There are plenty of people out there that are willing to play fairly. If you are selling a car you still need to keep on the lookout for dodgy buyers. These are normally pretty easy to spot. They may ask to pay half now and half later. You can’t give them half the car now and half later so why would you want to accept such a deal? They may also tell you they are a licensed driver – always check the license and insurance of anyone you let test drive your car. If they crash the car and it needs to be reported, letting an unlicensed driver drive your car will earn you a fine as well. There may also be insurance complications with you footing the bill for all of the repairs. This will also make your insurance premiums go up.
When someone takes your vehicle for a test drive; always go with them. Just because you are selling a car doesn’t mean you can afford to have it stolen. If the buyer doesn’t have a license and is unhappy about you joining them on the test drive then the deal is probably not worth the risk. Pleasantly tell them that you have changed your mind about selling the vehicle and that you may change your mind at some stage. This will let them down softly and avoid the risk of them coming back with vengeance on the mind. Always let someone know that you are seeing someone about selling a car. If possible bring a friend along to make sure the deal goes down without a problem. It will also give you a witness in the event you need some paper work signed.
Never hand over the car until you have received the full agreed upon price. If you are paid via a cheque, make sure the cheque clears first. A common scam involves people paying with a cheque. The cheque never clears and the buyer has already taken the vehicle. This is why it is important to see a license for identity purposes when a buyer approaches you about buying a car. It is easy to become a victim of such scams buy avoiding them is even easier. If the buyer does not want to wait for the cheque to clear tell them that they can pay via a cashier’s cheque. That way you can go to the bank with the buyer and get a cheque you can cash immediately on the spot.
Be aware of your rights. You do not necessarily have to refund the buyers money if they are unhappy with their purchase. If the buyer has taken the car and driven around for a couple of weeks then comes knocking on your wanting a refund there is no telling what the car may have been used for or how it was treated when the buyer was using it. Do not give the buyer a refund on the vehicle unless you can verify that the car is in the exact same condition as when they took it.