Selling your own car

[godale03]

Hey guys,

I am just selling everything these days.... my house, and now my truck. Just as I have never sold a house before, I have never sold a car before either. Does anyone out there know how to do this? My car, still has a lean on it. What do I need to disclose? How do I protect myself? What do I do about an inspection? What about the tags? Do I let them test drive it? I just have so many questions. I was hoping to get some advice as to what to do. Trading in is not an option, you get screwed. I have looked up the KBB Value of my truck, and used the Good rating. I dropped the price of the good value by 1K. I am so confused about all of this. Thanks again guys.

Tom

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Well, a lot depends on the state in which you live. I'm not sure about the inspections, since these vary by state, but it's generally a good rule-of-thumb to have any required inspections up-to-date before selling it or a good reason why and previous inspection reports why it's not up-to-date. Anything else may cause doubt on the buyer's side.

If the vehicle has a lien on it, technically, you don't have a title for it. You may have a document that looks like a title (in Ohio, they're called Memorandum of Title) that you use to register it, but to sell it, you and the buyer will have to go to whomever holds the lien to have the title signed over to the buyer. The other option is for you to pay the lien off, get the title then sign it over to the buyer. Keep in mind that most, if not all, states will require all the signatures to be notorized.

I suggest keeping the tags current or you may want to call your DMV on some direction here if they are close to expiring and you don't want to pay to renew. In Ohio, you have the option, when selling, of either transferring the tags to the buyer or keeping the tags yourself. If you have that option, may want to renew them then keep 'em after you sell it.

Test drives: I'd let them if they leave their driver's license, proof of insurance or a copy of them with you while they're driving it and I'd insist on riding along with them.

Disclosure: Again, state laws vary with what you have to disclose, but you will likely have to disclose the fact there is a lien on the vehicle. You may want to look into getting a car facts report to give to a prospective buyer. You can got to www.carfax.com to get one.

I know that when I've bought a used vehicle, I took it over to a mechanic before sealing the deal, so anticipate that request. It's up to the buyer to pay for the mechanic's review, but I'd go along.

Hope this helps. Good luck!