Selling a Used Car????

[Dick Strauss]

Has anyone sold a used car lately?

I plan to sell a very nice used car in the next month or so and would greatly appreciate any tips you can provide! It should be an easy sale to the right party. I plan to list it on CL for more than $5k. I know that I'll have folks from Nigeria offerring to take it off my hands at more than full price and those attempting the usual CL/online scams. I won't be posting my phone number, home address, or email and will be meeting the parties at a public location near my home for viewing.

How do I protect myself from payment scams and wreckless drivers? I'm concerned about the following...
1) Personal safety during the transaction
2) payment scams (fake checks, counterfeit currency, wire fraud)
3) unlicensed and uninsured perspective buyers possibly wrecking the vehicle during the test drive

I was contemplating having the buyer pay in cash and present it at the bank for inspection, but $5k+ is a lot of cash. Unfortunately banks will not be responsible if they later find counterfeit in your deposit even if they accepted it. Banks are also not repsonsible for phony cashiers checks. Wiring money can be troublesome because you have to provide your bank account. Possibly I could have the bank set up a temporary account for this transaction only. Then I could transfer the money to a second acct once the funds have been verified.

Am I asking too much to take a copy of the license and insurance cards and verify insurance before allowing a test drive?

Thanks in advance,
Dick

[Dan Friedrichs]

I sold a used car to a private party a few years ago. I believe I accepted their personal check, but held the title until it cleared - then I mailed them the title. Seemed reasonably safe for both parties.

[Rob Russell]

Am I asking too much to take a copy of the license and insurance cards and verify insurance before allowing a test drive?


You're not renting them the car, so it's your insurance that would cover them during the test drive. Sort of a good reason to be on the test drive with them.

One thing you will want to do is to keep a copy of the Bill of Sale and have the buyer sign it too. That's to protect you if you have a problem getting the ownership transferred soyour local tax folks don't keep trying to tax you.

[Jeff Monson]

Dick, I'd decide on a policy and stick to it, I'd personally go with on the test drives. If not, you would definately want to get a copy of their license and insurance.

For payment a personal check, or a check from the bank or credit union. I would not take a money order. Write up a simple purchase agreement and make sure you state "as is" and both parties are agreed on this. I'd definately hold the tiltle until payment clears also (unless its cash).

[David G Baker]

Send the copy of the title transfer of ownership to your state motor vehicle register showing that you sold the vehicle and to whom you sold it to. If the new owner gets a ticket you can prove that you no longer own the vehicle.

[Pat Germain]

Here are my suggestions:

- Take your time and create a very thorough, informative ad to post on Craigslist. Write it up in something like MS Word. Spell check it and review it several times. When you're certain all is well, copy the content from the Word document and paste it into the Craigslist form. This will ensure you have a professional ad without mistakes.

- Include this line, or something like it, in your ad: "Local buyers only. No wire transfers. No money orders. No kidding." I put that in an ad last year when I sold my daughter's car. I received no fishy emails or phone calls and sold the car promptly.

- Take many pictures of the inside and outside of the car. Select the best four and include those with the ad. Including those four, good pictures goes a very long way when selling a car. Most people, including me, ignore ads without pictures or with lousy pictures. Also, if someone emails you, you can send them the extra pictures for their review.

- List the mileage and regular maintenance performed on the car. It really helps to include things like, "New brake pads installed at 60k miles. Oil changed every 5k miles." If you have receipts for the maintenance, put them neatly into a folder or large envelope which potential buyers can review.

- Be forthcoming about any flaws and any problems with the car. Most people will not be bothered by minor issues if they know about them up front. However, if they see them or find out only after looking at the car, it throws up a red flag.

- Make sure the car is extremely clean inside and out including the glove box. Americans put a lot of weight on appearance. I have bought very nice used cars for very good prices simply because they were dirty and nobody else had wanted them only for that reason.

- Dump two bottles of Chevron fuel system cleaner in the tank and drive it on the highway for awhile. The Chevron stuff is a little more expensive, but it's the only one with "Techron". In my experience, it works better than the other fuel system cleaners and it will help the engine to idle and run smoothly during test drives.

[Joe Pelonio]

I just bought one on CL and it went very smoothly, the seller worked two blocks from me. Last time I sold one I got tons of calls from CL, but most argued with me about the mileage and condition, as if I was a liar. I finally stuck signs on it and parked it near the local high school and sold it the next day. $5,000 or under is what many students are looking for, even in affluent areas not all of the parents buy their kid a new Lexus at 16.

As for test drives, you can certainly verify that they have a valid license, but always go with them and have someone at home to record the license # of their car while you are gone. I have found that you can tell a lot by talking on the phone ahead of time, both as buyer and seller, you can tell pretty quickly if the person is honest and/or serious.

[neal jack]

Send the copy of the title transfer of ownership to your state motor vehicle register showing that you sold the vehicle and to whom you sold it to. If the new owner gets a ticket you can prove that you no longer own the vehicle.
yeah, good suggestions

[Bryan Morgan]

Write up a contract! There are a bunch of them you can copy online... basically just make sure it has all the info about the vehicle and says "As is" on it and have them sign it.