Three ways to sell
A trade-in is the quickest route and pays the least, because the dealer has to resell the car at a profit. A private sale typically brings ten to twenty percent more, in exchange for your evenings and some risk. The middle route is an instant cash offer from a used-car chain or an online buyer, which is usually good for seven days. Before you decide, check one tax detail. Most states charge sales tax only on the difference between your new car's price and your trade-in, so trading a $10,000 car where the rate is seven percent saves you $700 and narrows the gap with a private sale.
Preparing the car
Spend a weekend and a little money, not a lot. Wash the car, vacuum it, clear the trunk, and replace burned-out bulbs and worn wiper blades. Do not pay for major repairs or new tires, which rarely return their cost. Gather the service records, both keys and the owner's manual, since a missing second key alone can knock a couple of hundred dollars off an offer. If you have a loan, ask the lender for the ten-day payoff amount. Price the car by looking at what similar cars with similar mileage are listed for within fifty miles, then set your figure slightly above what you would accept.
Handling a private sale safely
- Meet in daylight in a public place, such as the marked exchange zone that many police stations provide.
- Photograph the buyer's driver's license before a test drive, and ride along.
- Accept cash counted at your bank, or a cashier's check that you watch being issued at the buyer's bank.
- Refuse any buyer who offers to overpay and asks for the difference back, which is a standard fraud.
Paperwork that ends your liability
Sign the title exactly as your name is printed on it, fill in the odometer reading, and write a bill of sale stating that the car is sold as is, with a copy for each party. File the notice of sale or release of liability with your state's motor vehicle agency the same day, so that the buyer's tickets and tolls do not follow you. Plates stay with the seller in many states and with the car in others, so check your state's rule. Cancel the insurance only after the transfer is complete.
Tip Before you hand over the keys, delete your paired phones, clear the home address from the navigation, reset the garage door buttons and take your toll transponder off the windshield.
