I’m thinking about selling an SUV to free up some cash, but these days there are so many scams operating through Craigslist, etc. that I don’t know how to do so without getting scammed. Any advice?
It’s a fairly expensive SUV, so asking for cash only isn’t very reasonable as it would be a large amount…
(I’m pretty sure I’ve seen threads about this topic before, but my search skills are failing me this morning… links would also be appreciated!)
Thanks all!
What kind of scams?
Go to Kelleyand Edmundsand set your price. Leave some room for negotiation.
Have your maintenance paperwork available if you have it.
Write up a bill of sale for signatures. Get it in writing that you sell “as-is” unless of course you want to offer some kind of warranty.
Don’t let anyone take the car anywhere without you in it. If the buyer’s mechanic wants to see it, then the mechanic comes to you or you take the car to the shop yourself. If the buyer’s mechanic finds a defect and you suspect a lie, have your own mechanic check it out too or just dump that buyer and move on. Alternatively, you can have your mechanic inspect it first to avoid another mechanic breaking something if you are worried about that.
Demand guaranteed funds such as a cashiers check. Take any check to the bank upon which it is drawn and cash it there. Otherwise, deposit it in your account if that drawee bank isn’t handy. Do not sign over the car until you have cash in hand or the check clears the bank.
If possible, close the deal at the buyer’s bank. You get cash in hand (or a cashier’s check that you know is good), you sign over the title (and usually there’s a notary at the bank if needed), and there are people around.
If you don’t want the hassle of selling to a private party, I’ve found that CarMax is a good alternative, assuming there’s one in your neck of the woods. I’ve sold cars to them before, and am about to sell another one.
This. It seems the vast majority of the scams out there involve somebody from two states over sending you a fake check to cash.
Buying and selling a car is one of the most common big ticket transactions that occur everyday between private buyers and sellers.
Just have them give you a cashiers check from a local bank for the proceeds.
Good advice, thanks all.
I have heard of fake cashier’s checks, and I sure wouldn’t be able to tell myself. Perhaps the best way is to close the deal at the bank, as suggested about… that way I know the cashier;s check is the real deal!
Do you own the car free and clear? If not, plan your transaction with the lienholder ahead of time to avoid or minimize delays.
Interesting… I hadn’t thought of that. Do you get a fair price from CarMax? If so, I might check that out as it sound a lot easier than selling to a private party!
No. I still owe some on it, about 1/2 it’s KBB value. I was planning on paying off the balance with the proceeds from the sale. Maybe. I just started thinking about it this morning as a way to raise cash fairly quickly…
You can’t transfer title until you pay off the lender and they clear the lien. This could take 2-3 weeks after you pay off the loan. I did this before and the buyer was kind and trusting enough to wait around for a few weeks for the pink slip after I had taken their money. The buyer would call me in the interim because he was nervous I wouldn’t follow through.
Also, seeing you are in California, you should smog check the car before putting it up for sale. I think it has to be done within something like 90 days of sale. If you do it in advance, you can tell the prospective buyers that it’s already done. This is a good selling point for buyers.
Ah, I see! Thanks, Bearflag70! Good info.
One reason the buyer was willing wait for title was, once I had cash in hand, I gave them the car and the key, but not title. The risk is that while the transaction is pending, the buyer will get parking tickets or get in an accident and you could be sued as the current titleholder of the car. The risk to the buyer was that I had another key and would come reclaim the car in the middle of the night, keep the cash, and leave them in a position of having to sue me.
I sold the car to an older couple and we had a good level of trust between us. Otherwise, transactions like that can be a little hairy. If you can’t clear title before sale, then CarMax might be best.