Getting rid of an extra car

[REWahoo]

The last car (truck, actually) I sold privately involved meeting the buyer in the parking lot of the county jail. He said he worked there...

 

[foxfirev5]

Here's some photos of the car and the cash. Still, we were in no danger at any time, and it was definitely an entertaining exchange. FWIW, I've sold cars to single moms before and none hassled me for a better deal, however I wound up giving them one anyway.

Your pile of cash reminds me of an 84 Corvette I had for sale a few years ago. I had it parked out front at the lake with a for sale sign in the window. A big biker dude, about 50 years old or so pulled up on his Harley and gave the car a once over. He pulled a wad of hundreds out of his tee shirt pocket and told me he'd take the car. He was a few hundred short so he told me he'd be back the next day. I started to write a receipt but he couldn't wait, said " I trust you" and took off. The next day I waited but he did not return until very late. It seems the hold up was that he had trouble talking his mother into insuring the car for him!

 

[REWahoo]

It seems the hold up was that he had trouble talking his mother into insuring the car for him!

Parents can be so darned obstinate...

 

[MichaelB]

I was worried the cops would come investigate me when I deposited the money; as I was sure it was COATED in whatever he was selling. Yikes.

Here's some photos of the car and the cash. Still, we were in no danger at any time, and it was definitely an entertaining exchange. FWIW, I've sold cars to single moms before and none hassled me for a better deal, however I wound up giving them one anyway.

Great story! Be careful not to post those photos on FB, you never know who is watching you.

Bumper sticker is fantastic. I never had either but agree with the sentiment.

 

[jerome len]

I wouldn't mess with selling a used car unless you have a lot of spare time and need the extra money. Most used cars sell for about 5% more retail than wholesale, plus reconditioning costs to prepare the car for sale.

The dealer takes in trades, sets up financing and gives a limited warranty......can you do the same? I'd take your car to the new franchise dealer selling the same make, you have the carmax bid and i'd get a 3rd bid from a big used car dealer. Then I'd sell it for the best/highest bid......get a certified check or clear it with the bank if you don't know the dealer. You can do all of this in a 1/2 day and be done with it. Good luck.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Great story! Be careful not to post those photos on FB, you never know who is watching you. Bumper sticker is fantastic. I never had either but agree with the sentiment.

Haha, I think I did post them, but none of my friends stopped by to rob me, lol. I've got another one of the Cutlasses right now, though, but not for sale (yet).

 

[JoeWras]

I'm not comfortable with Craigslist. Kudos to all you who are. I know it works out really well for a lot of people.

My neighbor is a Craigslist expert. For my next car sale, I plan on getting a CarMax estimate. Then letting my neighbor do the Craigslist work, with him getting 50% of what ever he can get over the Carmax price.

Without my neighbor, we did sell an elderly relative's car to CarMax last year. It was so painless, plus they could deal with all the extra hassle of trusts, POAs, and death certificates (joint ownership). I wouldn't touch that kind of sale in a private party for fear of goofing up the transaction. We probably lost $1000 due to this, but gained enormous peace of mind, time and lack of worry.

But that's me.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I wouldn't mess with selling a used car unless you have a lot of spare time and need the extra money. Most used cars sell for about 5% more retail than wholesale, plus reconditioning costs to prepare the car for sale.

The dealer takes in trades, sets up financing and gives a limited warranty......can you do the same? I'd take your car to the new franchise dealer selling the same make, you have the carmax bid and i'd get a 3rd bid from a big used car dealer. Then I'd sell it for the best/highest bid......get a certified check or clear it with the bank if you don't know the dealer. You can do all of this in a 1/2 day and be done with it. Good luck.

This is what we did and it took a few hours total. I called around all the dealers in the same make first to see who would be interested. Some weren't. There was a big difference in bids among those who were. The dealers in the most expensive and least expensive areas either weren't interested or made low ball bids. We don't have a CarMax close by, but after reading this thread maybe we should have taken the time to drive out to one.

My sense was we had to find the dealer that had a market for the price point car we were selling. At the dealer we ended up selling to, they had a buyer interested while we were still cleaning out the glove box.

 

[NW-Bound]

A big biker dude, about 50 years old or so
...
had trouble talking his mother into insuring the car for him!

So, insurance premium for a 80-yr old driving a Vette is lower than that for a 50-yr old?

 

[aja8888]

NEVER leave your plates on your car when you sell it, no matter who you sell it too. I can't imagine even considering leaving your plates on the car as a remote possibility.

I posted earlier that in Texas, the plates go with the car in a sale. If the buyer wants new ones, he has to request them when transferring the title. Its a law.

 

[walkinwood]

Take a few precautions & you can sell it yourself on craigslist or one of the online sites.

- Get a car fax.
-Ask to see a valid driver's license, verify its the same person & and take a picture of it with your cell phone.
- Meet away from your home, in a public place & go with a friend.
- Don't let them drive away with your license tags after sale (I guess its different in some states)
- I guess you can check to see if they have insurance & registration for the car before they drive off with it - but I didnt' do this in the past.
- If the person makes you uncomfortable for whatever reason - walk away. That hasn't happened to me, though I did sell my last car to some real dim-wits. I could hear the gears in their heads moving - r e a l l y s l o w.

Living is risky.

 

[meierlde]

I posted earlier that in Texas, the plates go with the car in a sale. If the buyer wants new ones, he has to request them when transferring the title. Its a law.

When I traded in a car in Tx for a new car in 2011 I got the plates back. It seems the rules may have changed, (this was with a dealer)

 

[JakeBrake]

I guess I'm the only one who donates their old cars. I've donated my last three vehicles to Kidney Kars. Nowadays the IRS says that you can only deduct the actual sale price that the charity receives when they auction the vehicle. The charity is supposed to return a receipt when the vehicle is sold.

Around here the county tax collector handles vehicle transfers. When you dispose of a vehicle you return the tag to the tax collector if the tag has not expired. The tax collector will give a credit that can be used (only) on your next tag. Around here when most people buy a new or used car, they immediately take the title transfer papers to the county tax collector where you pay and walk out with a new tag and a temporary title. Procrastinators are allowed 15 days to do this. The state DMV returns the permanent title via USPS in a couple of weeks.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We donated our cars when we were working more and in a higher tax bracket.

 

[aja8888]

When I traded in a car in Tx for a new car in 2011 I got the plates back. It seems the rules may have changed, (this was with a dealer)

I recently found out that new car dealers have been authorized to handle the vehicle titling paperwork in Texas. This was done to relieve the load at the DPS offices since they handle all private and used car dealer transactions. Dealers have a supply of new plates and just change them out as a matter of course.

Last used car I bought (March 2013) had the owner's plates and when I went to DPS to title it I had the option of getting new plates but kept the ones on the car. In Texas, they offer you new plates after 5 years since many get damaged, etc.

 

[Al in Ohio]

I posted earlier that in Texas, the plates go with the car in a sale. If the buyer wants new ones, he has to request them when transferring the title. Its a law.

Not true.

Texas also requires that the plates be removed and surrendered in a private sale.

Link. http://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/plate-surrender.php

It makes absolutely no sense to leave them on a car that changes ownership. That's like handing the stranger you just sold the car to your drivers license. Would you do that too?

 

[47]

You can do the title transfer at your local AAA if you are a AAA member.

The difference between a DMV experience and AAA is like night and day. You can sit in a nice couch in a comfortable office and exchange money instead of in a parking lot and finish the transaction right there.

If in California, for older cars you need to have it smogged before they will do the transfer.

 

[aja8888]

Not true.

Texas also requires that the plates be removed and surrendered in a private sale.

Link. How to Surrender a License Plate in TX When Changing Ownership or Moving

It makes absolutely no sense to leave them on a car that changes ownership. That's like handing the stranger you just sold the car to your drivers license. Would you do that too?

The DPS has allowed us to keep the seller's plates on the last three used cars we bought without question. The rules you are linking may be relatively new. I'll have to have a closer look at that page. Thanks.

 

[meierlde]

You can do the title transfer at your local AAA if you are a AAA member.

The difference between a DMV experience and AAA is like night and day. You can sit in a nice couch in a comfortable office and exchange money instead of in a parking lot and finish the transaction right there.

If in California, for older cars you need to have it smogged before they will do the transfer.

Actually for registration in Texas it is done at the county tax assessor collectors office. So the experience very much depends on the size of the county you live in. In a small population county it is very short waits at worst, typically walk in and pay. Now in one of the urban counties it can be a longer wait.
When I bought my last car they put a temp tag on it (good for 60 days) and mailed the plates and receipt when they arrived (since I lived 80 miles from the dealership).
In Tx drivers licenses are issued by the department of public safety (which also contains the state police), while vehicle title transfers and the like are done at the tax assessor collectors office, so there is no unified DMV like in states like Ca and Mi

 

[Telly]

I guess I'm the only one who donates their old cars. I've donated my last three vehicles to Kidney Kars. Nowadays the IRS says that you can only deduct the actual sale price that the charity receives when they auction the vehicle. The charity is supposed to return a receipt when the vehicle is sold.

We've donated a few cars to a charity that runs a school and counseling for very at-risk HS students. With the change in IRS rules, I just waive any benefit to me, as I really don't want to give my SSN over the phone to someone who works in the charity office.

 

[Texas Proud]

CarMax is an easy place to get rid of a used car.

I think you may have answered your own questions in that the price quoted is closes to KBB's value, plus you don't like to wheel and deal.

Another good thing about CarMax is that they took off ALL items that could have identified my sister when she sold to them...

We never thought of taking off the inspection sticker!!!

 

[NW-Bound]

I guess I'm the only one who donates their old cars...

I gave a car to a needy person I knew (not a relative or friend of mine), and as it was a private donation there was no tax deduction.

 

[VaCollector]

Another vote for Carmax....I actually had a Mini convertible listed on Craigsliat and (on a whim) decided to go see what Carmax might give me for it...

The Mini had been listed on CL for about a week and I had only had 3 or 4 inquiries with a couple of lowball offers...

Carmax actually offer me $2K MORE than I had it listed for on CL....needless to say, I had to call for a ride home

 

[harley]

Well, we went ahead and sold it at CarMax. We did a lot of research on the car on Craigslist, and the best offer price we could find was less than $2K above the CarMax offer. Since I know nobody pays the Craigslist offer price, it just didn't seem worth the hassle. The CarMax process was a breeze, and took less than an hour.

You noted that you drive your cars until they're ready to be compacted. I didn't know that CarMax purchased older used autos; more than 10-12 yrs. S o, that may be an obstacle.

Actually, this particular car was a 2009. We got ourselves into a 3 car situation when my DW's mother died most of a decade ago. We inherited her car, and DW was too emotional to consider selling it at the time. After 4 or 5 years of listening to me bitch about how uncomfortable and expensive to maintain the car was (Mercedes), she decided to trade it in while it still had value. So we ended up with another 3rd car. But we didn't need it, and it spent a lot of time being loaned to DD as a spare. This time we decided to sell it while it still has value too, and we're going to bank the money until we actually need a new car. Since our other two cars are still pretty new (a 2002 and a 2004), we should be good to go for a half decade or so before it's time to compact (or donate) the next one.

Thanks everyone for their help and advice.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I am glad that worked out for you. We have another car to sell and we will give CarMax a try and see what they offer next time.