# Advice for selling a used car **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382 "2023-11-19T17:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/21 "2023-11-20T18:08:07Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > **Payment.** I am inclined to insist on cash only. I would not use any electronic payment. I watched one video where a used car salesman took a credit card over the phone for a $500 deposit and it was eventually reversed. The guy called the bank (Chase) and long story short the bank told him no matter what documentation/proof he had that they buyer agreed to the deposit, he had no protection because he did not physically swipe the card. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > **Advertising** > > What is the most effective advertising channel? I’ve used Facebook Marketplace. [The scam](https://www.aura.com/learn/google-voice-verification-code-scam#:~:text=The%20Google%20authentication%20process%20prompts,to%20the%20victim's%20U.S.%20number.) there is the “buyer” claims that you will receive a code on your phone and to text that code to them to prove your ad is authentic. Every time I reply back, “How does the code prove my ad is real?” Never got a reply. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/22 "2023-11-20T18:19:18Z")
You can try calling Carvana and places like that to get some idea what they’d pay you for it. Their main interest is in selling you a car so if you’re not trading it in they will inflate their offer and ask you to bring it someplace to check it out and then try to lowball you. But I know someone who got paid a decent price for their car, and others who worked out good trade-in deals. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/23 "2023-11-20T20:22:32Z")
I got an online quote from Carvana of $2900 and KBB says an owner sale would be about $6000. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/24 "2023-11-20T20:45:21Z")
There you go. Although KB is probably a high figure you’ll certainly do better than $2900. If you want to mess with them ask how much they’d give you towards another car. ---
**Author:** ![Kelby2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ebca7d/32.png) [@Kelby2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby2)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/25 "2023-11-20T22:53:52Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I got an online quote from Carvana of $2900 and KBB says an owner sale would be about $6000. I four times the amount of Carvana’s best offer in a private sale. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/26 "2023-11-21T07:59:11Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Back in the day my habit for payment was to meet the buyer at their bank. When I sold a car privately a few years ago, having met at my home, done a test drive (with me on board - he said he had insurance but I didn’t ask for proof, with a more valuable car I may have but it was up for sale for £2k), and after some haggling agreed on the price, I had the buyer accompany me to my bank. He handed over the cash in front of the teller who deposited it in my account. I felt that was the best insurance against fake cash. As he was a genuine buyer he had no problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/27 "2023-11-21T11:41:41Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > When I sold a car… test drive (with me on board - he said he had insurance but I didn’t ask for proof Are you saying that the potential buyer, who does not yet own the car, was supposed to show you insurance? Is this a British law? Where I live, the owner of the car has to insure the car, no matter who drives it.\* * * * \*(as long as the driver has a legal drivers license and meets any other requirements. For example, I save some money by insuring my car only for drivers over age 50.So I couldn’t allow a younger person to drive it, even for a test drive.) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/28 "2023-11-21T12:02:47Z")
I’m not familiar with all the ins and outs, but in general the law in England is that it’s the driver’s responsibility to be insured when they drive on a public road. When I buy car insurance I generally go for the cheapest possible option, which means I’m insured to drive my vehicle, but not any other. I believe it’s possible to buy insurance that also covers you to drive other vehicles. And there will be various exemptions for those involved in the motor trade. In this particular case, I think I’d actually declared the car SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification, which means you’re not allowed to keep or drive the vehicle on a public road but saves you money on car tax), because I hadn’t used it for a couple of months. I declared this to the prospective buyer. Was what we did legal? Probably not, but given we only travelled 5 miles we both implicitly accepted the risk of bad consequences. I expect there would have been legal and financial consequences for me had we got into an accident even though I wasn’t the driver. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/29 "2023-11-26T22:57:54Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > in general the law in England is that it’s the driver’s responsibility to be insured when they drive on a public road. Yes, it is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that the vehicle they are driving is legal to be on the road. BUT… An offence is committed if a person causes or permits another to use a motor vehicle on a road without a valid insurance policy covering that use (S143(b) Road Traffic Act 1988). It also needs a valid MOT cert and current VED. It can be important to establish the point at which ownership changes hands and it is important to get the paperwork in order. Once your car is sold it is no longer your responsibility, but the new owner may well pick up a couple of speed camera offences on their way home and since the DVLA will not have had time to amend their records, the tickets will come to you, so you need proof that the car had changed hands. All of this is why trading in or selling to a dealer is often worth the hit on price, which in the UK is nowhere near the big figures quoted above. The last car I sold (through WBAC) fetched about £three or four hundred less than it should have selling privately. It also fetched about £500 more than the trade-in I was offered. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/30 "2023-12-18T18:32:28Z")
Updates for anyone interested: I posted the car on [Autotrader.com](http://Autotrader.com) and got a few inquiries right away. Two of them were identical right down to the typos: > Hi am [name], Glad to come across your add I’m seriously interesting in purchasing this listed vehicle, how long have you owned it and why are you selling it? If still available for sale please kindly advise. Thanks Responses were similar, typical scam: > Sounds good and thanks for your transparency, am going to pay you via cashier check, once i mail the check overnight to you my mover will only come over for the pick up the vehicle when you notify me that the check has successfully cleared,I need just your full name and full mailing address to have the check mail to you and your number to call you or text you first things tomorrow morning . Thanks Then I put it on Facebook Marketplace this morning and got about 21 inquiries in the first few hours. I suspect most of them are some kind of scam. Many are making an offer right up front without even coming to see the car. I’m not sure what that’s all about. I got two lowball offers, either scams or flippers, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/31 "2023-12-18T22:03:21Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Updates for anyone interested: Don’t get discouraged too quickly. Bots can watch and reply immediately. People actually shopping for a car are busy working, taking care of kids, and such, and will check later when they have a chance. If you don’t have any interest after a few days, a week, or whatever your deadline is, then it might be time to lower the price, take better pictures, or something else to improve the ad. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/32 "2023-12-19T03:47:30Z")
What game are the bots playing? I have a ton of messages on Facebook Marketplace. They almost all start, “Hi, is this available?” I do have some legit buyers in there, I have times set up tomorrow for some. Hopefully this will pan out. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/33 "2023-12-19T12:30:42Z")
Probably the game you already suggested. If you followed up all the way, the end result is somebody will pay for the car with a counterfeit check and you’ll be screwed. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/34 "2023-12-19T13:52:25Z")
Happy ending: Just came home from selling the car. I met the buyer at the local DMV, he paid cash, I helped him submit the paperwork for the transfer. Asked $6K, accepted $5250. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382/35 "2023-12-19T14:25:53Z")
Hooray!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-for-selling-a-used-car/993382.md?page=1)