Help please. Has anyone heard of the company “DTO Customs” based in Virginia?

[Izzo93]

Their website does not look like a scam. They have a huge inventory on autotrader.com They are listed on their local Chamber of Commerce website. Look I do not know, not vouching for them.

I would call them to ask to speak with the person who is offering to purchase the parts, confirms they work there. Does this person write the check? If not, ask to speak with that person. Ask for the name and branch of the bank they use for the check they will bring. Call the bank Friday afternoon, (Saturday if they are open) and ask if their balance is sufficient to cover the $6,500 check. Usually, I like to meet at a branch of their bank and cash the check. Sunday fits with their posted work hours. @cavguy suggested a good local place to meet as well. Good luck—

Thanks man, I appreciate the insight and knowledge

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[HungryHound]

Do the deal. Keep the merchandise until the check clears at your bank.

 

[Izzo93]

Do the deal. Keep the merchandise until the check clears at your bank.

Right, but my bank, I believe if I’m not mistaken, anything over I think $2,500 if not a direct deposit (like my paychecks), has either a 36 or 48 hour hold.
Is that unreasonable for me to ask them to send me the check, wait for it to clear, THEN drive 4 hours to come pick up the kit?

 

[HungryHound]

Right, but my bank, I believe if I’m not mistaken, anything over I think $2,500 if not a direct deposit (like my paychecks), has either a 36 or 48 hour hold.
Is that unreasonable for me to ask them to send me the check, wait for it to clear, THEN drive 4 hours to come pick up the kit?

The bank will immediately know if it's a good check, but will hold it to make sure there's not a lot of additional pulls on the account. If the buyer thinks it's a good deal, they'll wait for delivery or even give you a bump to deliver. Don't get too caught up in the deal.

 

[cavguy]

Ok, I will look into this. I’ve never heard of something of this nature, but 100% will give it a go. And obviously I understand I would be paying the 3rd party for their services which I would be COMPLETELY down with, just to ensure this goes down legitimately, legally, and to ease my nerves which are going 1849273918 miles per minute right now.

Wait, there will be no fees with the option I presented - you basically just arrange to do the transaction at your local friendly LE agency (local PD or Sheriff) with an officer there to watch. Just call them up or run by there and see if they will help you. You can tell them your situation and hopefully they will offer their oversight during the transaction. Basically you are just betting that if the buying party is a scammer, they don't want to get involved with law enforcement at all. If they are legit, then they should have no worries at all.

 

[blink9cd]

Legitimate question here: In a sale like this, or a private used car sale, would someone bring $6500 in actual cash? Like even if you had 100s that would still be quite a few...it's not movie duffel bag level but I've never personally seen close to that in one place.

I'm asking because I've never done private for anything large before. My only experiences with this kind of money were selling to CarMax and Carvana. They both gave me a check, so I thought that's how it's done.

 

[Pig-Pen]

have them meet you at their bank and have them get a money order. a cashiers check can still be cancelled and there is a hold to make sure funds clear. it can be anywhere from a couple days to weeks. and the rep at the bank will say one thing and then the bank does another. ive seen it happen. money order is same as cash. it cannot be cancelled. they have it made out to YOU, same as a check. the money order is drawn from their business account. even with a check, they should be asking you to write up a receipt for them to submit to their accounting. just a check written out to some random dude isnt a good idea on their end. they need to SHOW what they are paying for. you give them a detailed receipt for the item and they give you a money order from their business account that matches up.

if theyre not willing to do that, then it sounds even more like a red flag. a lot of businesses in the aftermarket industry owe some of their success to burning someone else. you also never know whats going on behind the scenes. for all you or anyone else knows theyre about to close their doors. if the check bounces, theyre in legal trouble. if they cancel the check, then its a civil matter to which you have to pursue them in court. a lot of businesses play this game.

up to you if you want to roll the dice...

 

[JeepDave]

Well first, it isn’t used. It’s new in the box. , but whoever was to buy it (The company were talking about in this thread), it’s a win win.

but yes you would think I’m an idiot for even considering a check rather than cash in hand,

It's not crazy to take a check from a business, a personal check from someone you don't know is a different matter. I would just make sure you are actually talking to them. About how much are they saving by dealing with you do you think? Seems a little unusual that they aren't sending someone 'on the clock' during a business day to pick it up.

 

[laroo]

For $6500, I'd make the 4 hour drive and meet at their bank. The bank will verify the money is available, then write you the check in the bank's name. Take a day off of work if you can. Plus you get to spend 8 hours in your Jeep.

When I purchased a car private party a few years ago, the seller wanted cash. No way was I withdrawing $7500 and walking around with it. I had the seller meet me at my bank, where they cut a check. Seller was apprehensive, but it was the safest option for both of us.

 

[Astro Jeep]

I wouldn't do business with them. I don't think it is a scam. They are a legit business. I do not think they are unethical, but they do use angry grills on some of their Jeep builds. That would be a huge red flag for me!

 

[azwjowner]

Often the biggest problem is that scammers impersonate the names of innocent companies/purchasers. So the first order of business would be for you to independently look up the phone number or email for DTO Customs from a trusted source and contact them to verify that it's them you've actually been talking to. Then decide how you feel about the remaining issues.

 

[Izzo93]

have them meet you at their bank and have them get a money order. a cashiers check can still be cancelled and there is a hold to make sure funds clear. it can be anywhere from a couple days to weeks. and the rep at the bank will say one thing and then the bank does another. ive seen it happen. money order is same as cash. it cannot be cancelled. they have it made out to YOU, same as a check. the money order is drawn from their business account. even with a check, they should be asking you to write up a receipt for them to submit to their accounting. just a check written out to some random dude isnt a good idea on their end. they need to SHOW what they are paying for. you give them a detailed receipt for the item and they give you a money order from their business account that matches up.

if theyre not willing to do that, then it sounds even more like a red flag. a lot of businesses in the aftermarket industry owe some of their success to burning someone else. you also never know whats going on behind the scenes. for all you or anyone else knows theyre about to close their doors. if the check bounces, theyre in legal trouble. if they cancel the check, then its a civil matter to which you have to pursue them in court. a lot of businesses play this game.

up to you if you want to roll the dice...

Thanks for the detailed response my man

 

[conFUcius]

@Izzo93 - Skimmed this while waiting to takeoff so apologies if someone mentioned this already. Sounds like business is somewhat reputable. Personally, I’d be a little hesitant to collect cash. When I bought my first set of wheels, the seller didn’t want cash. He told me his friend sold something and was paid cash but it was a mixture of legit $100 bills and mixture of counterfeit. PayPal or Venmo on the spot is my preferred followed by a business check (which it sounds like, again, they’re legit). Picking up on a Sunday sounds weird but if they’re a smaller business with limited staffing, they may not want to send someone during the day and reduce their staffing bandwidth. Good luck!

 

[Joe98]

They way I understood it, is they would only want to issue a company / corporate/ issued check for accounting purposes?

Paypal is a near instaneous electronic payment

Instead ask for a usual electronic payment. It will be clear in 24 hours. And don't release the goods till have the money.

 

[Abramovich]

Have them mail the check to you now. Deposit it, wait a few days for it to clear. Then they can pick up the goods.

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