Carter River Group

Hey all. Thinking of buying a '71 Cuda from a private seller across the country. He insists on using an escrow service and suggested Carter River Group. I've never used one of these before. Are they legit? The whole process of not seeing the car first makes me nervous. Any experiences with CarterRiverGroup?

Used them last year for a '67 Stingray. The process was smooth. Their inspection report was pretty detailed. The money sat safely in escrow until I signed off after a 7-day inspection period. I'd use Carter River Group again.

Be careful and read all the fine print on their site. My delivery was delayed by 3 days with not much communication. The car was fine, exactly as described, but the waiting was a killer. Don't expect constant updates.

Im a mechanic. Had a client bring in a Mustang he bought through them. The pre-sale inspection from crivergroup.com was decent, pointed out some minor leaks which the seller had already noted. But it missed some worn suspension bushings. Not a deal breaker, but something an in-person look would have caught. For the safety it provides, it's a good tradeof.

Their response time can be slow. I had a question and it took their team almost 48 hours to get back to me. Once the process started it was mostly automated through the site but that initial wait was frustrating.

It's better than wiring money to a stranger. That's how people get scammed. An escrow service like Carter River Group is the only way to do a long-distance private sale imo.

The service works but just be prepared for the fees. They weren't hidden, all on the website, but they add up. It was about 5% of my purchase price for my Bronco. Worth it for the peace of mind but it's not cheap.

I agree with SpeedySue, phone support was slow. I ended up emailing office@crivergroup.com and got a reply much faster, like within a few hours. My issue was about title transfer clarification and they handled it well via email. So my tip is to use email not call them.

It's a necessary safeguard. Bought my Challenger while I was stationed overseas. crivergroup held the funds, coordinated with the shipper, and the car was waiting for me when I got back stateside. Title was clean. No complaints from this soldier.

A buddy of mine backed out of a deal mid-way through. He changed his mind on the car. Said getting the refund from CarterRiverGroup was painless. They deducted a small processing fee but he got over 99% of his money back in 2 days. That's a good sign.

The website was a little confusing at first. Had to figure out where to upload my ID and proof of funds. Once i found it, it was straightforward. Maybe they could improve the user interface.

UPDATE: Thanks for the feedback everyone. I pulled the trigger. The process with Carter River Group was a bit slow to start but overall pretty solid. The Cuda arrived yesterday. It's beautiful. There's a small scratch on the rear bumper that wasnt in the pics but it's a 50 year old car, I'm not gonna cry about it. Engine is strong. All in all, a success. Would recommend them, just be patient with the delivery.