Paying cash vs wire transfer

[Zoomin]

A friend of mine did a repair on my MIL's car for $400. She paid with 4 Franklins, which he happily accepted. The next day he deposited the money in the bank and they said one of them was counterfeit - and kept the bill! No receipt of any kind.

He calls me and explained the problem. If he hadn't been a close friend I would've told him to pound sand. My MIL went to her bank where she got the bills and they agreed to replace it, and she had to sign an affidavit.

I've never been persuaded that cash was all that great, and prefer a wire for lots of reasons. My guess is the seller wants to make sure the IRS never gets wind of it.