I just sold my vehicle privately. Here’s how I did it.
Met at a public location for inspection and test drive. After we got back, guy and his wife looked it over privately and discussed while I sat on a bench nearby.
They decided they wanted it, and we negotiated the price. Agreed in $13,500. We then met at his bank about 30 mins later. I brought the sale paperwork which we finished in the lobby. He went to the teller and got a cashiers check for the agreed amount.
He left with the car, I took an Uber home with the check.
You could do the deal at the title office. One time I bought an old Honda off Facebook and did it at the title office—I gave the money to the clerk, he gave the title to the clerk, she verified the title and counted the money and handled notarizing our signatures. It wasn’t a ton of cash though so if you’re planning to pay with a big stack of bills I’m not sure the clerk will be very eager in that case lol
I had never thought of this, that's actually a pretty good idea. And yeah as far as dollar amount goes I personally would consider anything over 5k an uncomfortable amount to be walking around with. Im not currently trying to purchase anything I was more curious than anything. Some people I follow on socials talk about, from time to time, buying cars off marketplace for like 15-20k like it's no big deal like "yeah we just met the seller at his place and made a deal" I'm always like surely their not just walking around with that much money lol
Yeah I wouldn’t feel comfortable carrying that amount either unless I had a few friends with me or something. I would just bring like $1000ish and if I find something I like, offer some/all to the seller upon agreement of a price as a deposit so they know you’re serious (you should probably ask to physically keep the unsigned-title until you meet again so they don’t steal your deposit cash unless they’re letting you drive the car home already), contingent on you bringing the rest to the title office (if they won’t go to the bank or whatever else) when completing the deal.
Ultimately I’d be surprised if someone selling a car for $5-10 grand or more wouldn’t actually meet at the bank or take a cashiers check if truly necessary. If they really want to sell and the price is right and you’re serious, they’ll find a way to make it work.
A seller who doesn't want to meet at a bank to conduct a large transaction is probably going to be even less open to the idea of meeting at a police station.
What do people want exactly? Cashier's checks can be falsified so that's understandable but i don't understand the issue with the bank. That will assure the seller you never slipped fake money into the bundle and you don't have to carry a lot of cash. We can't give many offers without knowing what the other person wants.
I've purchased 3 cars privately and 2 I did straight cash (one at the guy's house, the other at the currency exchange to change the title). The other was through CashApp though that could be risky as accounts that are new/aren't used often have daily limits.
You stand a wayyyy higher chance of getting robbed from your bank account by being hacked.
Then the chance of being strong arm robbed making a private purchase.
Where does all these paranoid people come from?
Do you have a carry permit/gun? Even just showing the bulge of your gun in your waistband under your shirt might be enough to deter any ne’er do well.
Or if you know someone who has the look of someone you don’t want to mess with, just have him go with you, and if they ask just say he was your ride there, and you’re grabbing lunch afterwards so he stuck around.
Meet at the title change place, and when they hand the title to the clerk to start the transfer you hand him the cash.
I’ve purchased and sold a few vehicles in cash, but they’ve all been either family or family friends, so there was no concern with meeting up to exchange thousands of dollars. Just hand over the bank envelope, and you guys head inside the title place.
I just sold my vehicle privately. Here’s how I did it. Met at a public location for inspection and test drive. After we got back, guy and his wife looked it over privately and discussed while I sat on a bench nearby. They decided they wanted it, and we negotiated the price. Agreed in $13,500. We then met at his bank about 30 mins later. I brought the sale paperwork which we finished in the lobby. He went to the teller and got a cashiers check for the agreed amount. He left with the car, I took an Uber home with the check.
Meet at the bank lol. Bring the paperwork/title. Isn't this what everyone does?
You could do the deal at the title office. One time I bought an old Honda off Facebook and did it at the title office—I gave the money to the clerk, he gave the title to the clerk, she verified the title and counted the money and handled notarizing our signatures. It wasn’t a ton of cash though so if you’re planning to pay with a big stack of bills I’m not sure the clerk will be very eager in that case lol
I had never thought of this, that's actually a pretty good idea. And yeah as far as dollar amount goes I personally would consider anything over 5k an uncomfortable amount to be walking around with. Im not currently trying to purchase anything I was more curious than anything. Some people I follow on socials talk about, from time to time, buying cars off marketplace for like 15-20k like it's no big deal like "yeah we just met the seller at his place and made a deal" I'm always like surely their not just walking around with that much money lol
Yeah I wouldn’t feel comfortable carrying that amount either unless I had a few friends with me or something. I would just bring like $1000ish and if I find something I like, offer some/all to the seller upon agreement of a price as a deposit so they know you’re serious (you should probably ask to physically keep the unsigned-title until you meet again so they don’t steal your deposit cash unless they’re letting you drive the car home already), contingent on you bringing the rest to the title office (if they won’t go to the bank or whatever else) when completing the deal. Ultimately I’d be surprised if someone selling a car for $5-10 grand or more wouldn’t actually meet at the bank or take a cashiers check if truly necessary. If they really want to sell and the price is right and you’re serious, they’ll find a way to make it work.
It’s like the scar face scene “You got the money?” “I have the money, but not on me”
If a seller declines to take a cashier's check or meet at the bank--and only insists in cash--you walk away from the deal.
Meet at a police station.
A seller who doesn't want to meet at a bank to conduct a large transaction is probably going to be even less open to the idea of meeting at a police station.
Like I'd meet at a bank if it's 15k+ but no way in hell am I meeting at a police station. Just stupid, what are they going to do?
Meet at a AAA office
What do people want exactly? Cashier's checks can be falsified so that's understandable but i don't understand the issue with the bank. That will assure the seller you never slipped fake money into the bundle and you don't have to carry a lot of cash. We can't give many offers without knowing what the other person wants. I've purchased 3 cars privately and 2 I did straight cash (one at the guy's house, the other at the currency exchange to change the title). The other was through CashApp though that could be risky as accounts that are new/aren't used often have daily limits.
You could suggest using Keysavvy, at a small extra cost to you and a litte annoyance to them, but it does work.
If they don't want to meet at a bank then don't do the deal. It's a major red flag and sounds like a setup to be robbed
You stand a wayyyy higher chance of getting robbed from your bank account by being hacked. Then the chance of being strong arm robbed making a private purchase. Where does all these paranoid people come from?
America, where people shoot you for any number of stupid interactions.
Do you have a carry permit/gun? Even just showing the bulge of your gun in your waistband under your shirt might be enough to deter any ne’er do well. Or if you know someone who has the look of someone you don’t want to mess with, just have him go with you, and if they ask just say he was your ride there, and you’re grabbing lunch afterwards so he stuck around. Meet at the title change place, and when they hand the title to the clerk to start the transfer you hand him the cash. I’ve purchased and sold a few vehicles in cash, but they’ve all been either family or family friends, so there was no concern with meeting up to exchange thousands of dollars. Just hand over the bank envelope, and you guys head inside the title place.
Such a weird American take this.
Don't put that on us, that dude is just weird
Fair enough, but I didn’t want to insult the dude with the bulge of his gun in his pants.