Large amount of cash euros

williambrian

I am going over to Germany next week to buy a campervan, the dealer is selling on behalf of a customer who wants cash, 21000 euros, I have been looking at the rates and it would seem that unless I can find a better source paying with cash is going to cost me at least another £400 compared with an online transfer. Anyone know of good source for cash euros?

Rainbowgirl84

Personally I wouldn't risk paying/carrying that amount of money in cash.

stevenhp1987

I wouldn't ever think of spending such a huge amount in cash!

Why do they not want an online transfer, or better yet, card payment? If it's a dealer selling they should really take card. Expecting a customer to pay with €21k in hard cash is just crazy and would make me think it's some sort of scam!

Chino

stevenhp1987 wrote: »

Expecting a customer to pay with €21k in hard cash is just crazy and would make me think it's some sort of scam!

Read this and learn something about the world:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-02-06/germany-is-still-obsessed-with-cash

System

Chino wrote: »

Read this and learn something about the world:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-02-06/germany-is-still-obsessed-with-cash

How rude!

No way would I carry or pay someone that amount in cash. German or otherwise.

The_Fat_Controller

If you take cash you may need to declare it when you enter Germany.

https://www.gov.uk/bringing-cash-into-uk

Enterprise_1701C

I would be very suspicious of someone wanting payment of that amount in cash, is there something wrong with the camper van, you would have no comeback potentially, I would want to at least pay part by card for protection.

If the dealer is selling on behalf of a customer that wants cash, then the dealer can translate your payment into cash for their client.

eco_warrior

Sounds insanely risky

Nebulous2

Cash is very common here as well for private car sales. While I've never gone to those levels I did pay £9500 in cash for a caravan I bought from eBay. I travelled hundreds of miles with the cash in the glovebox and quite a few doubts. I worried about being shown into a compound with lots of men and dogs. Instead we found a pleasant, cheerful couple who took us in and gave us tea and cake.

Flip this on its head. If the op was selling a campervan to someone coming from abroad, lots of people would be warning him about being scammed, with tales of possible chargebacks etc.

Assume he's capable of his own decisions about the risk he's willing to take - can anyone answer the question about the best way to get cash?

System

Nebulous2 wrote: »

Cash is very common here as well for private car sales. While I've never gone to those levels I did pay £9500 in cash for a caravan I bought from eBay. I travelled hundreds of miles with the cash in the glovebox and quite a few doubts. I worried about being shown into a compound with lots of men and dogs. Instead we found a pleasant, cheerful couple who took us in and gave us tea and cake.

Flip this on its head. If the op was selling a campervan to someone coming from abroad, lots of people would be warning him about being scammed, with tales of possible chargebacks etc.

Assume he's capable of his own decisions about the risk he's willing to take - can anyone answer the question about the best way to get cash?

Would Germany care to join us in the 21st Century?

stevenhp1987

Nebulous2 wrote: »

Assume he's capable of his own decisions about the risk he's willing to take - can anyone answer the question about the best way to get cash?

https://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com

You wouldn't be able to withdraw that much from an ATM using a foreign fee-free card unless you are there for a like a month due to ATM limits.

So the only resort is currency exchanges, most of whom won't deal with a transaction of this value! Those that do, will charge a hefty premium.

Leaving it so late will also limit the options and increase the bill if opting to pay in cash.

The cheapest solution would be to negotiate alternative payments, or if they are set on parting with €21k in cash, is to either pay the premium or delay the purchase to get a better rate as 1 week (with a bank holiday) is very short for a delivery to come through!

Nebulous2 wrote: »

Flip this on its head. If the op was selling a campervan to someone coming from abroad, lots of people would be warning him about being scammed, with tales of possible chargebacks etc.

SEPA bank transfer from an exchange like TransferWise? Cannot chargeback a bank transfer!