I sold the freelander last week and the new owners paid by cheque.
Now i (and the new owner) thought it would have cleared within 5 days. But it hasn't. According to my bank it takes 5 full working days for a cheque to clear. So even when I left the cheaque in on a friday it (according to the bank) will take until the Monday week before it clears. I think this is just madness. Even when I asked to pay for special clearance I was told this can no longer be done.
Looks like the moral of this story is don't buy a car by cheque unless your in no hury to get the car.