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Selling a car on craigslist?

Let the scamming begin!!


Hello. I am looked at your ad on craiglist and found the car to be to my satisfactory condition. I must be paying you with a money order to avoid bank fees and since I am not living in your area, I have make arrangement for shipping with reliable shipping companies. I am sending money order for $19,000 because that is what I have on money order. Please to deduct your selling price plus $500 extra for your running arounds time then refund any extra funds back to me.
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AznAnarchy99 said:
Going to the bank clears the check right away?
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If its from that bank. i.e. Wachovia check to Wachovia bank.


Also don;t forget the bill of sale.

I _Bob_ am selling a 1975 Chevy Monza to _Jim_ for $3000. _Jim_ is paying by check, check number 4567 from Wachoiva.
Both sign, date, and get 1 witness (bank).
 
I sold acar in '08 via CraigsLsit.

Buyer showed up with cash Fri eve. I signed over the title with a statement that the tags would be canceled the following Tues. This allowed him to get to the DMV and register the vehicle on Mon without being stopped by an LEO.
 
I did sell a car on CL. Seller seemed legit, and offered 100 dollar deposit so he could go work with his bank. We met him at the bank (a credit union) where we were issued a check direct from the bank. If the value is high enough, that, IMO, is the best way to do it. There is some inconvenience meeting at the bank of the buyer's choice, but you are getting your money from the bank, and not the person. And, typically, as with almost any car, the payment received is well worth the inconvenience. Especially when you consider having to meet with 3 to 4 people who may or may not be really interested. If a buyer commits, meet them at their bank of choice, in the bank. If the buyer has a problem with that... tough shit.

As for cash, I would have figured that to be one of the best methods... but it doesn't seem to be the suggested method by many sites out there. I suppose the possibility is there that someone robbed a bank or managed to acquire counterfeit bills and that your use of those bills would result in them being forfeited, especially when dealing with a bank.

And you'll definitely want a bill of sale. I'd recommend finding a good sample online and printing it out:
http://www.8ov.org/auto-vehicle-bill-of-sale.htm
 
I've bought 2 cars on craigslist (both for my kids) and my own Caravan from ebay. I paid cash and met the seller at the DMV to make sure the title would go through. All times it was really nice people and decent cheap cars. Maybe I just got lucky.

It took checking out a lot of ads and calling people to connect with folks that I wanted to do business with - that seemed to know what they were doing when I spoke with them. There are a lot of wackos out there.
 
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I sold a car cash on CL, and the douche ran up a crapton of tolls that were impossible to get rid of despite :

(1)- Hiring several attorneys
(2)- Having the official state title transfer/sale document signed and dated by me and the buyer.
(3)- Having a Xerox of the guys DL.
(4)- Having a signed / dated / witness signed bill of sale.

KEEP YOUR TAGS.
PERIOD.
Give him a copy of your bill of sale, check with your local gov't tax office (whatever dept you use to renew your registration) and make sure you have the proper state paperwork.
and.
KEEP YOUR TAGS.
Call your Insurance company and make sure the policy is cancelled immediately on your vehicle, get a faxed confirmation that insurance is invalid before the guy drives off.
KEEP YOUR TAGS.

K,

Good luck!
 
I met with the guy at the bank (we both have the same bank) and we had the teller transfer the money directly from his account to mine, at which point I signed over the title and bill of sale.
 
I bought a car from CL and got a cashier's check to give them. This means the bank guarantees the money is there for transfer to them. IIRC there is a number to the bank they can call on it too to verify

Having said that I would think meeting at a bank to get the money might be best.

Marlin1975 said:
Also don;t forget the bill of sale.

I _Bob_ am selling a 1975 Chevy Monza to _Jim_ for $3000. _Jim_ is paying by check, check number 4567 from Wachoiva.
Both sign, date, and get 1 witness (bank).
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I would include 'sold as it' or some such on it
 
God Mode said:
Be wary of counterfeit $100s.
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Yeah..

My first craigslist experience ever was selling my car that had been stolen / recovered after I'd already gotten a new car!

The person who bought it ran to the bank and got cash. I don't recommend walking around w\ $3500 in an envelope though.

Personally.... I would set something up at the persons bank and get a bank draft at the bank. The last car I sold ( vehix.com ) I met the buyer at their credit union on the weekend and got a cashiers check from the bank.

That would be the safest bet.
 
Arkaign said:
I sold a car cash on CL, and the douche ran up a crapton of tolls that were impossible to get rid of despite :

(1)- Hiring several attorneys
(2)- Having the official state title transfer/sale document signed and dated by me and the buyer.
(3)- Having a Xerox of the guys DL.
(4)- Having a signed / dated / witness signed bill of sale.

KEEP YOUR TAGS.
PERIOD.
Give him a copy of your bill of sale, check with your local gov't tax office (whatever dept you use to renew your registration) and make sure you have the proper state paperwork.
and.
KEEP YOUR TAGS.
Call your Insurance company and make sure the policy is cancelled immediately on your vehicle, get a faxed confirmation that insurance is invalid before the guy drives off.
KEEP YOUR TAGS.

K,

Good luck!
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CA SF Bay area tolls accepted my word when the vehicle sale was transfered.
I told them that the State of NV was notified and also my insurance company.

Kept getting toll bills for the time the tags were still valid; but CA left me alone after they put it in the system that the tags were not mine.

Maybe it varies by state of person how they handle invalid toll charges
 
bought and sold a few cars via craigslist....

direct wire transfers

confirmed cashier check from a bank

Cash

other than that, the recommendations on going directly to the bank with the buyer is good.

Just watch your back. If something sounds fishy, call it out. if the buyer is legit they will understand work with you.
 
Arkaign said:
I sold a car cash on CL, and the douche ran up a crapton of tolls that were impossible to get rid of despite :
Click to expand...


Wow that sucks.. I always thought having a signed dated release of liability was enough ( in CA it comes attached to the title, makes it really easy).


How exactly do you "keep your tags", you mean the licence plates ? I've never heard of this. Would be good to know though, as we are starting to get lots of the easy pass / toll type roads out here as well.
 
Common Courtesy said:
CA SF Bay area tolls accepted my word when the vehicle sale was transfered.
I told them that the State of NV was notified and also my insurance company.

Kept getting toll bills for the time the tags were still valid; but CA left me alone after they put it in the system that the tags were not mine.

Maybe it varies by state of person how they handle invalid toll charges
Click to expand...

Oh thats good to know then. I always keep a copy of the ROL and send it in ASAP
 
Yreka said:
How exactly do you "keep your tags", you mean the licence plates ? I've never heard of this. Would be good to know though, as we are starting to get lots of the easy pass / toll type roads out here as well.
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Some states require that the plates stay with the vehicle when ownership is transfered

Others, require that it stay with the owner.

And some do not care
 
Common Courtesy said:
Some states require that the plates stay with the vehicle when ownership is transfered

Others, require that it stay with the owner.

And some do not care
Click to expand...

While I am sure you are 100% correct, that sounds batshit crazy. The tags are tied to a particular driver, and would thus be tied back to that person if someone ran a red light in that vehicle (or tolls as the other guy mentioned). I don't know how much I'd care about the state's laws... if those tags are tied to me, they come off when the vehicle is sold... or there would be a major pain in the ass process of meeting at the bank, and then heading to the DMV with the buyer to get ownership transferred immediately. That just sounds nuts.
 
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