How do you sell a car?

[disneysteve]

I frequently read advice saying not to trade in your used car but to sell it privately. I'm almost 43 years old and have never actually done that. Between my wife and I, we've given 2 cars to family members, we've had one destroyed by a fire, one wrecked in an accident and one traded in to the dealer. Hopefully, we won't be getting rid of either of our current vehicles for at least a few more years, but when the time comes, I want to know what to do if we decide to sell them privately.

I know there are lots of places to advertise, like ebay, craigslist, local papers, etc. And I know there are sites to use to set your price. But what happens from there?

How do you handle people coming to see the car? Do you have them come to your home or meet them at some public location?

How do you handle test drives? Do you let them take the car out alone or do you go with them? I can see problems with both methods. If they take the car alone, you run the risk of them stealing it. If you go with them, you are putting yourself at risk getting in a car with a complete stranger who you know nothing about. Neither sounds like a great option to me.

How do you handle payment? Do you insist on cash? If you accept a personal check, do folks mind waiting until the check clears before you actually hand over the car?

How do you transfer the ownership? I'm in NJ. Do we have to go to DMV to do that?

Any other issues I haven't thought of? I figure I should start learning now so that when the time comes, if I decide to sell, I'll know how to go about it.

[MonkeyMama]

I have sold one car private party myself and my parents have sold quite a few.

The thing is the car was not worth a ton - so not really a huge risk of loss. Of course you run the risk of it getting stolen. I think it is rare but you have to take precaution. On the flip side, when we test drive private party cars usually people just hand over the keys. I am always shocked. Only ONE time did anyone ever ask to hold our car keys. I think he asked for my license but since I was driving and needed it we compromised with my car keys. Which is an idea. I had someone with me (would not do this alone) so they could have held their license as well. I have test driven 10-20 private party cars in my life.

Craigslist I think would be best. BEfore that we always used the paper. But I put an ad up on Craigslist for my last car and it sold in a couple of days full price. I sold it to someone in another city and was going to be in the area so we met in a public place. They didn't even test drive it and handed me cash for it. Easy peasy. I probably would have preferred a cashiers check then (rather than holding $3k in cash) but these days you have to be so careful with fraud. I would think if someone pays with personal check they have to wait. Kind of like ebay - you don't send the goods until payment clears.

Just as a reference - a dealer had offered me a whopping $500 for my car and I blue booked it around $2500. I asked $3k expecting some haggling - but I just got the one bite with no haggle. IT was a really good experience. I don't think I would have thought much meeting at our home though. We both had REALLY old cars at the time. Not like we were trying to sell anything that would make us a theft target.

I am not sure how you transfer ownership in NJ but out here you just have to sign the car registration and hand it over. You can also go to the DMV together to make sure there are no problems. (I seem to remember going to the bank and the DMV with the buyer when they sold their cars. I did neither).

[Scanner]

I frequently read advice saying not to trade in your used car but to sell it privately.

Yeah, you'll do better - I have never traded in.

I'm almost 43 years old and have never actually done that.

There's a first for everything.

I know there are lots of places to advertise, like ebay, craigslist, local papers, etc. And I know there are sites to use to set your price. But what happens from there?

You arrange by phone for the buyer to examine the car.

How do you handle people coming to see the car? Do you have them come to your home or meet them at some public location?

You can do either but usually they come to your home.

How do you handle test drives? Do you let them take the car out alone or do you go with them? I can see problems with both methods. If they take the car alone, you run the risk of them stealing it. If you go with them, you are putting yourself at risk getting in a car with a complete stranger who you know nothing about. Neither sounds like a great option to me.

Well, I assume they drove a car to your place to test drive it so a steal is very unlikely. Usually they bring someone along and they leave their car with you so that's kind of collateral.

You can go along with them but yes, I would have the male of the family do that. If they are leaving their car, I personally just give them the keys.

How do you handle payment? Do you insist on cash? If you accept a personal check, do folks mind waiting until the check clears before you actually hand over the car?

Usually at the level you are selling used cars ($500 to $5000), yes, cash is the preferred method of tender. Now, you could accept a cashiers check or certified check as an alternative but personally, I'd be wary of those because of fraud in those areas lately. However, you could do that - go to the bank during banking hours and make sure the money is in your account before you hand the Title over.

How do you transfer the ownership? I'm in NJ. Do we have to go to DMV to do that?

You will have to sign your title over to him/her and then tell the new, proud of owner of your car you are calling your insurance agent and having it removed from your policy. Don't let another person drive your car on your policy!! He/she will then go to DMV and have a new title issued to him. He should also call his agent and tell him he's driving a newly bought car and is now insured.

Any other issues I haven't thought of? I figure I should start learning now so that when the time comes, if I decide to sell, I'll know how to go about it.

The best method over Craigs List and all that is just to park your car out in your lawn or in a public spot with a FOR SALE SIGN and a phone number on it. It's free and more effective than advertising it.

The only other issue I could think of is you will need to satisfy any liens/judgements on the car before title transfer (auto loans). If you still have a car payment on this, I'd call your lender to see what to do. Your car is their collateral (or should I say, their car?)

[Scanner]

Another alternative and I think I did this once.

The buyer pays by check.

I sign Title over, indicating legal transfer.

I await check to clear with keys in hand.

Check clears.

I hand keys over.

Owner takes posession.

[disneysteve]

Well, I assume they drove a car to your place to test drive it so a steal is very unlikely.

Duh. I guess I should have thought of that.

So all I do is sign the title and hand it over and I'm done? I don't need to go anywhere or do anything else? Sounds too easy. Do I have to file anything with DMV to let them know I'm no longer the owner of the car?

What about the license plate? I would remove that because it is registered to me (and it is a vanity plate that I want to keep).

Do potential buyers ever ask to take the car to a mechanic to get it checked out? If so, how does that work logistically?

[Aleta]

Please make sure that you go with the person when you change the title. Just taking your name off the insurance won't do it. We once sold my son's car and the person never put it in his name and yes we took the insurance off of the car. About 3 months later, we received a tow truck bill for the car because it was still in our name.

At that time, we sold it through the AUTO TRADER. If it is cash, you can verify that at the same time that you are going with them for the transfer. The transfer of title can be done at any office. You just have to notarize the names.

As for people coming to your home, I would suggest asking them what can of vehicle will they be driving up in and when they arrive, asking for their drivier's license and some other form of ID. I did this recently when I sold a chandolier through Craigslist and the people totally understood.

[poundwise]

You have received some good advice in this thread.

Besides local papers and Craigslist, you may also want to look for local online classifieds (we have one for the community I live in) and besides AutoTrader you may also want to check with CarsDirect.com

Here is an article that I thought may be useful too:
Edmunds.com's Quick Guide to Selling Your Car

[Scanner]

Oh yeah, I forgot - yes, take off the license plate and surrender it to DMV (or transfer it since it's a vanity plate).

I suppose it's good advice to just go along with the buyer to do all of this, to insure he/she does make the title transfer and doesn't do something illegal with the car like rob a bank.

As far as taking it to a mechanic, it's just the same - leave their car with you while their mechanic puts it up on a lift. The car may be gone for an hour.

Also, I forgot - you can provide them with a "Bill of Sale" indicating transfer to - both of you sign it so if there are any complications later, you can indicate to any judge that a transaction occured (in corroboration with bank records - I'd deposit the cash - don't just hang on it) and the bill of sale.

[disneysteve]

(in corroboration with bank records - I'd deposit the cash - don't just hang on it)

Now that's something I wouldn't have thought of. Certainly, if I got thousands of dollars, I'd deposit it, but if I got a relatively small amount like a thousand or so, I'd probably just keep it on hand for spending money, casino trips, etc.

Thanks for all the good advice.

[scfr]

We did a private party sale for the first time earlier this year.

We posted an ad on Craigslist, and got a few responses but frankly some of them just seemed to be fishing for information.

We hung a "For Sale" sign (cost around a buck at the hardware store) and hung it in the back window of the car, and that was how we got our buyer.

Park it someplace where you think you'll get lots of your "target customers" passing by. For example, if there is a university near you, college students might be a good target customer base for an inexpensive solid car. We sold ours to a construction worker who was working on a job down the street. He saw our sign on his way to work. He wanted a car exactly like ours: cheap and runs great, just a reliable way to get to work. He did not care that it had many cosmetic flaws and the radio did not even work.

When he did the test drive, my husband went with him and his 2 friends that he brought ~ No way would I have gotten in to a car alone with 3 strange men. We weren't worried about him stealing it because his truck was parked out front.

We had him pay in cash, and in fact we waited several hours for him to come back with the cash. He explained when he could come back, and he came back exactly when he said he would. I didn't ask, but since it was a Friday and he came back late-afternoon, I assumed he was waiting until he could receive and cash his paycheck.

Each state has a different procedure about transferring title. I got all of the information in advance off our our state's Motor Vehicle Licensing Department's web site. I filled out the paperwork when the man was at our house, and I asked him for his driver's license and filled in his information myself, just to make sure the true information was filled in. Then, I filed what I was legally obligated to. [A gal I used to work with fell for the line "I'll take care of the paperwork" when she sold a car and ended up getting bills for parking tickets that the new owner racked up.]

[Fern]

You generally get more $$ when you sell it privately.

ALWAYS insist on cash.

I usually have a boyfriend go on the test drive with them. I wouldn't trust them to drive it alone.

Make sure you turn your plates in to DMV. (That's important here in CT where they'll keep charging you property tax on the car if you don.) I believe on the back of the title is a form you fill out if you are selling it to someone else.

I usually go on edmunds.com to determine the fair market value for a used car, then adjust it up (or down) depending on condition. I print out the edmunds valuation to show any potential buyers who try to talk me down further on the price. It's hard to argue with an objective 3rd party.

[Gruntina]

My situations in the past with selling my cars privately are different because they were still on loans. I actually do this on purpose for the reason below:
1. I buy car used, I like to make sure I am purchasing a legal car and this is why I always set up a loan at the bank instead of paying cash because they have to do the paperwork with the seller.
2. Incredible low interest rate on my car loans from my local credit union. (Being a household member helps with lower interests privileges.
3. If I want to sell my car, I just have the buyer meet me at my bank if he wants to purchase the car. The bank does all the paperwork including dmv and loan checks and money issues. My bank is extremely anal when it comes to making sure all paperwork is completed and signed.

I usually have my husband ride with the potentional buyers when test driving. He usually meets them halfway from our home from the buyer's location. This is a safety reason for us as I do not want the buyer to know where we live to keep our home safe.

Yes I have had always had loans on my used cars even if the monthly payments were $50 dollars or less per month. I live in CA and my daily commute to work is almost 30 miles one way in the mountains. I don’t want to be stuck with a car on its very last leg when I can not call out for help (Deaf so most highway phones not an option, internet service on pda phones often not hooked up while in the mountain range.)

So far I had no troubles with buyers being willing to handle the purchase at my bank. It actually protects them too.


One possible thought, if the car is paid off and you have the title to the car, why not meet the buyer at a DMV and sign the title transfer the same time and both can ensure it made it through the DMV? I would hate to be left wondering.

[Scanner]

Ah, the net. . .didn't think of the net.

Here is a link to NJ DMV:

State of New Jersey - Motor Vehicle Commission - Vehicles

[disneysteve]

Ah, the net. . .didn't think of the net.

Here is a link to NJ DMV:

State of New Jersey - Motor Vehicle Commission - Vehicles

Thanks. Why didn't I think of that. My wife and I refer to the Internet as "The Ultimate Source of Knowledge."

[Fern]

When i think back to pre-Internet days, I am amazed at how much less information was at my fingertips.

It's hard to imagine ever having to go back to that; the Internet has changed everything for consumers, in very profound ways.