Advice on Selling a Car to a Private Party

Getting a few folks buzzing around wanting one of my cars and with all the scams, how do you recommend proceeding?

A few years ago, I heard the best idea was either to go through an escrow company
Still a thing?
Any negatives?
What does it cost?
How does this work in releasing funds and titles?

And/or insist on bank wires
Can these be faked?
Any downsides?

I would also like the buyer show up to complete the transaction in person (I have always done this as a buyer).

Anything to add?

Thanks

 

You asked for thoughts- here's mine-

Don't

Put it on consignment with a dealer- Set your price- let them deal with all the ********- pick up your check or watch for the ACH transfer- done.

 

Understand the opinion, I wouldn't know who to trust anymore since some have gone out of business, and at times taken Client money with them. Used to have 2 good options right here in Houston, but both imploded in ugly fashions.

 

If the buyer is financing, you'll get your money from the lender.

 

Wouldn't that only get you part of the money?

 

The last time I bought a car from a private party it was actually simple and flawless- We agreed on the price- I wrote him a personal check to hold the car- Met at his bank- I had cashiers check for the difference between my hold check and sale price- He signed over the title- Done deal.

 

One possible scam is that the seller may have a fraudulent cashier's check. So it's best to meet at the bank the check is being drawn on, and have the check handed to you by a teller instead of the buyer. That way you know for a fact the check is real and backed by actual money instead of good wishes.

 

A wire transfer is not necessarily money in the bank. Under some circumstances a wire can be recalled within 24 hours. If you take a cashier’s check insist that the title won’t be transferred and the car won’t leave your possession until the cc clears like any other check.

 

Yes, but by the time the lender pays you, you will have already received clear payment (bank check, personal check or wire transfer) from the buyer. And keep in mind, the lender gets the title, not the buyer.

 

Wire transfers through the fed are extremely difficult to recall. You will get a huge amount of grumbling for a bank. Also once it goes through. It's gone. To recall or recind it is truly next to impossible without their being concrete evidence of fraud.

Now if it is an ach it's a different story.

 

Still, if I were selling a car or any other large transaction I’d require at least a full business day after receipt of fun’s before releasing anything, unless the remitter were a known entity.

 

You should always use a bill of sale that is AS IS, final, waives all defects known or unknown and sets venue and jurisdiction for where YOU live. Check legal forms places.

I just helped a friend through that - he sold a high-miles Porsche through a major collector car site, and the buyer had a PPI done here in Nevada at a mechanic the buyer picked before buyer wired the payment. They used a basic DMV title form, but not an explicit AS IS contract. Nothing major needed and he paid, car shipped out.

The buyer was an arrogant dick and when the car arrived on the East Coast he had his own Porsche mechanic go through it again and then demanded an extortionary amount for basically a major service on the car and a list of wear items, with repeated demanding emails, threatening to sue my friend in that state... all could have been avoided with two sentences and a signature.

 

Gotta love selling cars...

A dickbag customer like this exists no matter what they sign. We all have as is disclosures and they are worth the paper they are written on. They still get to sue you and you still get to go to court.

That being said ... Yes... As is. Always have it.

 

As has been said above, you don't really have much risk with wire transfers, especially if you are the recipient. If the money hits your account, it's there and not going anywhere. If you wanted to be extra safe, immediately transfer it out of that account into another one.

Just hold the car and title until you get the wire transfer. That's how I (and virtually all other dealerships) work. I don't really even accept cashier's checks anymore, unless the buyer is willing to wait 10 (yes, that's ten) business days after I deposit the check to get the car and title. I tell them, just go to your bank, and instead of getting a cashier's check, take my wire instructions, have your bank call me to confirm, and have the bank send the wire transfer.

 

better question is what are you looking to sell try here first

 

I always wonder when most want to err on the side of caution and receive the money in full a day or two prior to releasing the car how that would fly with would be buyers. I’m not sure I would give someone 250k and hope they will deliver a car to me later.

 

I know I won't wait. Too much can happen. The last time I did it the guy drove it for the entire weekend and then backed into something and tried to blame my truck driver for the damage. Had an extra 300 miles on it. Tried to stick me with the bill to fix the truck. The trucker took photos of the damage before he loaded it.

Luckily... The truck was in his business name and the guy was a doctor... Im pretty sure you guys have an ethics board and I'd rule this as unethical...

He got pissed and called his attorney... His attorney told him I had him by the balls and to pay me the 3k it took to fix the truck. All I wanted was the money to fix it. Not a dollar extra.

He felt it was ******** I would make a complaint like that ... I said buddy... It's in your business name... It's a business transaction. Don't whine because you took advantage of my kindness out miles on the truck... Damaged it... And tried to get me to pay for it. I'm not the scum bag here in this scenerio

 

There ultimately has to be some level of trust in a transaction like this. When dealing with a licensed dealer, a buyer usually trusts the dealer, because the dealer has quite a bit to lose if they don't deliver.

If you can't stomach the risk when dealing with a private party, well, that's what escrow services are for.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Bought a Hummer on the opposite coast. Set up an account with the seller’s bank and deposited the necessary funds. When the funds cleared, I flew out, checked out the vehicle, and executed an account to account transfer. Safe, simple foolproof.

 

Spot on.

 

Do not use a service like escrow.com unless you are the buyer because the rules are stacked against the seller. If you want to hear my story let me know.

 

Yes please

 

At the moment, there does not appear to be a way secure enough to sell to private individuals that I can trust.

Strange because I bought both my exotics from individuals. I paid for a PPI to show I had skin in the game and traveled to buy the cars in person standing in their branch of my bank making a transfer in front of the seller’s eyes and signing over the title in the bank lobby.

 

I really like this situation. Have the buyer open an account at your bank or you at his and transfer funds internally. But assume you are dealing with financing and the buyer won't have cash directly?