Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? : MGB & GT Forum : The MG Experience

Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #1
Jonas1 Doug W Gainesville, GA, USA Sign in to contact 1959 Triumph TR3A 1966 MG MGB	Topic Creator (OP) May 23, 2016 03:53 PM Joined 11 years ago 36 Posts

A rep from Meritcars.com called me today to buy my 66 B i have listed on Craigslist. Has anyone sold a car to them are they legit, and how was the transaction?

Thanks in advance.

Doug

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #2
ohlord Rob C A tiny Island off the coast of Washington State, N.W., USA Sign in to contact 1957 Land Rover Series I "EYEYIYI" 1957 Land Rover Series I "OVRLND" 1971 MG MGB 1971 MG MGB "Bedouin 2" & more	May 23, 2016 04:22 PM Top Contributor Joined 12 years ago 28,878 Posts

Typical reseller. They will horse you on the price and then sell it to some dupe for way more than it justifies.
Tread with caution.
If it is a nice example post it in your club classifieds ,and here in the member cars for sale.
Post plenty of good pics,an honest concise history,condition, short comings and all.
Work performed,,overdrive,rust issues,compression figures,running condition, modifications,etc etc etc.
Good luck with the sale thumbs up

LNDRVR4X4.COM
Home of Project "INCARN8'

1957 Series 1 Land Rover electric VEHICLE CONVERSION

FIXITUPCHAP.COM
FIXITUPCHAP INCORPORATED

RD3 Radar/ Electronic Warfare Technician
VIETNAM 1969-1972

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-05-23 04:27 PM by ohlord.

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #3
Rick Fawthrop Richard Fawthrop Langley, WA, USA Sign in to contact 1960 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite 1974 MG MGB 1994 Mazda Miata	May 23, 2016 04:40 PM Top Contributor Joined 12 years ago 6,720 Posts

I wouldn't do it.
I would just go for local buyers only.
That website does not have the name of any of the company officers.
Don't sell the car to anyone who won't meet you at your bank to do the transaction. Period.

Craigslist has a warning about out of state transactions.

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #4
tvrgeek Scott S Hillsborough, North Carolinia, USA Sign in to contact 1973 Triumph Stag	May 23, 2016 05:44 PM Top Contributor Joined 9 years ago 15,011 Posts

One thing I do is use Google Earth to see if they are a brick and motor business. "Mr. Love" who answers on Hemmings lists addresses of other peoples houses in Wa.
I sold an MGA to an exporter in Fl. Real company. No problem.

Craig's list, Hemmings and e-bay all have good bits on detecting fraud.

Cogito ergo sum periculoso

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #5
Powercat80 Dale E Austin, TX, USA Sign in to contact 1980 MG MGB	May 23, 2016 06:02 PM Joined 9 years ago 281 Posts

No information on these guys, but heed what Rob C says. It is your car and you should do what you wish, but be prepared to be worked down dramatically and then see it on their website in 2 days with a significantly higher price then what you are currently asking.

I recently called on a CBB that was in Tulsa a couple of weeks ago that was priced well on Craigslist. A week later it was advertised on CL in another city for 4 grand more. Some guy bought and it merely trying to flip it for a profit. In my opinion, you should get that profit. It's your sweat equity. JMHO

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016-05-23 06:05 PM by Powercat80.

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #6
woodstock1 jim jensen cleveland, USA Sign in to contact	May 23, 2016 06:15 PM Joined 12 years ago 1,131 Posts

Jonas- tell them the price is firm.....and....that you want cash- or- bank transfer ONLY......do NOT do paypal or take any checks or any money orders...........bank transfer works fine, incidentally.............if they want the B, they will drive down to Georgia and pick it up.........so what if they resell it at a higher price....??????.....you will get what you wanted.......craigslist is an iffy way to do car business......why not just do ebay...and use a reserve price.......?........jim.....ps- they are car dealers- all car dealers are shuck and jive......do not let them roll over you.......hold your ground.....

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #7
Powercat80 Dale E Austin, TX, USA Sign in to contact 1980 MG MGB	May 23, 2016 06:30 PM Joined 9 years ago 281 Posts

Jim - what you say is right, but that's my point. They will never pay his asking price. If they do, then Jonas is a damn fine salesman and I may have a job for him someday!!! grinning smiley

In reply to # 3270599 by woodstock1 Jonas- tell them the price is firm.....and....that you want cash- or- bank transfer ONLY......do NOT do paypal or take any checks or any money orders...........bank transfer works fine, incidentally.............if they want the B, they will drive down to Georgia and pick it up.........so what if they resell it at a higher price....??????.....you will get what you wanted.......craigslist is an iffy way to do car business......why not just do ebay...and use a reserve price.......?........jim.....ps- they are car dealers- all car dealers are shuck and jive......do not let them roll over you.......hold your ground.....

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #8
calsunshine Paul R The Valley, CA, USA Sign in to contact 1979 MG MGB	May 23, 2016 06:50 PM Top Contributor Joined 13 years ago 1,077 Posts

Here is their corporate information from the New York Secretary of States office:

https://appext20.dos.ny.gov/corp_public/CORPSEARCH.ENTITY_INFORMATION?p_nameid=3472285&p_corpid=3457493&p_entity_name=merit&p_name_type=A&p_search_type=BEGINS&p_srch_results_page=2

They also have a New York DMV Dealer Facility (license) number:

FACILITY NUMBER: 7104010
MERIT CARS INC
132-01M 14TH AVE
COLLEGE POINT, NY 11356

The good is they are licensed, which means they have a surety bond, insurance etc.
The bad is what you have already heard, they will want to give you a low ball price and mark it up, so you will be leaving potential money on the table for them to have.

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #9
TxBrit Rodger M Fort Worth, TX, USA Sign in to contact 1954 MG TF "Old Sod *Sold" 1969 MG MGB "Old Yeller Sold" 1974 Triumph TR6 "Old Blue * SOLD**"	May 24, 2016 10:37 AM Joined 12 years ago 843 Posts

Same thing with me when I advertised my "B" on craigs list in Fort Worth. A company called Gateway Classics got in touch about selling the car for me and seemed a pretty reasonable deal. They have a few sites round the country and are on the web. They charge about 200 bucks for all the photos and web posting and keep the car in their showroom for 90 days. You tell them what you want in your pocket out of the deal and they then mark it up to make their profit. If not sold in 90 days you take your car back and costs you 200 bucks. Your car has to be roadworthy and everything has to work, in fact you must drive it to the showroom. Seemed pretty reputable to me.

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #10
woodstock1 jim jensen cleveland, USA Sign in to contact	May 24, 2016 04:35 PM Joined 12 years ago 1,131 Posts

dale- ....what I was thinking.........was that with a bunch of pictures.....and a few phone calls........that they would not want to waste gas money and time to go to Georgia........or jet fuel and a few hours if they do have a lear jet.......the one concern might be the title.......dealers have their own procedure.........anything on the net about them on complaint sites......like pissedoffconsumer.com...........or the New York attorney general.......or even BBB......?.....I doubt if they would want to tangle in person with a good ol' boy who is selling the British version of the General Lee.......actually, the best place to check would be the new York DMV.....[BMV]............I did a lot of work in Cleveland for a real wheeler-dealer.......the ohio dmv had 720 complaints over the years on him......!......jim

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #11
Powercat80 Dale E Austin, TX, USA Sign in to contact 1980 MG MGB	May 24, 2016 04:59 PM Joined 9 years ago 281 Posts

The approach that Rodger describes above is certainly a different model than I'm familiar with. It does sound better, particularly if you get a price your happy with. But I guess it depends how much mark-up they put on the car. Too much and it will set there for 90 days, and you've lost all that selling time. Or they will be calling every 2 weeks to ask you to lower the price to move it. Plus you have to get it to their show-room. On the other hand they probably have greater resources and outlets to market your car and give you more exposure. I just don't know who buys from these places. Serious question. Every-time I look at these sites it just seems that they are asking a significant premium and overselling mediocre cars. It is not an outlet I would choose when I have resources here and plenty of private sellers out there for LBC's. Am I thinking wrong about this?

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #12
Rick Fawthrop Richard Fawthrop Langley, WA, USA Sign in to contact 1960 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite 1974 MG MGB 1994 Mazda Miata	May 24, 2016 05:34 PM Top Contributor Joined 12 years ago 6,720 Posts

I have sold some cars that have been sent overseas.
Basically you receive payment on the car and a shipper picks it up and you leave the title in the glove box.
On the last one I had my banker handle the money end of the transaction. I wanted their bank to transfer the funds but the buyer wanted to pay with two checks. One for about $1,500 and another for 7,500.
The small checked seemed ok but the larger one was suspicious. So we unwound the deal and I sold locally.
There was a lot of them wanting the car shipped before the checks cleared.

Not saying that these people are flakes but you have to be carefull. You don't get much help from law enforcement if something goes wrong.

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #13
Jonas1 Doug W Gainesville, GA, USA Sign in to contact 1959 Triumph TR3A 1966 MG MGB	Topic Creator (OP) May 24, 2016 11:52 PM Joined 11 years ago 36 Posts

Thanks for all the input. I sold them the car, got what i wanted and received the cashiers check today. They say to call them when the funds clear and they'll arrange a truck. So far i couldn't be happier with the transaction.

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #14
DaSpyda Don Alexander Lakeland, FL, USA Sign in to contact	May 25, 2016 10:35 AM Joined 13 years ago 876 Posts

Sadly, even Cashier's Checks can be forged.

If there is any doubt, you can call the bank directly and see if it was actually issued - and still valid. And, then hold your breath until the "turnaround" time ends (ask your bank for how long - they may even put a hold on it until that time passes).

Or, insist on a Check from a National Bank such as Bank of America, so you can take it to any local branch to cash it.

Or, wire transfer for a faster and more secure transaction.

Don
1970 MGB

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Re: Anybody sell to Merit cars, are they legit? #15
calsunshine Paul R The Valley, CA, USA Sign in to contact 1979 MG MGB	May 25, 2016 11:18 AM Top Contributor Joined 13 years ago 1,077 Posts

It seems that Doug has done well. Congratulations.

If you check Merit's records they have been in business since 2007, and have had no complaints filed with the NY DMV.

I would still be cautious and make sure the check clears, and wait 14 days to ensure it does not get returned by the issuing bank.

And thanks Doug for following up and letting us know how the transaction went.

Good luck

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