I like all the ideas here on how to purchase a used trauck camper and wish I added these to my research before I bought my FWC Fleep model last December. I was lucky, the guy I bought it from was upstanding and a genuinely nice guy who had kept the unit in pristine condition and it was loaded with practically every option available for a '15 Fleet you could ask for.
The one thing I would add for this thread was the reality I had of paying a person I did not know at all who lived 1250 miles away a very large sum of money. So I made sure to get a Cashier's check in the amount we agreed on and set off on driving from Northern California (South Bay Area, San Jose) to a city near Denver, Colorado. Luckily, I was familiar with driving in the snow as it was the dead of winter. The thing I worried about the whole way there was, what if this was some sort of scam and I would drive all that way and the guy would meet me with 3 thugs and rob me blind. Or take my check and not give me a camper at all. Who is to know. So after scoring the rig from a super nice guy, I started thinking of a better way to keep myself and others from this problem. Unfortunately, buying expensive items from private parties is not entirely safe anymore. Cities near here actually now give you an option of doing Craigslist transactions right in front of the police stations. But that would not have helped me. So, I realized that the best way to do a deal like this in the future was to agree to a price by phone. Tell the seller that I would like to come to where the item is and either at his own bank/credit union or one I could find close by if he doesn't want to do that, to come there, meet him at the bank of his choice and give the cashier's check to the manager or representative of the place. Allow them to verify that the funds are in my account to cover the check to alleviate their concerns that the check could be fraudulent, and then leave the check with the bank as we both go do the transaction. Once finished, the seller could then meet me back at the bank and I could then sign the check. They could then either take the check or have it deposited into their account. By telling the seller this is the best way to do the deal for both of us on the original phone call, it will insure a safe and fair completion. It will also deter thieves and crooks immediately because as soon as they think they have to meet you at a bank and the security it will provide, they will not want to continue the deal and look for someone else to rip off. Hope this helps buying and selling large ticket items of any nature. This was not an eBay or Amazon transaction after all. When I was a Loan Officer when people would purchase a home, the money that was deposited would be called, "Held in escrow". It's the same idea.
Edited by Sharx, 08 July 2017 - 02:53 AM.
