When you buy a private-party car, you’ve got to figure out how to get your money to the seller. Traditional payment methods are inconvenient, risky, or expensive. Venmo is none of those—but it’s not the solution you’re hoping for. It’s convenient for splitting the cost of dinner out, but it’s not viable for high-dollar transactions.
We’ll show you a better way to pay for a car—safely and quickly.
With its $4,999.99 weekly transfer limit, Venmo wimps out. If you’ve got your eye on a car that’s a later model in decent condition, it’s not even an option. If you’re buying an absolute beater, Venmo will serve you well. It’s fast, convenient, and secure.
Aside from its low limits, Venmo is almost everything you’d want in a payment solution. If only someone would develop a Venmo-like platform that handled large transactions. And then include some workflows specific to the vehicle transaction process to keep both parties protected and guide them through every step of the deal. Oh, and if they added in some services—financing, inspection, car shipping, etc—that a buyer could easily add on to their purchase, that would be super nice.
OK, we’ll come clean. We created just such an app. Before we tell you about it, let’s talk a bit more about Venmo.
Let’s say you’ve found a 2004 Ford Focus for $4,500. Here’s how to use Venmo to buy it:
If you want Venmo-like convenience and immediacy—without the unwieldy Venmo transaction limits—you’re going to love DealNow.
Venmo is very safe, but it’s inadequate for large purchases because of its $4,999.99 transaction limit.
For big-ticket items, you need a platform without limits. DealNow handles high-dollar transactions without breaking a sweat.
Venmo is much safer than physical cash. Physical cash is a hassle to withdraw from the bank, and it carries a risk of loss or theft.
Venmo offers no purchase protection for personal transactions. If you get scammed, you’re out of luck. This is why it’s crucial to do your research and deal with vetted, verified sellers. Also, get a car inspection and do a test drive.
PayPal and Venmo are both quite safe. Venmo’s transaction limits make it too wimpy for most car deals. PayPal caps out at $60K—much higher than Venmo—but its fees will take a bite out of the seller’s profits, and they’ll probably want you to split that.
DealNow is the gold standard for safety in car transactions. Unlike cash (which can be counterfeited or stolen) or checks (which can bounce), DealNow offers instant, verified transfers of any amount.
An escrow service removes the catch-22 of private party car transactions (you don’t want to pay for the car until you’ve received the car; the seller doesn’t want to turn over the car until they’ve gotten paid). But escrow is expensive, inconvenient, and time-consuming.
DealNow gives you escrow-like safeguards in the palm of your hand.
DealNow is the easiest way to close your own vehicle deal, anytime. It’s the safe and simple way to avoid fraud, sign documents, and instantly transact, all in one app.
