If you’ve read the MAGNATIZE Step-by-Step Guide, you now know that the official recommendation is to sell your vehicle for a transfer of hard cash whenever possible. This recommendation works fine when you’re selling an older car for $2500. The buyer hands over 25 one-hundred dollar bills and you shake hands.

But how do you handle cash for a more expensive car worth $10,000 or more? Walking around with that kind of money is potentially unsafe for both buyer and seller.

The obvious solution is to get a cashier’s check from the buyer’s bank. But, the internet abounds with stories about real-looking cashier’s checks that turn out to be fake. What’s more, suppose you deposit the check, the money appears in your bank balance, and you go out and buy something big — like another car – and then it turns out that the check is no good. Innocent victims who unknowingly accept counterfeit cashier’s checks are liable. If you cash or deposit forged checks, you will have to pay your bank back once the bank discovers the check is phony.

The best bet is to accompany the buyer to his bank where the cashier’s check can be produced on the spot by the teller in your name for the exact amount of the Bill of Sale. You’ll feel a lot more comfortable conducting business at the bank.

After you have an agreement, arrange to meet at the bank with your Bill of Sale, receive the check there, sign the title and hand off the keys. You’ll need a friend to drive you home — or better yet, have your friend drive you to your bank in order to deposit the check.