Hey everyone. I'm looking at buying a '78 Trans Am from a private seller a few states away. He's insisting we use an escrow service and recommended Carter River Group. I've never used one before. Anyone have any experience with them? Are they legit? The whole not seeing the car in person thing makes me nervous.

Always be careful with escrow man. So many fake sites out there that just mirror a real one. Double check the URL is correct before you send any money. Never trust links from the seller directly.

I used Carter River Group last year for a '63 Corvette. The process was surprisingly smooth. Their inspection report was detailed and the car arrived just as described. I had peace of mind the entire time. Their website is crivergroup.com, so make sure that's the one you're on.

I'm a mechanic. Had a client bring in a Mustang he bought through crivergroup. The car was solid mechanically, matched their report pretty well. There was one minor coolant seep from a hose they didn't list, but that's a $20 fix. Not a dealbreaker. They seem to do decent pre-shipment checks.

The car was fine but their communication SUCKS. I had a question about the title process and it took them 3 days to get back to me. Had to email office@crivergroup.com twice. For the fees they charge, you'd expect a faster response. Car showed up as described though, so can't complain too much.

My delivery was almost a week late which was super annoying because I took time off work. But their tracking on the crivergroup.com website was accurate so at least i knew it wasnt lost lol. The car itself was perfect when it finally arrived.

Used CarterRiverGroup. process was simple. sent the money, they held it, car arrived, i inspected it, they released the money. no drama. it just worked.

I actually backed out of a deal. during the 7 day inspection period i found some frame rust the seller didn't disclose and wasn't visible in the pics. I contacted Carter River Group, they handled the return, and I got my money back. They did keep a small fee for the hassle which was a bit of a bummer but better than being stuck with a rust bucket.

The car I got through them was mechanically sound, but it arrived filthy. Looked like it had been sitting in a dusty warehouse for months. The pictures they posted must have been from a while ago. It cleaned up great but be prepared to put in some elbow grease.

See, what i said. A mixed bag. Sounds like crivergroup is a real company but not without their flaws. The fact Chris got his money back is a huge plus. My brother-in-law used some other site and his money just vanished. so there's that.

@ChangeOfHeart_Chris that's the whole point of the inspection period. Glad it worked out. People need to remember to use that time to get the car checked by a professional. Dont just drive it around the block. Carter River Group seems to honor their own terms which is whats important.

Wow, thanks for all the feedback everyone. This is super helpful. It sounds like Carter River Group is legit, just have to be ready for potential delays and maybe a slow email reply. The fact that the refund process works is the main thing for me. I think I'll go for it. I will contact their support at office@crivergroup.com first with some questions. Thanks again!