.

 

Just keep in mind that all parts of an escrow can be negotiated between yourself and the seller to fit your own circumstances, that is until you have accepted the escrow account and sent the money, at that point everything is laid out in the escrow paperwork and can’t be changed.

 

Work out the title exchange

 

Be sure that receiving a free and clear title is part of the escrow, you don’t want to have a title that still has a loan on it, or find out a year later that the guy you purchased your 4x4 truck from never changed the title and so legally still owns your truck.

 

Companies like Escrow.com will not only help in the transfer of the title from the seller to you the buyer, but also often have title insurance available to help you feel secure in the fact that the title truly is free of any leans.

 

Watch out for those fees!

 

Be aware that everything extra that an Escrow company does to make things smother such as, conveying the title, and title insurance, costs you extra money!

 

So, before accepting any of these extras, be sure to ask what it will cost, because sometimes you can get it done much cheaper elsewhere.

 

Be wary of using a seller’s escrow company

 

Although most buyers and sellers on the Internet are honest, hard working people, there are a few out there that work out ways simply to rip people off.

 

One of the newer ways they have come up with is to create fake escrow companies that they get the buyer to use. Everything goes fine, you send your money, they tell you the vehicle is on it’s way. They may even have a fake trucking company as part of the scam.

 

Then after a few days you call again, and they may tell you there was just a little delay in the shipping, it should be there any time. A few more days go by, you call again only to find the number has been disconnected and everyone involved with what was supposed to be your new 4x4 truck seems to have vanished, along with all of your money.

 

So what can be learned from this?

 

1.    Be sure to use a reputable escrow company.

2.    If the seller offers an escrow company you’ve never heard of find one you want to use.

3.    Be sure to use a reliable trucking company such as Dependable Auto Shippers.

 

Use the best in the business and you can’t go wrong

 

So why should you use Escrow.com? Well given that they are the newest subsidiary of EBay and they have a huge presence throughout the country, you should feel very secure in using their services for all for your escrow needs.

 

They are also very well priced for the service they provide, starting out at only $125 for trucks costing less than $7500.

 

This is a small price to pay to protect a potentially big investment from some very bad people in the world today.