Tips for Selling Privately?

[Apoc]

Here's mine from buying the cruiser...



I know of at least 4 others.

[Dave]

I've bought and sold a lot of cars, i'll share what I can think of:


#1 No matter what, do a bill of sale. If you pay less than book, the DMV can question it and if you don't have a bill of sale, you get to pay taxes on book value. Likewise, I have often negotiated that the seller get a little more than I would normally offer if they'll write down a lower price on the title so that I don't pay big taxes (both parties win)
#2 Go on the test drive. If it's Andy beating and he's beating the piss out of your car without any apparent intent to buy, punch him in his Azian nads. In fact, if it's fast or expensive, I'd highly recommend doing the initial drive before putting them in the driver's seat anyways. I'd much rather the person get a feel for the car rather than them getting that monster turbo spooled up on the middle of a turn on turn with a nasty drop...
#3 Work out all of the details on the car through a visual inspection before the test drive. You don't want somebody beating on your car and then lowballing you on stuff that they could have pointed out early on. If you're really balsy, make them sign the bill of sale before the test drive. It's a binding contract, so they can pay up unless you've truly misrepresented the car.
#4 Cash only!!!! I cannot stress how important this is. Personal checks are absolutely out of the question unless you really know the person. I took a bank check for the supra, talked to his bank to confirm the check and the funds, and was still nervous as fuck for a week until it cleared.
#5 If you're selling, establish with yourself exactly how low you're willing to go and how long you're willing to wait. If you're buying, do the exact same thing. Do you need it now, or are you willing to wait for that better deal? <- be reasonable with yourself...


I've got lots more rules to buy/sell by, just not enough time or brainpower to type them all out right now.

[WRXtranceformed]

If it's a certified check you shouldn't have to worry. That's why it's certified

[JackoliciousLegs]

13 9?!?! Hmmmm... If only I were in the market... I'd jump on that like I'd jump on J-Lo.

[Dave]

If it's a certified check you shouldn't have to worry. That's why it's certified

Yeah, except it could also be a fake check. In theory I eliminated that by confirming it with the bank, but I still don't trust it until I can put dollar bills in my hand :-).
Which is why I reiterate cash only if at all possible...

[WRXtranceformed]

If it's a certified check you shouldn't have to worry. That's why it's certified

Yeah, except it could also be a fake check. In theory I eliminated that by confirming it with the bank, but I still don't trust it until I can put dollar bills in my hand :-).
Which is why I reiterate cash only if at all possible...

They could also give you counterfeit bills! ha ha.. That's a little more paranoid than I would be, but understandably so.

When I sold my Tundra through CL, I let the guy and his friend take it for a test drive and check it out. I didn't really care if they stole and / or wrecked it good because then I'd have it off my hands easier :lol:

[WRXtranceformed]

Chris, my friend Joe hit you up, I guess he's coming to take a peek at it on Saturday if you haven't sold it by then! He's one of my best friends and definitely someone you can trust... I'd put my good name on it, for what it's worth

[Apoc]

People don't seem to understand the concept of negotiation. Do they really think asking me what the lowest I'll take is a viable tactic?

[ViPER1313]

People don't seem to understand the concept of negotiation. Do they really think asking me what the lowest I'll take is a viable tactic?

I don't see the issue with using that tactic. Has worked well for me a couple of times.

[.RJ]

Do they really think asking me what the lowest I'll take is a viable tactic?

I do it all the time. Tell them that if they're seriously interested to schedule a time to look at the car and you can discuss the price.

[G.Irish]

People don't seem to understand the concept of negotiation. Do they really think asking me what the lowest I'll take is a viable tactic?

It seems dumb to people like you and me but there are plenty of people out there who are terrible negotiators. Personally I'm never going to tell someone what the lowest price I will take is. If they want to buy they can make an offer and I can decide what I will accept.

[Ginger]

They could also give you counterfeit bills! ha ha.. That's a little more paranoid than I would be, but understandably so.

My office gets a rather large bag of "cashiers checks" that people have attempted to counterfeit/cash each week in our name. This bag, I shit you not, could be weighed on a scale that only measures in full pounds. It is most definitely not something to be Cool & Easy about.

I will only take cash. I was a teller for a while, and I worked with large amounts of cash when I was graduated from that to other work, so I have a better feel for what's real than most people - but the point stands. It's a lot easier to print up a check than it is to print up a bill. And just because you call the bank and verify, well, it doesn't mean anything. That doesn't make the piece of paper you're holding real or original. Cash. Cash. Cash. Next up would be a an electronic funds transfer.

And to dispell other myths: doing a transaction at the bank doesn't secure diddly. Just because the $10/hr Teller took the check, it does not become genuine. Just because you did the work in a bank does not make it any more or less binding than in your home. Blah blah, I'm sure everybody sees my point by now.

I think your idea with holding the title until the check is clear is spot on, Chris. You will, however, have no idea when the check actually clears. The banks funds 'hold' policy is an arbitrary length of time which cannot exceed a standard set by the government in Reg CC. After the hold period is up, the check could still be returned/bounce. You would be liable at that point, not the bank.

[ViPER1313]

The banks funds 'hold' policy is an arbitrary length of time which cannot exceed a standard set by the government in Reg CC. After the hold period is up, the check could still be returned/bounce. You would be liable at that point, not the bank.

Yup - I had a friend bounce a check to me once. He told me it bounced 3 days after I cashed it, but my bank was not aware / able to tell that it had bounced until around 1 month later.

[.RJ]

Cash. Cash. Cash.

Doesnt work if the buyer has a loan check.

You're right, just because the bank takes it doesnt mean legit - thats why I suggested having the teller call the bank the check came from and verify that the funds exist, and the bank did issue that check. Yes it can still hit the fan at some point after that... but if you've gotten that far (i.e. a prospective buyer sitting down with you at the bank while you verify the funds) you're likely not dealing with some sort of scam. Thats how I've always done sale transactions that arent cash, and no problems, both buying and selling - NFCU hasnt had any problems doing this for me when I buy a car. Of course, if something seems off then you can just walk away from the sale.

I understand you get thousands of fake cashiers checks a day back at NFCU, but what percentage compared to 'good' cashiers checks issued by the bank is it? 1%? 10%? I really dont know... but NFCU is the largest CU in the country, right?

[Dave]

and therein lies the problem with holding the title. You'll have to hold it for a month to be absolutely positive that it is going to clear and you'll have a very pissed off driver with a car he can't register his new car.
I will say that this kind of catch is very tricky. I got screwed for $1000 on a car I sold a while back b/c he wanted the title so he could register it, and he had given me a personal check for 2/3 of the sale price. I had informed him that it had an overheating problem and suggested he trailer it; instead he drove it to VA beach, overheated it, warped the head, and cleaned out his bank account so the check bounced.
Cash only, that is all.

[WRXtranceformed]

That's who my friend Joe who's looking at Chris's S4 works for, Navy Federal. And yep, if you're getting a car loan from a bank, they're going to give you a check not cash so that they can receive the title until you pay it off. At least that's how I understand it. If you're selling a $25,000 car, I don't see a whole lot of people coming to you with $25,000 in notes in a briefcase.

[Apoc]

People don't seem to understand the concept of negotiation. Do they really think asking me what the lowest I'll take is a viable tactic?

I don't see the issue with using that tactic. Has worked well for me a couple of times.

Well the seller was just a plain idiot and probably sucked at poker. There's no chance I'm going to tip my hand when all the person has done is send me an email asking me how much he can lowball me.

It's listed at $13,900 so the least I'll take as of right now is $13,900. When someone shows up at my house with $12,000 in cash, I just might change my mind. I have more respect for the person that offered me $11k than someone who wants me to tell them my bottom price. If I wanted to advertise my bottom dollar I would have listed the ad with that and said it was "firm".

My response to all the emails I've gotten asking this is "As I've just listed the car and you haven't seen its exceptional condition, I'm not comfortable discussing it at this time."

re: Cash only...

I don't expect the buyer to have $10k+ in cash... but I'm hopeful. Having it will certainly improve his chances at negotiating a lower price.

[Ginger]

Cash. Cash. Cash.

Doesnt work if the buyer has a loan check.

That's not entirely true... it only just occurred to me. You can take that check to the institution that issued it and redeem it for cash. If you and the buyer both go, he's effectively given you cash.

Note: that's the only way I'd accept a check (physically going with the buyer to the institution that issued it to, at the very minimum, verify it's authenticity).

[Apoc]

That's not entirely true... it only just occurred to me. You can take that check to the institution that issued it and redeem it for cash. If you and the buyer both go, he's effectively given you cash.

Note: that's the only way I'd accept a check (physically going with the buyer to the institution that issued it to, at the very minimum, verify it's authenticity).

That doesn't work if it's not a brick and mortar like Capital One Auto.

I have a signed Bill of Sale in my possession. It turns out the seller is getting financing through Wachovia, which is also my bank, so I'm going to take the check. I told him I'd meet him at the bank so I could verify the check was valid and immediately deposit it into my account. I said if the financing wasn't for the full purchase price I wanted cash for the remainder. He gave me a personal check for deposit and said I would give it back when I had the full amount via the Wachovia check and/or cash.

[WRXtranceformed]

Good stuff man. My buddy is bummed, he was excited about checking it out