At some point you are likely to want to upgrade to a new vehicle this means you have a decision about how you will sell your current one. The easiest way might be to use your car as a trade in on a new vehicle. Some used cars sold by dealers can also have a used vehicle applied to the price. When you trade in your vehicle it is not likely that you will get top dollar but with incentives it is possible that you can get close to full retail value.
Other options include selling your vehicle directly to its new owner or maybe even parting or junking the vehicle for scrap.
No matter what option you take it is important that you document the process. Get full information / Identification from the buyer, Remove your License Plate and return it to the DMV if required, and most important cancel your insurance on the vehicle immediately before they even leave your property it only takes a quick call and you will probably get a refund from your insurance company. Documenting the process reduces your liability and keeps things on the up and up.
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Profits Vs Easy When Selling Your Car Or Truck
It often comes down to how easy the sale is vs squeezing every last dollar out of the sale. When you compromise on price it should always be a benefit for you. Trade in at a dealer is a pretty easy process. They agree to take your vehicle in exchange for a discount on your purchase of a new vehicle from them. Dealers normally will not just take any vehicle. They want cars less than 5 years old and they want ones that are easy to sell. The price will always be lower than the actual street retail value unless they are running some type of promotion such as taking any trade in for $5000 but your vehicle is worth less than that.
Private Sales can often be really painful unless you know the person you are selling to. Even if you do know the person very well you should always require them to pay in full before they receive the vehicle and the title. Do not allow them to take the car and hold the title until you get full payment. This almost never works out. If they want it tell them to put cash in your hand or go to the bank with them and get the cash before you complete the sale. Always remove your plates and cancel your insurance immediately. Do not wait days to cancel your insurance because then they are driving on your insurance and that can be dramatically bad if they get in an accident. Finally you must notify the state of the sale so a bill of sale and copies of their ID are important.
Other Options are donating the vehicle to charity for a tax deduction or selling it to a salvage yard. These are last options and you are never likely to get any money from such a transaction. The same rules apply though document everything, remove your plates, cancel your insurance and send in the form to the state showing you sold the vehicle.
Finally you can decide to part out the vehicle on your own. I don’t normally suggest this to anyone that has never done it or who doesn’t understand the process. Yes you can sell all of the parts but once you start removing parts you limit any sale of the entire vehicle and it will need to be salvaged at some point. What you can end up doing is having a torn apart vehicle on your property that you can not move or have picked up easily by a salvage yard.
Selling Your Vehicle
If you are selling your vehicle in a private sale it is important that you take precautions and follow the regulations in your state. In states that process registrations and inspections through the government the new owner will need to take your title to the DMV and have it inspected. The reason for this is not only to make sure it is in good condition but to verify the VIN Serial number when the Title is reissued in their name.
In states where private garages can do inspections and local businesses process the title transfer the process can be more difficult. In order to protect yourself it is a good idea to travel to the title company with the buyer and have the title company begin the process of title transfer. Title companies can normally process in state and adjacent state title transfers. So if the buyer comes from the next state over the title company can issue temporary tags and start the process of title transfer in an outside state.
If you are considering just signing the back of your title and exchanging it with the new owner at the time of sale it gets a bit more difficult. In order to protect yourself you should have a Bill Of Sale where the buyer agrees to the sale and you obtain a copy of their identification. Take a picture of their ID/ Drivers License with your phone and a copy of the bill of sale. The bill of sale should list the date and price paid for the vehicle.
You will then need to send in a copy of your registration to the DMV stating you sold the vehicle to the new owner.
Even if the person lives out of state it is important to do this because if the vehicle is not re-titled in their name and insured and the new owner gets in an accident you can be liable as if you lent them your vehicle.
Pretty Much Just Document Everything and call your DMV or visit their website for instructions about what they require from you. Its not just as easy as collecting the cash and handing over the title anymore.
Selling Your Vehicle For Salvage
If you are selling your vehicle to a Salvage / Junkyard company they will require documentation including your ID and Title. They will then submit this information to the State to take the vehicle out of service. It is important that you also follow up with the DMV just like you would for a private sale and turn in your form stating you sold the vehicle.
The process is pretty simple just call around and ask if any of them will pay you to take your vehicle. Often they won’t even pay you but they will pick it up for free. Then you can ask if you deliver it if they will pay you. At that point they might offer you a small amount based on scrap value. Even if they expect to sell parts off the vehicle they won’t pay you more than scrap because they need to turn a profit and cover expenses of doing business.
Final Note
There are a bunch of options to get rid of your used vehicle and they all have downsides. The best situation is when you are selling to a friend, family member or someone you know closely but even then you need to make sure they pay you before you release the vehicle to them. Just turn on any afternoon court show and the docket is full of cases of someone not paying and they end up in court. Tell the buyer cash in my hand before anyone else and its yours. You can decide if you give them a better deal or not based on your friendship and how easy they make the process go but do not waver on that, always cash in your hand or keys stay in your pocket.
There are a number of websites that can help you decide what your vehicle is worth. NADA is a well known authority on used car values but the actual value is based on the condition of the vehicle.
You can also look online or locally for cars exactly like yours that are selling or have sold recently in your area. Again In Your Area is very important because vehicles in Kansas don’t bring as much as ones in Los Angeles.
Finally document everything and comply with laws. Most people sell their vehicle and never notify the state of the sale but this can open you up to liability. If they get in an accident or anything else you can imagine you can be liable so turn in that form and wash your hands of the deal.