Re: What's wrong with buying boat with a cashier's check
The only way I would do a cash deal on a large ticket item is to do it at the bank. Just as cashier's checks can be easily forged, so can currency. You might think that you are good enough to spot conterfeit money, but you may not be. By doing the deal at the bank, you get someone who will check the money and credit it to your account.
Also, cashier's checks can not be immediately stopped. Typically, you will not get your money back for 90 days if you put a hold on one. Some banks, however, will certify one of your own checks - you write the check, the bank verifies that you have enough funds to cover it, and they then refuse to honor any other check that would cause the certified check to bounce.
Funds can also be transferred between the parties via EFT or wire transfer. On the last major purchase that I made, the seller and I banked with the same instutution, so we just went to the bank, sat down with a client service officer, and moved the money from my account to his. We then went straight to the title clerk and took care of the paperwork.
Simply put, there are a million scams out there, and the frequency with which they are seen, can only be expected to increase in the midst of our current economic woes.