Used car transaction 101
 

I need some car selling advice.

I just sold a car (VW Cabriolet) on eBay and the new owner is flying out to California from Utah to get the vehicle. I agreed to meet him at the airport to finish the transaction tomorrow (Friday) where he agreed to give me the final balance with a money order. I have already prepared a SOLD AS IS bill of sale for us to both sign. Is there any thing else that you guys can think of or warn me of that I might be missing? This is the first time I have ever sold a car private party so any pointers would be great.

FWIW

I just sold my MINI for 20K. The buyer contacted me and told me he wanted it. He was a MINI forum member so I did a search on him. He was a driving instructor for a MINI driving school and the pres. of the local MINI chapter. After talking with him I found out this car would be his 6th MINI/Mini in his driveway. He son is named Cooper.

He called me from the bank and asked me to fax a copy of the title so he could obtain financing. Then he e-mailed me his arriving flight itinerary. No money changed hands yet.

He flew in and I picked him up. We went to my office and he handed me a Cashiers check for 20K. I asked to make a copy of his Drivers License and a 2nd for of I.D. He even presented a copy of the bank load.

I signed the title over and he was off. No bill of sale was needed.

In my case we were both good honest guys. I would not recomend this with just anyone.

My only advice would be to get a copy of his DL. If you wrote a $50 check at the store you would have to present it so why should this be any different.

Maybe go with him to the bank to cash the MO to make sure it's not a counterfeit before you sign the title over. Money orders aren't as secure as they used to be.

Hi Simon,

I just sold my first car this past weekend, so I know what you're going through.

If you are handing over service records to the buyer, go through them and make sure that there are no receipts with your credit card numbers on them. The last two cars I bought had recoreds sprinkled with cc#s, which can get you in trouble.

You owe the buyer a recent smog certificate (no older than 90 days?). Don't forget to send in the release of liability form to DMV (top part of the pink slip) as soon as you've sold the car.

Other than that (and what others mentioned above), there's really not much reason to worry.

/ Johan

What is the matter with cash?

nothing. but i am thinking of starting to carry one of those highlighters that detect counterfeits. they even do that on 5, 10, and twenties in some stores nowadays.

Would you travel with 20K cash in your pocket?

And here's the other part. Would you as a buyer meet someone you don't know with $20K in cash out of state in person? That person knowing you have it on you?

I wouldn't.

Not to mention the 20k could get confiscated during travels as "drug money"... which I guess it sorta could be :)

take yuor peeps with you.

You guys watch too much TV. O.K. travelers checks then. And make sure your bank accepts them before you sign your car over..

There have been a lot of "urban myths" recirculated about bogus cashier's checks, fake money orders, counterfeit cash, etc. in regards to selling your car to a stranger.
Bottom line? Have the prospective buyer electronically transfer the purchase price into your bank account BEFORE you sign the title and let him drive away with the vehicle. That way you know for certain that the money is legit. If any prospective buyer refuses to do this BEFORE he takes possession, I'd look for another buyer.
There are lots of ways to get burned in stranger-to-stranger transactions. Jim Cesiro's experience, where he was able to "check out" his buyer in advance, takes the worry out of the equation, but it's probably not always possible.

I googled my buyer, and made sure his face looked like the 1000 images in google....easy!

Let me know where your heading next we'll meet up for some beers. And some GHB. ;)

too much t.v.???

you mean transvespas??

Based upon the rest of your comments, I don't think you meant to say "urban myths."

There is a big problem with bogus checks and money orders -- no myth about it.

A recent experience (not involving bad funds, but showing how banks are reacting because of bogus money orders):

I made an online sale for a few hundred dollars and received a money order in payment. In the past I've cashed money orders and checks at the counter of my bank (Wachovia) against my account rather than deposit it. That way, if the funds turn out to be bad, they just take the funds from my account, but don't hit me with any bad check fees.

Not anymore! I was told that they've been having such problems with bogus money orders (thanks to great printer technology), that they've changed their policy and money orders can only be deposited. That way, they get compensated (by charging a fee to the victim!) for their extra handling of the bad money order.

My conclusion:
Treat a money order or bank check the same as a personal check! Accept it only if you are sure the person giving it to you is completely honest.

Joe

When I bought my 951, I met the seller (Rammstein, a fine and upstanding fellow Pelican) at the airport. I had cashier's checks. We grabbed lunch and exchanged the paperwork. He called my bank to verify the checks before I left.