How to sell to a Private Party and what can go wrong?

[kg4fxg]

So you decide it time for a new car. But you have to sell the old one. What do you do and what can go wrong? You post the car for sale. You ride along during the test drive. How do you accept payment? You sign over the title and maybe use a form off the internet as bill of sale.

Any stories here positive or negative? What have you learned? What advice can you offer for those reading this post and on this forum? I most trade at the dealer to avoid such issues but that could be like leaving money on the table. Older folks here help out the younger ones. Words of wisdom and experience.

And those reading just curious, post questions. This is a post for all, not just me but to learn how to sell a car. What is your story? Any deals gone bad? Good experience? How did you value your car? How did you sell your car and what questions do you have about the process?

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[Deezy]

Are you selling the Mini?

 

[minitech]

Watch out for the sammers, i would personally stay away from any one wanting you to ship the car and pay you with a money order or anything like that as there is a lot of fishy scams out there. Also I would say try to sell local and make sure whoever buys it gives you a cash or a cashier's check..... but even a cashier's check can be fake especially if its from a bank that is out of state, regardless i would say take the buyer to the bank with you to make sure the check goes through and is valid. Also your bank can notarize the title (this also always gives me an additional reason talk the to person buying the car into meeting me at the bank). Kill two birds with one stone so to speak. You might try listing it on autotrader or facebook marketplace, however i personally stopped using craigslist as there are just too many scams out there on it. Good luck! If it seems fishy it is.

 

[Justin G]

OK I've got a question. We are getting ready to sell my wife's old car. We owe $3k and it can sell for about 5k. How do I sell it for 5k and THEN pay it off. In other words how can I sell the car without the title in hand. I know it can be done of course but what's the procedure?

 

[SCOPESYS]

OK I've got a question. We are getting ready to sell my wife's old car. We owe $3k and it can sell for about 5k. How do I sell it for 5k and THEN pay it off. In other words how can I sell the car without the title in hand. I know it can be done of course but what's the procedure?

I recently purchased a used car, from a gentleman in Texas (I am in Maryland).
The car was wrecked, but I wanted it for parts. (ie My 1987 Nissan Maxima Wagon - for spare parts)

We communicated by email and phone to set everything up.
We needed a Bill of sale (For his State, as he was selling a car Registered in Texas).

We ended up totally trusting each other. I sent him 2 copies of the Signed Bill of sale, to sign and return, along with a Cashiers Check for the sales price.
We had also exchanged pictures and TEXED to each other what we had agreed to do, sales price, sale procedure, so we both had some written proof of the mutually agreed Sale conditions, before starting the actual transaction.

I arranged for a car Transport company to work with him to pick up the car from his home, and bring it up to Maryland. (which I paid for).
I also chose to have him UPS me the signed handed over Title.
Everything went extremely smoothly, and I was very please with how the sale went.
The sale satisfied rules in both Texas and Maryland.
Lastly, I went to my local MVA, and with all the paperwork completed, and had the car re-registered to me, and got the title issues in my name.

Car was shipped without Plates, and I did not need to get new plates or insurance in Maryland, as the car is not intended to be driven on the road, and is now, physically unable to be, as it is partially stripped.

If you are not comfortable handling the paperwork, or have concerns about handing over money before the car is titled to you etc etc, there are ESCROW companies that are set up to protect both the buyer & seller. Bill of sale & Title exchange and payment is conducted through them, and they hold the documentation and payments, during the sale, so that both parties are protected.

It is an added expense - but it is available, should the circumstances warrant it, and provided both parties with a high level of protection from any fraud or scamming.

Transaction, with an Escrow Company Worked well for me -- my 1st time doing a Long Distance car purchase, without actually seeing or inspecting the car beforehand.
Being able to check out both the car & the seller independently via the Internet helped confirm to both parties, that they were legit, and it was not a scam.

(Amazing what you can find out about a total stranger with a few minutes of searching on the Internet !! )

GOOD LUCK ...

 

[kg4fxg]

Are you selling the Mini?

No, Mini is wife's car. Countryman. I am curious about the last one. Owe 3K and can sell for 5K - how to sell and payoff? Lots to learn in this post. Keep asking questions, lots of experienced folks here. Thanks.

 

[SCOPESYS]

No, Mini is wife's car. Countryman. I am curious about the last one. Owe 3K and can sell for 5K - how to sell and payoff? Lots to learn in this post. Keep asking questions, lots of experienced folks here. Thanks.

My 1st car was a used, Blue, Austin Min Van. Learn't a lot about cars, stripping it down & rebuilding it as a teenager.

 

[kg4fxg]

WOW, that is so cool. And yes I bet you could work on it. Those were the days. I took automotive shop in High School. We rebuilt engines and could bring in our own cars. Back then mostly 60's cars. Had a Chrysler Plant not too far away that donated engines to tear down and rebuild. One of the year books has a picture of me in something like a Camaro up on the lift. Not my car but I doubt they teach that today just like there is no Drivers Ed anymore. Those were the good old days.

 

[dc2turbo]

No, Mini is wife's car. Countryman. I am curious about the last one. Owe 3K and can sell for 5K - how to sell and payoff? Lots to learn in this post. Keep asking questions, lots of experienced folks here. Thanks.

you would need to go to the bank or whoever you got the loan off of and do the transaction there.

 

[SCOPESYS]

WOW, that is so cool. And yes I bet you could work on it. Those were the days. I took automotive shop in High School. We rebuilt engines and could bring in our own cars. Back then mostly 60's cars. Had a Chrysler Plant not too far away that donated engines to tear down and rebuild. One of the year books has a picture of me in something like a Camaro up on the lift. Not my car but I doubt they teach that today just like there is no Drivers Ed anymore. Those were the good old days.

Car Maintenance, Woodwork Shop, etc .. in Schools -- just look at the present day LIABILITY .. no wonder they don't exist anymore -- too easy for the schools to get into a law suite .. in any case, all day is needed to teach kids the "NEW Maths" !!

I think your average school kid, by the time they graduate, cannot even change a light bulb !! - probably because they do not have the APP on their Smartphone ??

 

[mechanical42]

No, Mini is wife's car. Countryman. I am curious about the last one. Owe 3K and can sell for 5K - how to sell and payoff? Lots to learn in this post. Keep asking questions, lots of experienced folks here. Thanks.

Easiest way is to find 3k yourself and pay off car and get title in hand. Car is free to sell for full 5k.

Hard way was answered above. You have to go to bank of the lienholder with your buyer and pay it off. They will stamp your title that its paid off and then your buyer can pay you the remaining 2k and you sign it off to them. If your lienholder bank is far away, there is a mail in process. But thats even trickier.

So you decide it time for a new car. But you have to sell the old one. What do you do and what can go wrong? You post the car for sale. You ride along during the test drive. How do you accept payment? You sign over the title and maybe use a form off the internet as bill of sale.

Any stories here positive or negative? What have you learned? What advice can you offer for those reading this post and on this forum? I most trade at the dealer to avoid such issues but that could be like leaving money on the table. Older folks here help out the younger ones. Words of wisdom and experience.

And those reading just curious, post questions. This is a post for all, not just me but to learn how to sell a car. What is your story? Any deals gone bad? Good experience? How did you value your car? How did you sell your car and what questions do you have about the process?

I sold a few cars privately. The harder parts are to filter out the constant spam and "real interested buyers". Then comes the "tire kickers". You meet up with them, they test drive the car. Then they either low-ball you like hell pointing out obvious flaws, or tell you some feel bad stories that they are poor and there daughter needs a car for college or their mom has cancer to try and persuade you or just weren't flat out interested and just wanted to test drive completely wasting your time. I stopped selling privately for my last car (MK7 GTI 6MT) because I knew I was going to get these kind of guys. I went with carvanna instead and they gave me a fair offer. It was over the high end of the dealer trade in and lower then the low end of the private party sale on KBB so I lost a few bucks but saved me so much time and energy. Dealer for trade-in gave me a trash offer.

For private sales. Value I sold at was usually low to mid "private party value" on KBB.

For test drives I usually met at a police station. The one near my house has a good size parking lot and lights at night and is surrounded by cameras. Any shady people would be hesitant to meet there.

Payment that I accepted was cash only meet at my bank to deposit directly into my account. There are reports of counterfeit bills. For large cash payments its hard to check every single bill. They could sneak in some fake ones. Cashiers check can be faked.

Depending on state, usually only title(pink slip)is needed. Some require bill of sale and/or registration as well. If its a older car, smog cert might be needed.

 

[racer]

Payment for me comes down to size of the transaction. 5K or less? cash is fine and easy. More? check or wire transfer please.

trust... that becomes the most important part to me. You need to have some. Otherwise just walk away - both as a buyer and a seller.

lien.. gotta pay it off somehow. In one case for me, guy sells car for $16,5. Turns out, he owed $15K on the car. He wanted out of the car and enough for a down payment on the new car. Made two payments.. one for 1.5 to him, one for 15K to the bank holding the lien. Met at the bank holding the lien. No issues.

As SCOPSYS mentioned above, there is always ESCROW if needed.

Paperwork ... get some.. Check with your state's DMV regarding title/selling . Some require a bill of sale.. some don't. Age of car can impact this as well. Title too. Check mileage on car vs paperwork vs carfax/vehicle search. As a seller, you will want a signed bill of sale to protect you should the buyer try something stupid after buying.

 

[Hondaman_MI]

When you do have a buyer, meet at the local police station. Where I live they open up the lobby for internet transaction meetups.

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