+- MacResource (https://forums.macresource.com)
+-- Forum: My Category (https://forums.macresource.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Tips and Deals (https://forums.macresource.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=3)
+--- Thread: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? (/showthread.php?tid=192924)
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - davester - 07-17-2016
lost in space wrote: Perhaps the VIN too, in case someone wants to check.. Some would say not the VIN, but I don't understand what the problem would be.
Absolutely post the VIN. Make it easy for the buyer to run a carfax.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - Mr Downtown - 07-17-2016
Yes, I washed and vacuumed it, took several good pictures, described it (accurately) as exceptionally clean, listed a price, and added "no, I will not ship the car to Belarus."
Had immediate interest and sold it to the first guy who actually got there, for $200 less than I'd shown in the ad. That was, if I recall correctly, almost as much as I'd paid for the car (a 2001 Corolla), four years earlier. Buyer and his daughter, the intended driver, went for a short test drive, with me in back seat. Daughter counted out the cash while Dad put on plates he'd brought with him (from his second car) and drove it away. All went very smoothly.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - space-time - 07-17-2016
Phone: google voice. This allows for both voice and text while maintaining some anonymity.
Meeting to see car: public place such as police station, library
Test drive: do not let them test drive the car without you. demand to see a driver's license and discuss route before the actual drive. Go along, have cell phone with you.
Payment: if cash, have buyer make deposit at your bank. have buyer hand over the cash to teller. Once the teller makes the deposit, they cannot come back and say cash was counterfeit. If cash is counterfeit, be prepared to explain that you sell the car (have the title with you) and the buyer is responsible for fake cash.
Actual sales: this may depend from state to state. hand over title, signed. remove plates. go to DMV and hand over your plates. Call insurance and remove vehicle. Do not under any circumstances let buyer drive away with your plates. If necessary, offer to drive the car to their place and remove plates and have someone pick you up. That only if it is a short distance and in a safe area.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - Filliam H. Muffman - 07-17-2016
I wouldn't have considered removing the plates until a down on her luck family friend bought one and got several tickets and hadn't registered it in their name. Kind of a no good deed goes unpunished situation.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - Racer X - 07-17-2016
Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
I wouldn't have considered removing the plates until a down on her luck family friend bought one and got several tickets and hadn't registered it in their name. Kind of a no good deed goes unpunished situation.
That's why here in Washington State, we are required to file a Report Of Sale to the state DMV within 5 days. You can do it on -line. That theoretically get's you off the hook if the buyer never transfer/registers it.
I sold a car, and reported it. The buyer never transferred title, and a collections agency hired by the state tried to come after me for tickets, and the abandoned vehicle. I sent them a copy of the Report of Sale and asked why the state never checked their own database? I told them if they ever contacted me again, it was harassment. Never heard from them again.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - Dennis S - 07-17-2016
You're probably OK if the buyer is local and you get cash or a check at his bank. I would blow off any inquiries from over a couple hours away. Just ask them where they live right off the bat.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - Lemon Drop - 07-17-2016
I just sold a car on Craigslist last week and it was pretty easy; the car sold in one day. I didn't think to remove the plates, which expire next month, but I've reported the car as sold so if they get parking or toll tickets on that plate before re-registering, I can deal with it. Wish I'd thought of that.
As others have said, give as much detail about your terms as you can in the ad and you'll eliminate some of the inquiries and some of the back and forth with prospective buyers. Also know that the person will show up and offer less than they did by email or phone, so if you're firm on the price say so in advance. Make sure you get the home address and driver's license number of the buyer too.
If you're selling a higher priced car and would like to have someone else deal with buyers, I recommend TRED.com, if they operate in your area.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - Buck - 07-17-2016
Bought and sold several. Never a problem. Always cash.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - Markintosh - 07-17-2016
Had an issue with a sale last spring. Had a buyer come right away to buy our tough to locate Tacoma 4 cylinder 4WD. He came from 60 miles away and had no backup driver to take his car home. He gave a $100 deposit to hold the car until the next day.
The next day he changed his mind and demanded his deposit back. He did not understand the concept of how deposits work. He came back to our house and insisted with an assist from his friend that we return his money. Who knew that a yoga instructor could turn into Walter White?
Moral of the story....always meet your buyer at a public location away from your home. Secondly, do not remove your CL ad until you are certain the sale is complete. Consider not accepting a deposit.
Once we reposted, a buyer came the next day with cash in hand from 3 hours away and the transaction took 10 minutes.
Re: Has anyone here sold a car via Craig's List? - Filliam H. Muffman - 07-17-2016
Racer X wrote:
[quote=Filliam H. Muffman]
I wouldn't have considered removing the plates until a down on her luck family friend bought one and got several tickets and hadn't registered it in their name. Kind of a no good deed goes unpunished situation.
That's why here in Washington State, we are required to file a Report Of Sale to the state DMV within 5 days. You can do it on -line. That theoretically get's you off the hook if the buyer never transfer/registers it.
I sold a car, and reported it. The buyer never transferred title, and a collections agency hired by the state tried to come after me for tickets, and the abandoned vehicle. I sent them a copy of the Report of Sale and asked why the state never checked their own database? I told them if they ever contacted me again, it was harassment. Never heard from them again.
California DMV can be worse. My brother reported the sale two days later. The DMV sent him bills for the tickets and he sent them the DMV printout he got. Six months later they sent another bill for more recent tickets, and brother sent them back another copy of their printout that it had been sold. When I moved out of state, the DMV sent a collections notice from the state tax board. I guess they never figured out why I had them fax the a copy of the title to another state to register the car 14 months earlier.
WA isn't much better, they unofficially inform people that they have found their stolen cars by sending them parking tickets. At least paying parking tickets is cheaper than storage at a tow yard.