Hi!
S1 wants to sell his 6-year old car since his new job will provide transportation for a year. Looking for tips for selling… Car max? Craigslist? And for the actual sale (if to a stranger). Would you ask for a money order? Cashiers check? And meet to fund the purchase somewhere a notary can transfer the title?
I have never sold a car, only traded them in at dealerships. Appreciate any guidance!
This is not going to be much help, but at least it will bump up the thread. I have never sold a car, but we bought one from a private seller. We looked in the local paper’s online ads. Make sure the test drive and showing take place in a safe location with other people present. A cash payment or cashier’s check - yes, absolutely no personal checks. In our state, one used to simply sign away the title, and the buyer would take the paper to the DMV to pay registration, taxes and get the new title. Double-check you son’s state specifics. Hope some car sellers will chime in!
Beware fake cashier’s check. Meet at the bank. He can give you cash and you can have it converted to a check there. craigslist can be okay as long as you don’t get a scammer. If you get a scammer there is no way to convert that to a real buyer so look for the signs and cut them loose.
Yes, a cashier’s check needs to be exchanged at the bank - this is what our seller wanted, and we were fine with that.
Do not give out your email address on Craigslist, not even accept text messages. You must interview buyer on the phone to make sure it’s not a scam.
I bought a car on Craig’s list and was planning on selling one on Craig’s list until a friend wanted to buy it. By buying one privately, we saved me $2,000 and the seller probably a lot more. It’s a win/win if it goes well.
I sold my last car to my mechanic. I worry about selling on my own these days, as even if you take a photo of their drivers license, you are letting a stranger drive off with your car. My neighbors did sell their car through an ad. They had many potential buyers show up at their house. It can be done.
We sold my H’s truck last year on Craigslist with no issues. My H insisted on cash for the truck and the buyer was fine with that. We then purchased a car for D2 via Craigslist about a month later with no issues.
I wouldn’t use craigslist an older couple was murdered when they went to look at a car not to long ago. We sold car to car max years ago. Not the best price but I did not want to give out my phone number to strangers. My dad has sold cars using for sale ads in the local paper. However he lives in a small town and everyone knows everybody.
We plan to sell H’s car to mechanic, who wants parts in it for his own car.
We have sold 2 cars through Craigslist both within a couple of days of posting. My advice to make a new email to answer any email questions so you don’t give out your personal email. i.e 2000Toyota@****.com. Also, never meet at your house always meet at a busy fast food business ie McDonalds, Starbucks, etc… If they want to test drive it, we’ve asked for something of theirs such as car keys to whatever car they drove up in and/or drivers license. Get paid in cash if possible. I also found a form online that they sign when they purchased the car such as a bill of sale with odometer reading.
Your son might want to “ping” his FB friends, coworkers, etc. to see if they know anyone who would be interested. One caveat of selling a car to a person you know is that if something, like an expensive mechanical issue, happens to the car, it might affect your relationship.
We had a problem with a car sold in the past where the person we sold it to never switched over the registration at the DMV, and they came back to ME looking to pay taxes on it again. I tracked the kid down, he had sold it again. I honestly can’t recall the details, it has been a few years, but I think I gave his contact info to the DMV. Next time I think I might make the buyer go with me to the DMV.
I have sold 2 cars through Craigslist, and it went fine. Yes, ONE incident happened in the 10 years people have been using Craigslist where someone purchasing a car was murdered. That is not a reason to not use Craigslist. Also, you do not need to give your email address out to someone contacting you through Craigslist. You email back and forth, but they don’t get your "real"address. I can usually tell after a couple of emails if they are sort of phishing and not serious buyers; I don’t give out any info like address or phone until I feel pretty confident that they are. But I don’t usually talk to purchasers on the phone.
The one time sold to a stranger, we met in a public place and got cash for the car. We had them sign and complete the vehicle registration and I took it in to DMV so it would immediately record the change. Saw way too many folks who “sold” a vehicle but new owner never recorded and had tons of fines and tickets on car.
Do a bill of sale too in addition to signing over title slip. Some states you made not need notary. Get a photo copy of buyer’s drivers license, get his phone # and address in case something comes up and you have to hunt him down after transfer, and keep photo copies of all paper work. You want evidence you sold car in case new buyer hurts someone with your old car…you don’t want to be held liable for him injuring someone and saying it is still your car! Be sure to take your license plate off car before buyer picks it up!
We had good luck a few months back selling a sports car through AutoTrader. They offer several levels of service and we opted for the most complete which costs about $350. They wrote the ad, performed a detailed inspection of the general condition and tires, and photographed the car. The part I liked best is that AutoTrader received all the phone calls from prospective buyers and ran through some pre-qualifying questions to make sure they were legitimate buyers. I would then respond to the buyer through AutoTrader so that no one was ever given our email or phone number.
We did accept a cashiers check for the car, but only because we met the buyers at their bank to close the sale. We signed the title papers there and the bank cut the check in front of us.
Remember to clean out the glove box of anything with your personal info and reset any built-in garage door openers or navigation systems.
“Yes, ONE incident happened in the 10 years people have been using Craigslist where someone purchasing a car was murdered.”
NO. There was a issued a report in June 2014 saying more than 40 slayings and 30 convicted killers have been linked to Craigslist.
Our police department has put out a statement that if you are doing any sort of craigslist transaction that the safest place to do it is in the police department parking lot.
Wow! Never realized how risky these things were!
Carmax worked great for husband’s Infinity. Some local police stations allow exchanges in their parking lots.
In my Craig’s list transaction, I met the seller in a public place, took a test drive together, seller brought the car to the mechanic of my choice, met in a public place to give a cashier’s check, and went together to the DMV to change registration. A hassle for both of us but worth it for the 2-3 K we both saved.