Prospective buyer test driving car for sale

[Badger]

It is my understanding that if you loan a car and they get into an accident that damages property or a person then you are legally liable. I imagine that also applies to someone test driving your car. Is this correct? That would make me nervous these days and consider looking into Carmax or Carvana.

Cheers!

 

[JoeWras]

Seems sensible unless you get into an accident with their car or something breaks while you are driving it. Stuff happens.

Could you imagine rear ending your own vehicle because the "borrowed" vehicle you are driving has no brakes. After all, that's why they are buying another car. Could be an interesting discussion with the insurance company.

Yes. I mean I can't say say my approach is "safer" and I defer to your experience. But I usually have a chance to Google the person from phone number or email and can get a good sense who they are before agreeing to a meeting.

My owner went by a different name. That made me a bit nervous. But it was just one of those legal/casual name situations. He didn't like his first name. (Don't blame him.) But Autotrader verifies people to their legal name so that's what was presented.

 

[427Vette]

Here is what I do… When the perspective buyer arrives we have a conversation about the vehicle then I tell them that I’ll let them look it over by themselves. I don’t like when I am trying to buy something and an annoying clueless seller hovers over me trying to persuade me to make a deal. I always know what I want and if it’s right I’ll buy. After a few minutes I’ll return and ask if they have any questions. Usually the test drive comes up at this point. If they really seem to like it I’ll then ask them if they like the way it looks, feels, sounds etc. Then we discuss the price, if it doesn’t fall apart here I’ll explain that since you like everything about it and the price is right if it drives good do we have a deal. If there is real interest we will go on a drive. I usually drive them for a few miles then point the vehicle back home then ask if they want to drive back. I’ve never had a problem and most times the first interested party to look ends up buying.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Take a picture of their drivers liscense in any case

 

[Music Lover]

I've always thought it makes the most sense for the buyer to first ride in the car as a passenger so they can check things out without the distraction of driving before they drive it themselves.

 

[maestro]

Depends on a few factors. I was selling my classic '88 BMW E30. Very interested party and his GF drove a while to come test drive. My ad said, 'must show the cash' before test drive. I also just got in passenger side and rode along. Great transaction, but trust your gut feel.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

My solution is to sit in the back seat, behind the test driver, CCW.
I'm not willing to kill someone over a used car, but being driven to a someplace and then shot, would be a bummer. Folks like that do exist.

I understand that my option is not available to many people, some other good suggestions are here.

 

[KarenF]

I personally think a private sale is not worth the hassle/stress. I would get quotes from Carvana and Carmax.

 

[Sunset]

I personally think a private sale is not worth the hassle/stress. I would get quotes from Carvana and Carmax.

Back in 2015, Carmax offered me $500 for my car.
I sold it to the first fellow to show up for ~$1,100 so I felt the increase was worth it.

 

[folivier]

Did a quick quote with carmax for my lifted Lexus GX470 for grins. It's a 2006 with 170,000 miles which is just getting broken in, these commonly go over 300,000 miles and my mechanic has one with over half a million miles. These have become popular with the off-road overlanding crowd and often sell for $12,000 plain and up. Carmax came back with $300.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Back in 2015, Carmax offered me $500 for my car.
I sold it to the first fellow to show up for ~$1,100 so I felt the increase was worth it.

Carmax offered me $9K for my dad's very low mileage Toyota Corolla, because it needed some minor (paint, new side mirror, deep scratches, etc.) body work. I took my time and got the body work done for $2.5K, and looking like new I sold it privately a few weeks later for $13.9K. (I always get a car detailed when I'm selling it privately, so maybe add another $200 or so.) Kind of worth it, but then I wasn't in a rush and didn't mind taking care of that myself. To be honest, it was one of the easier parts of my dad's estate.

 

[Midpack]

The two local dealers, Honda and Toyota, we've used the last few decades, require the salesperson ride along on test drives. I'd follow their experience.

Recent experience? Since Covid if not before, I don't remember the last time a dealer did ride along. They've sent me out alone even the last time (Jan 23) when I asked the sales rep to come along - he said he was not permitted to...

However, for a private sale I would definitely ride along.

 

[Koolau]

The last two cars I got rid of, a test drive was out of the question as they were too far gone. So I gave them to our resident manager who was able to deal with them in some fashion.

The car before that I sold for $100 to a guy who w*rked for my niece. He got a year's use out of it before the standard trans. gave out on it. Pretty cheap transportation, though he was young enough to do a NASCAR entry as the driver's door no longer opened.

 

[JoeWras]

It is an age old issue: private sale or dealer trade in.

Both have pros and cons. You just have to balance them.

When my dad was going to independent living and fighting with us over driving, we used Carmax when he woke up one day and said: "I think I should sell the car."

He had a habit of changing his mind. We didn't wait. We went right to Carmax and sold it. Done.

I personally have never done a private sale because of the extra hassles. Instead, I did my first private buy. Private buying has the same benefit from the buyer's side: lower price than a dealer. But it also has downsides that have to be balanced against buying from a dealer. I decided to go with a private buy and save about 20 to 25% on the price. The downsides included a weird test drive, dealing with ownership and registration transfers, no warranty, and so on.

 

[folivier]

Depending on how your state calculates sales taxes it could be better to take the trade in at the dealer. Here in Louisiana your trade in value decreases your sales tax at a dealer. And you pay the same sales tax when buying a used car whether from a dealer or individual sale.