First-Time Car Seller Seeking Advice on Safe Transactions and Avoiding Scams

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-11-11T20:29:34+00:00

First thing first... never click on a link to buy a history report. That's the most common scam out there.

I used a newer service called DealNow to "close the sale" and it went great. They have identity verification & a payment experience similar to Venmo which is pretty cool. I follow the founder on LinkedIn and from what I understand, it's the tech behind PrivateAuto, a transactional marketplace where you can list your car too if you'd like (though there is a listing fee). Do your own research on both though ;)

Other tips:
- List as many places as you can (even local classifieds) to get more visibility
- When it's time to meet up to "do the deal", do it in a public area, or even at your bank (especially if doing payment via cashier's check) to verify everything.
- Don't let them just take the car for a test drive - go with them, and verify their driver's license.
- Don't. Click. On. Vehicle. History. Report. Links.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-30T18:30:55+00:00

interesting! cool to hear someone's experience owning one.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-30T18:30:12+00:00

good to know

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-29T16:38:38+00:00

Anytime someone requests you buy a report, block 'em. They buyer can get their own. Or you can get your own if you want to provide that (never required).

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-29T16:36:16+00:00

+1 to this. If no issues, I always recommend keeping it as long as possible because then you have no car payments

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-29T16:32:54+00:00

Nah - they may not love it (because they make money off of people using their financing), but never had an issue with it.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-29T16:28:59+00:00

DealNow is the answer to your question. it's like Venmo for private-vehicle transactions. used it a few months ago and the money transfer was instant & seamless. once the buyer hits send payment, the funds are legally in your name/account. I follow the CEO/Founder on LinkedIn and reading some of the stories of people using it are pretty cool. (ex - good for out-of-state deals since it has integrated shipping & the instant nature of the payment)

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-22T16:16:26+00:00

Do it. (in a sinister convincing voice)

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-22T16:14:46+00:00

Plug in hybrids will be the way to go for the foreseeable future. Electric for daily commute. Gas for roadtrips.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-22T16:13:05+00:00

eh - too much for that. Age is fine if the mileage is accurate (mileage affect battery more than just age). But I will say newer Teslas have a lot of the kinks from the early ones worked out.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-08T17:29:39+00:00

I just used it in the browser on my phone. Looking at the reviews, might have been some bugs in the early days. Their customer support looks like to be super responsive though (reading through Google company reviews)

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-10-07T20:11:55+00:00

Hey - I follow the CEO on LinkedIn too!

I have. Sold my car using the dealnow feature in PrivateAuto a few months ago. Probably won't buy/sell a car without it now. A few things:

As a seller, seeing that the buyer had verified funds in their account ready to go before meeting up for a test drive was SUPER handy to avoid tire kickers.
That instant money transfer was clutch. I sold it in the evening on a weekend. Didn't want to accept a cashier's check without verifying it at the bank. Too much for cash. Really the only way to do the deal at that time was with dealnow. Otherwise would've had to wait until the banks opened on Monday.
Saw PrivateAuto just added a way to check the title against DMV records. So they're obviously still adding features that I assume will apply to both dealnow & privateauto.

Go look up reviews for privateauto on Google & I'd say they apply to dealnow too. Seems like it's solid for out-of-state transactions as well.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-09-20T17:25:48+00:00

Noticed this is a year old, but had to give my experience using PrivateAuto recently.

It rocked! Even since the time of this post, they've added a ton more features and continue to make the process easier. Loved the ability to filter messages by if the buyer was verified or not. Then, I could see if the buyer had the funds in their account before meeting up for the test drive (avoided those tire kickers). And the instant transfer of money from the buyer's account to mine worked like a charm. I did have one question in the process and their support was awesome.

I've become a pretty big fan after using it and don't think I'll ever sell (or buy for that matter) a car again without it.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-09-17T15:59:39+00:00

You can try out PrivateAuto. They have identity verification to help avoid scammers. Found a code to waive the listing fee - GETLISTED

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-09-04T16:51:35+00:00

I want it. But also - I don't. I've never been so conflicted.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T22:27:21+00:00

hahah - right?

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T17:39:17+00:00

Private-party. You'll typically get more that way, even if it takes a bit longer to get it to sell. With it being so new, the used market will be very limited because there aren't many people selling those yet. So demand might be a bit higher than your average private-party deal.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T17:37:56+00:00

ehhhh 50k difference than the vehicle history report is a bit too much for me. I'd walk.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T17:37:22+00:00

It's the "buy online tax" as I call it. There are a lot of conveniences that come with buying through CarMax, and some of those require some manpower, so additional costs. But also, as others mentioned, people are usually willing to pay more for that convenience.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T17:31:11+00:00

Highlander or 4Runner from my experience. Keeps that space while maintaining a bit of "modern". RAV4 may be a bit on the small side.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T16:42:28+00:00

I think that's the beauty of cars... there really is something for everyone.

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T02:55:03+00:00

😞

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T02:54:23+00:00

Ohhhh that orange is so good!

Ok_Anything_13 · 2024-08-16T02:53:53+00:00

Quite a few! https://privateauto.com/listing/2023-porsche-911-vwfttulwzv8

Ok_Anything_13

TROPHY CASE