This is part of a seven-post mini-series that explored our journey in selling and buying a used car. Scroll to the bottom of this post to explore the entire series.
I recently outlined the majority of our reasons for deciding to sell our older car. When we finally made the decision, the next obvious question was “How are we going to do it?”
We tossed around a few ideas, including trading in the car, selling through a service (such as AutoTrader), and selling privately. Ultimately, the success of a coworker with selling her mechanically-challenged car on Craigslist won us over and we decided to go that route.
Our Results
We believed that for a bit more effort in preparation and research, we could get more money selling the car privately on Craigslist than through any other means. Kelly Blue Book agrees–private party sale values are typically higher than any other.
Your mileage may vary, but we had fairly good success with getting rid of the car via Craigslist. I listed the car for sale on a Friday afternoon at 11:30 AM. By 3:30 PM the same day, I had a stack of cash in my hands. Although I got $300 less than what I listed the car for, I also got $300 more than what I thought the realistic final sale value would be.
Craigslist is free and popular, and as a result, it’s active with a lot of ready and willing buyers.
The Step-by-Step Process
Since many of you will be interested in following what I did, I’ll quickly recap the entire process from start to finish. Here’s how I sold my car:
- Very important: Research all of the car sale laws in your state and local municipality. You’ll need to know about transferring the title, registrations, sales tax, etc. Your state’s DMV website is a great place to start, but for me, the local tax collector’s office proved most helpful.
- Prepare all the paperwork you have on your car, most importantly: the title, the insurance card, service records, and any past history (lien releases, purchase record, etc.).
- Create a vehicle history: when you purchased the car, what work has been done to it, etc.
- Research the price of the car. Look up its Blue Book value, what it’s selling for on eBay Motors, and comparable cars on your local Craigslist.
- Clean the car the day before you show it. If you wait until the day-of, you’ll be running around like a chicken with your head cut off. Remove all personal possessions from the vehicle (remember the glove box, center console, and trunk!). Remove all stickers, toll passes, parking permits, specialty license plates, etc.
- Take photos of your cleaned-out car using a decent camera and from attractive angles.
- Register for a free Craigslist account, and confirm/accept everything that needs to be set up (email, cell phone, etc.).
- Familiarize yourself with the common scams prevalent on Craigslist (they are easy to find on the Craigslist front page).
- Determine how you’ll show the car and deal with requests. Email worked best for me, because I could organize and screen interested parties in bulk (instead of having to give an immediate answer to someone on the phone).
- Prepare your listing and post it to Craigslist. (See more tips below on formatting your listing). From speaking with others and personal experience, Friday at lunchtime or early afternoon seems to work best, giving you the opportunity to sell the same day or over the weekend.
- Show your car in the way you’ve determined and accept the best offer.
- Exchange payment for your title, registration, or any other forms your jurisdiction might require, like a Bill of Sale. Again, be mindful of your local laws and scams, and how long payments take to clear, etc.
- Notify your county or state that the car has been sold. Typically, this is done through some type of Notice of Sale and protects you from liability.
- Notify your insurance company that you’ve sold the car.
My Best Tips
You can list a car on Craigslist and hope for the best. Or you can put a little more effort into the whole experience, and walk away without a ton of wasted time and more money. Here’s my list of tips for getting the most out of your Craigslist experience:
- Be up-front and honest. Many of the people who buy used cars will be experienced at spotting damage and problems, so don’t cost yourself the sale by being a sleezeball. You’ll also ruin it for the rest of us. (If you’re interested, read about the Market for Lemons, which discusses the forces that affect used car prices).
- List everything that’s positive about the car first, then everything that’s wrong with it. People will be more likely to overlook the negatives if they’ve already warmed up to the idea of buying your car.
- If you’re lucky, you’ll have multiple people lining up to see the car as soon as possible. Be fair, but remember that you’re trying to get the best price for your ride. Don’t let people guilt-trip you into settling for anything with sob stories and promises.
- Be thorough and honest in your listing. Write out everything you can think of that you would find relevant as a buyer. Try to put the buyer in your own shoes as a car owner and walk them through the car’s complete history.
- Format the listing like a blog post. Use short, concise paragraphs with a few sentences each. Too many Craigslist ads look like a 3×5 block of text that is painful to read. Being clear & legible will go a long way. Enclose each idea (what’s good with the car, wrong with the car, etc.) in a single paragraph.
- Take great photos showing multiple angles. A side shot is a great way to show the profile of the car to people who may be unfamiliar with the model. A shot of the interior is also preferable. If the car has any damage, try to include the area of damage in one of the photos. Remember: you want to show the car to people who know what they’re getting, not surprise them.
- Be ready to get offer spam (as opposed to scams). “People” will email you to see if the car is still available. When you respond, a bot will spam you with sites you should visit, claiming you’re “listing your car price too low.” I got at least 3 of these.
- Don’t let people push you around. The best way to do that is to be armed and ready with information about the fair price for the car and your local laws. If any request seems fishy, question it.
- Assume people are not familiar with the car. You know your car intimately, but others may not. Providing complete descriptions like “Good-mileage Silver Dodge Intrepid family sedan, 2001 SE model, 4-door V6. 84,400 miles” is helpful.
- Play up everything positive about the car (regular oil changes, recent maintenance), and play down negatives (“hit a twig, but it didn’t cause any serious damage”). But remember to be honest!
- If the car has never been in an accident, or is a one-owner or non-smoking family car, say so. People want to know they’re getting a relatively “clean” car.
- Get your terminology right! I had to re-edit my listing several times, after realizing that I called out some of the parts that needed to be replaced by their incorrect names. Look on a mechanic’s work estimate or call one if you’re not sure of what something’s called.
- If your car needs work, it’s helpful to have an estimate for the work handy (even if it’s just an amount you share with the buyer). Often, mechanics will purchase cars that need work, so get an idea of the “parts-only” cost as well.
- Don’t price the car too low. Give yourself plenty of negotiation room to work with, and don’t rely entirely on Blue Book averages. My car sold for about $300-$500 above fair Blue Book value.
- Have a “floor price” in mind that you’re not willing to go below until you’ve evaluated many, many offers.
- Similarly, have a “ceiling price” in mind, where any offer equal to or above that price will be accepted on the spot.
My Template
Since I have a feeling that some of you will want to see it, I’m including my original Craigslist “template” as an insert below:
Title: 2001 Dodge Intrepid Silver /# of miles/ /price/
Good-mileage Silver Dodge Intrepid family sedan, /year & model/, /# of doors/ /V4, V6, etc./. /mileage/. Clean title. Located in /give your general location/.
Two owner-car (same family) since purchase. No major accidents or mechanical issues during the car’s lifetime. New A/C installed in 2008 (complete system). New cooling fan installed a few months ago. Brakes recently replaced. Oil changes every 3,000 miles. New battery (installed last year).
Smooth ride, roomy car (HUGE trunk); has served me well. Upgrading to something bigger, so this is your chance for a good deal (especially if you’re mechanically inclined to do some maintenance yourself!).
Minor dent in front bumper due to hitting a small twig a few years ago. Power locks and windows (unfortunately, no functioning remote). Needs routine maintenance: replacing front struts and bearing plates (rusted out), fixing small oil leak, and replacing tires due to wear. All should be completed ASAP before continuing to drive.
Since it needs some work, I’m asking /give your price again/, cash only. Any reasonable offer will not be refused. Title & paperwork is ready to be signed over upon payment.
Per Florida laws, I keep tag/registration, and you are advised to obtain insurance prior to purchasing this vehicle! /(replace with any of your own state’s laws that you’d like to make clear up front)/
EMAIL is the best way to reach me today. Car can be viewed on /give best times and dates/. Questions welcome!
I sincerely hope that this will get you the best possible price for your Craigslist listing!
Have You Done It?
Do you have experience with selling a car on Craigslist? I am eager to hear your tips and what worked in your situation! Please share in the comments below.
This is part of a seven-segment series on our new car journey. Below are links to other posts which are a part of this series:
- Our One-Car Experiment and Car Decision
- This post!
- Using Consumer Reports to Select a Car
- Would You Buy a Rental Car?
- Should You Buy a New or Used Car?
- Is an Extended Car Warranty Worth It?
- Review of Hertz Rent2Buy
This post contains affiliate links. Photo by Alisha V
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Wow Woj… very solid and thorough write up here. I agree with you that Craigslist is the way to sell vehicles – the ads are free and you reach a huge amount of targeted buyers. Paying to place an ad in the local classifieds is a waste of time and money when a resource like CL is available. I sold my bike on it this past weekend. I followed most of these tips… my biggest problem was that I wasn’t patient enough with the offers and jumped on the first one. I won’t make the same mistake next time.
.-= Matt Jabs´s last post: I Sold My Motorcycle on Craigslist – Tips on Selling =-.
Thanks, Matt! It all happens so quickly on CL that it’s tough to keep it together the first time you do it.
Had I received a lower offer than I did, I might have jumped at it, too.
Great post! I don’t know if my car would be worth anything tho’!
Love the new look of the site Woj!
.-= Jason @ Redeeming Riches´s last post: How to Grab an Extra $150,000 for Retirement =-.
Thanks! It never hurts to check–people will buy anything.
Excellent article. Unfortunately, I never have much luck with Craigslist as a seller. I either don’t get any response, or the last one that got some response was from a scammer. So far, only one successful buy transaction on Craiglist and it wasn’t a car — we did look but was afraid to buy a car through the service.
.-= Pinyo´s last post: How To Write A Check And Other Checkbook Basics =-.
Hmm…I suppose it depends on the types of items you’re trying to sell. Cars seem to be one of those niches that Craigslist is really active in. But I guess there’s one for every interest…I’ve had great success with eBay, but again–only for certain things.
The people that look on Craigslist are usually looking for used items at a fair price. One reason so many of the items don’t sell on Craigslist (in our area, at least) is because the owner thinks that they are worth much more than they really are worth.
Perhaps you are setting too high of prices for your items? Also, you could just be in a rural area of the country without a large Craigslist community… Good luck!
.-= Tom´s last post: An Alternative to Suing Your Dentist: Peer Review =-.
That really echos the “Market for Lemons” phenomenon I mentioned earlier. Great point about your location, too, since many people living outside of major areas of population will simply have no takers. I would imagine Craigslist categorizes areas in larger “chunks” where the population is particularly low…
Nice writeup Woj. Just curious, how many serious inquiries did you get?
Did you get more offers after you sold the car later that day? Asked another way, could you have gotten your full asking price by waiting a week or more after posting?
.-= Matt SF´s last post: The Short Sale Process Could be Getting Much Faster =-.
In the three hours the ad was up, I got seven serious inquiries, three with specific amounts they were willing to pay for the car (some before even seeing it). Hard to say how many more I would have received, since I took down the ad immediately after the sale to stop the deluge of emails.
To your second question–I very seriously doubt I would have gotten my full asking price from anyone. The offer I did accept was on the high side of what I expected. In retrospect, yes–I could have probably netted another $100-$150 by drawing out the process over a week. But my gut tells me it would have been emotionally and physically draining to try to squeeze that extra juice. So the short answer is, I went for the 20% effort that netted 80% of the price, or in this case, probably closer to 95%.
How about using CL to purchase a car? Have any advice on that?
JB
Jackie, No–sadly, I have never tried it from the other perspective. However, I would suggest a couple of things from the point of view of a seller:
If you’re serious about buying a car, have the cash for whatever price range you’re looking in on-hand, and be ready to execute the transaction.
Be assertive and know what you’re looking for in a vehicle, as well as how to avoid scams. Ask lots of direct questions. It makes the seller MORE comfortable to know they’re dealing with someone legitimate, too.
Know the laws in your state as well as the seller does (or sometimes doesn’t). Nothing worse than two people with no idea about how to go through with the transaction…
Have a Internet-enabled phone or a helpful friend on standby to check Blue Book values, or do it before you leave home.
Don’t send sellers sob stories about your girlfriend or mother, or how you lost your job, etc, etc. It just makes things really, really awkward. You either want the car or not, and are willing to pay market price.
Have a mechanic on hand/on call to either inspect the car, or give you a quick estimate on any fixes–and I stress QUICK.
Above all–be quick and be ready. Things happen fast on CL and if you want to buy a car, you need to be ready to view it and close the deal immediately.
Great tips and good job on the quick painless sale!
Did you just have the people come by your house to inspect / test drive the car? Before they purchased the car and test drove it would they be driving on your insurance policy at that point?
Exactly–one gentleman test drove it, and my understanding is that they would be driving under my policy. Even after the sale, you can still be held liable for accidents, deaths, etc, etc, unless you file a Notice of Sale in my state. That shifts the burden of registration and insurance to the new owner.
I sold my 8 year old Toyota Camry on Craigslist in…no joke…45 minutes. No sooner than I walked downstairs from posting the listing, I received a call from someone who wanted to come see it right away. He offered $500 less than the asking price which I might have turned down or negotiated (since other calls were coming in), except that he had CASH IN HAND. That is so critical when selling your car – I did not want to deal with cashiers checks or having to wait for someone to get the money. 10 minutes later, the title was signed over, I had my stack of money, and everyone was happy. Plus, I made much more than CarMax was willing to pay me.
I posted lots of pictures, listed every single feature of the car, as well as any body defects (dings, scratches on hub cabs, etc). It helped to be very honest – people expect these things with older cars but definitely want to know about them up front. Also, the car was VERY CLEAN as I had spent 3 hours detailing it before listing it.
When we sold hubby’s car a year later, we got it state inspected first which was a huge selling point since buyers know that it is not a lemon.
Happy listing!
Awesome, awesome suggestions Stacey, very much in line with my own “lessons learned.” I’m happy you were so successful in your sale!
This post reminded me of a 4 piece article TFB did that I used to help sell my truck a few months back. http://thefinancebuff.com/2006/12/selling-used-car-part-4-closing-deal.html
I would disagree with Stacey on the waiting for a cashiers check or having someone get the money. As TFB brings up, I want to ensure the money is real and this really worked well since I had the title for the car in a safety deposit box at my bank. When they were ready to make the purchase, we went over to the bank and I had them turn the money over to the banker to deposit into my account. Once that was over we went over to a notary and had them notarize the Sold Notice which would help protect me in the event the vehicle was used for something illegal in the future before the title was finished being transferred over to the new owner. With everything finished I signed over the title and gave it and the keys to the new owner.
RDT2, if you follow TFB’s advice and get the cashier’s check yourself with the buyer, I think you’re in the clear as you point out. That’s probably the safest method of all, since cash can be fraudulent, too. Otherwise, CL and common sense advises you do NOT accept any kind of check since it can be fake! I think we can all agree there.
You might run into a snag if you’re trying to make the deal on the weekend, since you will probably have to wait until Monday and the buyer might change their mind and go to someone more willing to deal in cash, check, etc. That’s simply the price of the rules you’ve set up for the transaction, so if you’re happy with those, stick with what you want and wait until Monday!
Your point about a notary handling the Notice is an excellent one, also.
I’ve bought and sold cars on craigslist, with cash. The one major lesson I learned is regarding the title transfer. Last time it took almost a year for the buyer of my vehicle to register it in his name. We signed the bill of sale and I even signed the title transfer paperwork that he would need when he went to register it in his name in his county. His girlfriend, in the vehicle, ran through toll road without paying and the bills were sent to me, adding up in the hundrends of dollars. I felt harassed by the phone calls and bills and even though I faxed the bill of sale to our state dept of blah blah blah and the toll company, it didn’t do any good. The buyer has to be the one to make the transfer. What I will do next time, is meet the buyer at his county DMV to make sure the transfer goes through. That means I won’t be selling to someone too far away from where I live unless I happen to be going there also. Besides this situation, I love buying and selling on craigslist. Also, as I was trying to sell my truck, I was reasearching my next purchase so that I would be sure of what I wanted, what was out there and what would a fair price be for that car. When the truck sold, I think I had a day or two before we made the transaction, so I really got to work looking for the newer, but used Civic I wanted. I found several, went to see them, test drove them, chose one, took it to a mechanic, who checked it out. They told me of the work that needed to be done, I haggled with the sellers, they lowered the price fairly. This was all happening the day after I sold the previous vehicle for cash. I had borrowed a car from a friend just for less than 24 hours. I have rented cars for a day, too. So, we signed paperwork, I gave them money, they gave me the keys and car. After buying and selling cars this way, I will not do it any other way. My friends take me to look and buy cars for them, and just yesterday another asked me. I was excited to see this article because I want more people to know how easy it is. Just use common sense or if you don’t have any, take someone who does. Happy hunting!
My state’s website specifically states that if you file a Notice of Sale, the burden to register the car goes to the buyer. But it just goes to show you that it doesn’t always work that easily!
(Of course, it helps that I was able to keep the car’s plates).
Thanks for sharing your story and words of caution–these legal and liability matters are definitely something to consider very carefully!
Sorry to be late on this topic. I’ve sold and bought cars on Craigslist. A couple more points to be aware of:
Don’t allow anyone to meet you at your home for a test drive. Meet at a public place like a store parking lot.
You’ll get lots of emails from craigslist that are trolls looking to spam you or scam you. Be very suspicious if they say “call me ASAP” or if their call back number is from an out of town area code.
Your point about researching the state and local rules about private car sales can be underemphasized. In my state the seller MUST have the car pass state inspection. And I had a State Police officer tell me to NEVER allow the new owner to drive away with YOUR old plates on the car. How the new owner gets the car home after completing the sale is their problem not yours. Also in my state the buyer and seller have to sign a vehicle bill of sale which the seller sends to the state DMV.
At test drive time use a camera to take a photo of the prospect’s driver’s license. In your Craigslist ad, mention this up front.
And only accept CASH! If you feel compelled to take a cashier’s check, then complete the sale at your bank so they can tell you right away if the check is good or not before you hand over the title.
Great jib on the post
…. I have never sold anything bigger than a Lizard Tank on Craigslist but it seems to work well.
As you say Honestly is all important…. Sell the real goods you have.
How do you handle the finances? If a buyer gets a loan, how do your receive the money? And if they pay with a check do you go the bank together to desposit it? I just want to make sure we don’t get ripped off. Any advice would be appreciated.
Personally, I would only stick with cash transactions on Craigslist–it’s the least opportunity for fraud. If the buyer wants to get a loan, I suppose it would depend on the lender on how the money was delivered to you.
I would under no circumstances accept a personal check, and even a cashier’s check would be a dangerous proposition because of all the fraud that goes on with those. If you really need to, your best bet is to go to a bank with the buyer and see if they can verify their check somehow.
Overall, if the buyer has the money to get the car, I see no reason why they can’t pay in cash. If they refuse, there’s probably something else going on.
Personally I wouldn’t feel safe going to meet a stranger carrying thousands of dollars of cash on me. Just because you’ve meant the seller a time or two doesn’t guarantee they are who they say they are and actually have the title to the car. How many people are assertive enough to ask for the seller’s picture ID and title when checking out a car, *before they get to the point where they arrive with money in hand? Meeting in a public place for the car viewing and cash exchange doesn’t guarantee the person who placed the ad won’t grab the money and leave with it and the car. May not even really be their car.
I suggest getting as much info. as possible on the seller the first trip and doing some internet research before handing over payment in any form. If you lose the sale to someone else – so be it. My husband got ripped off last year on a potential car sale via craigslist. He’s way too trusting (and foolish) and gave the guy $250 to hold the car with the understanding that he would return with the full amount in the morning (he looked at the car at night). I did a carfax check on the car’s VIN number and the info did not match the car history the seller gave. When my husband called the next day to get clarification the guy went ballistic and told him to come get his deposit. Big surprise – the guy wasn’t there and called the next day and said (screamed) he was keeping the money because we were trying to rip him off. The guy seemed mentally unstable so we let the money go. Big lesson learned. An internet search showed the guy had a history of legal and financial problems. Never again with craigslist – too many crazies out there.
I had a seller on craisglist insist on cash… I didn’t buy the car.
No f-ing way am I showing up at a strangers house with $3k cash on me and feel comfortable.
I would definitely meet in a public place regardless of payment, and never bring payment to the first meeting. My 2 cents.
I just stumbled upon this posting looking for tips on selling a car on Craigslist, and couldn’t be happier. These are awesome tips! I’ve already put a To-Do list together. I’m a little nervous about the paperwork side of things, since I’ve never sold a vehicle before, but I took the suggestions and looked up info on my state’s laws (TX). They even provide you with a Vehicle Transmit Permit to give the person when you sell it, so that you can keep your plates (recommended).
If anyone sees this post, do you have any tips on downplaying hail damage? To be honest, I bought this car out of necessity, and never got the hail damage taken care of because I didn’t think it was a priority for me (I simply needed a temporary vehicle, didn’t really care what it looked like). I want to mention it in my ad, because I don’t want people to make the trip out to test drive and then turn around as soon as they see it. Anyway, thanks for the great tips!
Thanks Sarah! I hope your sale goes well.
I would definitely mention the hail damage and be up front about it. It’ll be priced into your sale amount for sure, but at least the person that buys it will know what they’re getting ahead of time.
As far as downplaying it–that’s a tough one. I think if you mention that you’re putting it out there because you want to be honest about it and the damage isn’t really all that bad, people will be more comfortable with it than if you just write “some hail damage.” That’s my 2 cents.
Hai i am trying to sell my car and the buyer is asking me the fax the vehicle title to a credit unions fax number. He says the banker is asking for the title to make sure the vehicle he is buying is clean. Do bankers normally ask for title copy ?
The buyer hasnt even test driven the vehicle yet. Just looking at the pics, he negotiated the price of the car and decided to buy it. He called me from a local number and the fax number seems to be a genuine small credit unions.
Some one please let me know if this is normal.
I’ve never heard of this practice, but I don’t see how it could hurt. Anyone else have experience with this kind of request?
This isn’t unusual. The loan officer needs a copy of the title or a title guarantee before they can release funds for the loan.
What a great write-up. I’m trying to sell my car on craigslist now. What kind of responses did you receive? All I have been getting is some form of “I’m interested in buying your car, please call me” and then they list their phone number. I’m not sure if these are legitimate or not but I don’t really want to call them unless I know my phone number is going to be safe from future spam.
Rob–it can be tough to tell the spam from the real offers. I would say just trust your gut; it’s what I did and I seemed to be able to pick out the serious people among the tens of emails I got in the first day.
I don’t see how your phone number can be used for spam down the road, since calling people repeatedly without their permission is illegal/harassment as far as I know…but I’m no lawyer.
Nice article. I’ve used CL a ton in the past and have had good results buying and selling the key is to always know what others are selling for. Sometimes I found it’s better to donate the item to a friend or family member in need if value is a lot lower than what I want for it.
Now I am looking for advice on how to sell my Car online with a minor oil leak and front axle seal leak (Subaru Legacy with 120k). I posted an ad without mentioning the leak and got a ton of hits but then I re posted telling about the leak to answer all the question I kept on getting and the replies stopped for my honesty.
Do I need to disclose all this info or just list at kbb fair price and have them inspect and worry about it?? Car is in very good condition inside out just the small leaks which I can smell from time to time.
thanks
That would probably depend on your state’s lemon laws. From my past research, Florida is very lenient–you can sell just about anything without recourse. I would imagine that’s different in other parts of the country.
For what it’s worth, you can see from the ad that I was very meticulous about listing everything wrong with the car, and I had no problem selling it in just a couple of hours. People are willing to buy cars they have to fix, just not always at the KBB price.
Your post and replies to other posts has been very helpful! Im constructing an ad now and wanted your advice. My car was involved in two minor accidents over the years that resulted in minor cosmetic damage I chose to repair. I obviously plan on sharing this with any buyer – as well as the service reports that document the damage and the repairs. However, I’m not sure if I should disclose the minor accident/repair history in my ad. My asking price does take into account the accident/repairs. I don’t want to scare off potential buyers, but I don’t want to attract people who will not buy the car given the history. What do you suggest?
Cosmetic damage is in the grey area. If you feel comfortable not sharing it, I don’t think it hurts not to. Just be aware that your lower price will attract bargain hunters, who might as you say, not want to buy the car. It’s going to be a trade-off.
Good luck!
Any suggestions would be great!! I am not sure if someone is trying to scam us or not. We have listed a car for sale (or to assume car payments thru bmw financial. We have got several calls, but one email (not sure if they tried calling or not) wanting to know what the exact price is. After responding, they said that they would like to buy the car, and they couldn’t come see it, due to their business. They would send a cashiers check via courier overnight mail, and as soon as the check was deposited, they would have a mover (that we would not have to pay for) come and get it. Now I know that cl advised on their website not to accept a cashiers check, but what form of payment would be safe? I don’t know if this is a scam, or legit. I haven’t responded yet, so any suggestions would be great. Thanks!
Jill, not wanting to come see the car is a HUGE red flag for me. I would stay away from this as far as possible and deal with cash transactions only (or have them get the cashier’s check from the bank in front of you).
Thank you!! I agree!!:)
Hey,
Just wanted to say, “Thanks.” Your blog was all just common sense, but I had nowhere to start, and now I just posted my car on craigslist. The only thing that I found to be different from your experience is that, in Ohio, the Title Office of my county was the most resourceful for questions answered. It sounds like some of your tips and suggestions for dealing with the title will not be necessary, as the Title Office can take care of most of that. Thanks again!
Andrew
You’re welcome, Andrew! Glad I could help and that you were able to find the info you needed locally.
Hi: Just read your article and to be honest I found it trying to do a Google search on people who offer to buy your car using PayPal. This one was SO far out that I KNEW it was a scam but I wanted to hear the whole story.
First off, the guy wont call me, insists on using email and text. Second, says he is paying with PayPal, third, says he isn’t actually coming himself but is sending a “driver” over to pick up the vehicle, fourth, syas he is from the West Coast but just here on a visit. It just kept going in that order until it was almost hilarious! I cannot believe anyone would actually even TRY to get a car saying stuff like that
Sounds fishy to me, as well, though the driver thing is not uncommon. The guy who bought my car offered to have a driver come get it (he buys 3-5 cars a day professionally). I would never deal with PayPal though, even if the buyer has the best intentions at heart. It’s just too easy to contest the charges and you get shafted while the lawyers try to work things out.
Hi, I need some advise in selling my car.
I already posted the ad in craigslist, two people so far have contacted me through email since I did not put my phone number for safety reasons. I replied to both emails but just one replied back, she says that when would be a good time to stop by to check it out, and also she needs to make sure she can afford the insurance, but she could not get this quote to go through on her dial up connection. (slowwww) Then she says, “Would you do me a big favor and go to Auto Rate and see how much the average price is for this area” I told her that is somethign we can’t do because she needs to put all of her information along with her driving record. Also asked her if she lives close by and when, where and what time she would like to meet. No reply yet, but since I am always skeptical I would like to hear your opinion.
Thanks
Angie,
It may just be someone who’s unfamiliar with buying a car (someone young) or genuinely has a really bad Internet connection. I agree with you on the driving record, but this request alone doesn’t sound like it would be a deal-killer for me. I would put up your guard and see where this goes from here…Removed per the following comments.I received the same e-mail, word for word when selling a car in Salem Oregon!
Well, then I would say that’s definitely a red flag!
Yep that email is a scam, I had the same message today which is what led me to your site!
Just got the same lady
“Hi, Great. When would be a good time for me to come by to take a look? I want to be sure I can afford the insurence, but I could not get this thing to work on my dial up connection. (slowwww) Would you do me a favor and go to Auto Rate and see what the average price is for our area? Thanks a lot!”
If you look at the link it goes to some fraudulent site.
the website shows up as (removed) – Sorry, can’t show links to potentially dangerous websites here, even though I understand it would help some of you with this issue. – Wojo
So… for us unfortunate people who bit and visited the Auto Rate website, should we take our computers in and have them cleaned up now?
Hi… I have had my Focus listed on CL for a month now. I started it a few hundred over KBB and it is now listed at $400 under KBB. I have only had 1 email so far. I have good pics, and it is only 1 year old, low-mileage, and in really excellent condition. I think I’m being awfully fair, maybe even too fair. Any suggestions on how to get more responses?
Dave, I’m not sure what the problem is without getting more specifics. It could be that the car is too new to sell well on Craigslist, though that’s just a hunch on my part about what kind of market exists on the site.
Thank you so much! I need to do this with a car I am upside down on. This was very informative! I will tell you how it goes! K