Flip_Side Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I placed my car on autotrader and have receiverd a few calls already. I have someone driving to come see it tomorrow, I need to know what all I need incase they want to buy it on the spot. Should I take a check or just cash, how do I transfer the title, do I leave the license plate on? Anyone with experience in this please help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 (edited) Call you state DMV for the transfer details. I'm no expert, but what I did when I sold two cars over the years: Make sure the buyers have a current license and insurance if they want to test drive. Ride with them. Payment terms are up to you. If accepting a personal check, confirm with the buyer's bank that there are sufficient funds in the account. Be sure the driver's license and check are the same person. You could protect yourself from personal checks by only accepting cash or cashier's check. My buyers paid cash and personal check (but I recognized these people as living a couple blocks away). Trust your instincts about a buyer if they don't seem right. I know two people (same family!) that have sold stuff themselves and been hosed with fraudulent payments in the last two years. Both of them said afterward that they had suspicions about the buyer Edited August 10, 2009 by The Irish Doggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhippens Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 my guess is that each state has their own rules so i'd check out the site of the dmv in yours. when i sold mine, i had my signature notorized in advanced, made sure i asked for cash (cashier's check), and kept my plate because i had to mail it in to the state basically proving i was no longer using the vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 You'll need to write up a bill of sale. Make sure it says, "AS IS" somewhere in the wording. I'd also only accept cash or a cashier's check. You'll need to leave the plate on for the buyer to test drive, but if you sell, they'll have to take the title, bill of sale, etc., to get temporary plates to drive it away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Every car I sold was through a private party. Take your plates. I acepted cash or cashiers check only. In VA you sign over the Title and give it to them, then you fill out the back of the Registration card and send it to the DMV. I wrote up a Bill of Sale as was suggested and had them sign it. It stated car sold as is and the amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 For the money, don't accept a payment form that is higher than the selling price. That is a red flag of a scam where they want the difference in cash, then you find out the check (even a cashier's check) is a phony check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polksalet Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 The last time I sold a car was to my sisinlaw. SHe never got the title changed over nor took the tags off. She obviously never paid me. After she was the victim of a hitnrun I had to repo the thing. It was a white trash drama for a few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip_Side Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 A bill of sale? What is this, anyone have a link to a picture of one? I write it up with a pen and copy it and tell them to sign it, i'm confused... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 All I did was sign the title over and mail in the card saying I had sold it...also, I took a personal check and had no problems...they seemed legit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 (edited) Every car I sold was through a private party. Take your plates. I acepted cash or cashiers check only. In VA you sign over the Title and give it to them, then you fill out the back of the Registration card and send it to the DMV. I wrote up a Bill of Sale as was suggested and had them sign it. It stated car sold as is and the amount. Check out your State's website, but its probably something like that. Cash is king. Don't assume that a cashier's check is good. Tell the buyer that if he/she wants to pay by cashier's check, you'll close the deal at his/her bank. You can google for a "bill of sale." It should state that you are making no warranties and selling the car as is. Make sure that you transfer/cancel the plate in accordance with your state's law. FWIW- I received many more calls from my Craigslist ad when compared to Autotrader. Edited August 10, 2009 by Furd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Check out your State's website, but its probably something like that. Cash is king. Don't assume that a cashier's check is good. Tell the buyer that if he/she wants to pay by cashier's check, you'll close the deal at his/her bank. You can google for a "bill of sale." It should state that you are making no warranties and selling the car as is. Make sure that you transfer/cancel the plate in accordance with your state's law. FWIW- I received many more calls from my Craigslist ad when compared to Autotrader. yeah, craigslist is the way to go IMO. had several calls the first day the ad was up, and it was sold for cash at $1200 more than the dealer offered 36 hours after the ad went up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAUgrad Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 yeah, craigslist is the way to go IMO. had several calls the first day the ad was up, and it was sold for cash at $1200 more than the dealer offered 36 hours after the ad went up. +1 for Craigslist. If they are ready to buy go to either your bank or his (assuming he banks with a major bank in your area) that way you know the check is legit and they will walk you through everything you need including signing over the title, tags, etc. I've sold 4 cars this way and always ended at the bank with 100% success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westvirginia Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 +1 on the Craigslist, +1 on the CASH ONLY! The car might not be worth much, but I'm sure it's worth more than the worthless piece of paper a bad check would be written on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 A bill of sale? What is this, anyone have a link to a picture of one? I write it up with a pen and copy it and tell them to sign it, i'm confused... We just hand wrote it. Party A sells X as is to Party B for $$. You sign it, they sign it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrudge Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 A bill of sale? What is this, anyone have a link to a picture of one? I write it up with a pen and copy it and tell them to sign it, i'm confused...It's essentially a receipt. Some states (like mine) combine the bill of sale and title so a separate form isn't needed for vehicles already titled in-state. However when my in-laws gave me their vehicle, the NC title didn't have the appropriate fields (mainly the dollar amount) so I needed to get a separate bill of sale. Florida has it's own bill of sale form. It's not going to hurt to fill that out in addition to any requirements on the title, just in case. I also wouldn't accept anything but cash or a certified check from a local or national bank. I wouldn't take a cashier's check from a non-local bank without verifying it as legitimate. I wouldn't accept money orders, personal checks, paypal, or IOUs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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