Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking – but this is a virtue that some members of society are still learning.
Selling your car privately can be a hassle, but if you use common sense, trust your instincts – and some solid paperwork – you’ll have an easy experience. One so good you’ll want to resell the car.
Here are 12 tips to help ensure your private selling experience is as pleasant, safe, and secure as possible.
Trust your gut from the start
We humans are hardwired to detect anything suspicious. If anything feels off at any point, check it out with someone you trust. Chances are, your instincts are right. Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.
Cover your license plate in ads
In addition to identifying you and where you live, obscuring your license plate also helps prevent “plate cloning” — when an online crook has the same make, model, and color as your car, copies your license plate, and attaches it to their own vehicle for nefarious purposes like driving on toll roads, collecting fines, and committing other criminal activities.
You won’t know your license plate has been “cloned” until your mailbox starts filling up with fines. If you don’t know how to hide your license plate in your ad, there are some YouTube videos that will show you how.
Beware of scams during investigation
Scammers may contact you through your ads. Never click on any links.
It could be a phishing attempt to get your personal information, install malware on your computer, or worse, gain access to your online banking credentials.
Also, never transfer money to a buyer under any circumstances, unless it is simply to return their deposit. Common scams include someone offering more than you are asking and wanting to ship the car overseas. Or someone who is in debt, has friends and a crooked way of buying your car. Avoid these types of scams.
Try selling the car to someone who actually lives locally and you’ll get a good feel for it – even if you have to lower the price to attract such people.
Many scammers aren’t interested in your car – they are interested in your identity. That is, stealing your identity.
Try to remain as anonymous as possible when answering initial questions – and consider creating a new Gmail or Yahoo address just to receive messages about your car. Don’t give out your home phone number. You don’t need to exchange cell phone numbers with a buyer until you want to call them to arrange an inspection and test drive.
Invite the best looking people to check out the car first.
If you get a lot of inquiries – and if you follow all of our tips, you should! – you should target the people who seem most trustworthy.
This is not an invitation to discriminate, but it does mean giving preference to people in your area who have taken even the slightest effort to ask, responded promptly, and appeared respectful and polite.
Give federal requests a lower priority and avoid any requests from overseas. Also, there are a lot of time wasters out there, and you will get requests from dreamers and nitpickers – try to weed them out early. Your time is precious.
Speak on the phone before arranging an inspection and test drive to further confirm your instincts and gauge their seriousness. Ignore “low bidder” – anyone who offers a much lower price than you. They are preying on vulnerable sellers who need to move their car quickly.
Important: Before they come to view the car, ask the buyer if they have a driver’s license (you’d be surprised). If they don’t, you can ask them to get a customer service number or similar from your state or territory’s department of transportation. This will require them to prove their identity.
Also, avoid dealing with “middlemen”. This is a red flag and a common scam. Only deal directly with potential buyers.
Meet in public during the day
For your initial inspection and test drive, try to meet at a large, busy service station or shopping centre car park – somewhere where someone will be there to assist you if you need it. Tell family or friends where you are going and what you will be doing.
If you want to take your protection to the next level, you can meet the buyer and complete the inspection and test drive at the police station. If the buyer asks you to pick them up somewhere and drop them off, refuse. Conduct the transaction in one location.
It can be awkward to meet a complete stranger in a parking lot, and they will often bring someone else to help them inspect the car. If that scares you, consider having someone else come along when a potential buyer comes to look at the car. Let the buyer know up front that you won’t be alone.
Never invite a complete stranger to look at a car in your neighborhood. If you can’t avoid it, don’t let them in. They may look at the car and then come back with a torch and a sock over their head.
Get important details before your test drive
Take your driver’s license and take a quick photo of the front and back with your phone (or just write down all the details). Check that the license hasn’t expired.
Check to see if your insurance company covers a test drive.
Many insurance companies will cover “unlisted” drivers in the event of an accident and simply charge a higher deductible. But you should check. Call your insurance company and ask.
Be prepared to leave at any time
Remember that cars have been stolen by “interested buyers” before. This is extremely rare, so don’t stress too much, but be alert.
During a test drive, the thief will stop the car to “check something” and ask you to get out. If this happens to you, do as they say. Your safety is more important than the car. Use common sense.
Use secure methods to accept payments
You can read our guide to know. Accept payments from buyers herebut in short: never hand over the keys until you see the money in your bank account.
If you decide you want to be paid by electronic funds transfer (EFT), tell the seller that you can’t release the car to them until the money is cleared. It takes a little trust on their part, but if they’re a decent person, they’ll understand.
Otherwise, you can explore other options such as branch wire transfers or cashier’s checks. Never accept unusual payment methods such as Western Union, PayPal, cryptocurrency or, for example, iTunes gift cards. Use your common sense.
Keep paperwork for any transaction
If you want to collect a deposit from the buyer, write out a receipt, print two copies and have both you and the buyer sign both. Likewise, when the car is sold, complete a Sales Receipt or appropriate proof of purchase.
We have included a comprehensive example in our article on Documents you need to sell your car. If you want to increase the level of security even further, have a conciliator sign the Deed of Sale between you and the buyer.
Complete the “processing notice” immediately
Once you have received the money and delivered the car to the buyer, immediately notify the local traffic authority that you have “disposed” of the car. This will protect you if the new owner has to pay thousands of dollars in fines for speeding or similar.
Read our Instructions on paperwork when selling a car are here.as it varies depending on your state and territory.
Do the right thing for the buyer too
While buyers should understand that they are buying an “as is” car – meaning they must complete due diligence before committing – you should still disclose whether the car is a restored car, any remaining mechanical parts that need attention, and especially if the car is mortgaged (you are still paying off the loan).
This can limit your liability in the future if anything goes wrong. But also remember to be polite, responsive, reliable, and punctual. If you are good to your buyers, chances are they will be good to you. Everyone is happy.
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