Selling your car privately is one of the best choices you can make. It also offers benefits the buyer allowing them to negotiate the best deal. Choosing to go the dealer route could end up being a frustrating and less rewarding venture. This is because to a buy the car from the seller, the dealer will only be willing to offer the vehicles wholesale price. Often this is far less than what you would get of you sold the car directly to the buyer yourself. But there is a whole new set of challenges and risks that come with selling your car privately. Here you are meeting up with a complete stranger. The risk of getting scammed, robbed or even assaulted is all too real. While the vast majority of strangers will be good people, there is no denying the fact that there are those who are out to steal and cause harm. This is why it’s always a good idea to pick a safe place to meet so the buyer can inspect the vehicle and do a test drive.
A scammer will naturally try and avoid locations where they can easily be seen. They might suggest a less crowded spot free of other people. A safe place for you therefore would be a place where there is foot traffic, is public and has crime deterring aspects like cameras. Let’s consider a few features to look out for when choosing the safest places to meet for private car sale
Choose an open spot with plenty of lighting and where other passersby can see your faces. Meeting during the day is best. Avoid dark spots and definitely never in an alley. If at all possible, avoid conducting business during the night. This is the time crooks like to work as it is easier for them to conceal their evil plans. However, if you cannot avoid meeting during the later hours of the day, choose a place with plenty of lighting.
Pick a place where there are plenty of other people walking around. You definitely want to stay away from areas where it is just the both of you even if the area has good lighting. This is because crooks can sometimes be bold enough to cause harm even in broad daylight. If at all possible, bring along someone else. A crook would think twice if they see you have a companion.
We live in a time of video and images. Now even mobile phones have great cameras that can capture images in clean detail. There is also a lot of investing in security cameras. Scammers will try to avoid areas that have plenty of security cameras which makes such an area a safe place to meet up for a private car deal.
There are plenty of positives when it comes to meeting outside of public libraries. For one, there is a high chance that the library will have surveillance cameras. Not to mention that they will often be situated along major roads and will have plenty of people walking in and out all the time.
Many would argue that this is the best place to meet for private car sale. You can always expect shopping malls to have plenty of people walking in and out and their parking lot is often packed.
There will also be surveillance cameras even in the underground parking to maintain tight security. If someone was to try something fishy, there is a good chance they will get caught.
Places such as the Walmart parking lot or outside of Home Depot are great. There will be surveillance cameras as well as plenty of people around.
These are similar to the large retailer outlets. Plenty of foot traffic and lots of cameras. It would be hard for a scammer to actualize their diabolical plans out here.
There are police safe zones that are set up to offer safe areas where people can conduct business. As a consequence of online transactions, there are plenty of strangers meeting up. The police create thus create safe areas to prevent robberies. These make them the best place to sell a car. Furthermore, you could also consider meeting in a police lobby.
The process of selling your car privately can be time consuming. You’ve probably spent money to make the car look presentable, taken it to the car wash, took photos, and fixed any mechanical issues. Not to mention finding the best place to advertise your car. While there are great websites to sell cars on, not all the people who come across you add will be serious buyers. There are those who will call in just to waste your time. Then there are those who will also call in just to see if they can get you to reduce your price even while having no intention of buying the car. There is also a third group who are out there looking for opportunity to scam you. It’s important to be weary of such individual as they are willing to go out of their way to make themselves appear legit while harboring bad intentions.
Start by asking them their full names. If you notice any hesitation unwillingness to do this, then hang up the phone immediately.
If you found online is the best place to advertise a car and good websites to sell your car on, then anyone regardless of geographical location can see them. If someone tries to contact you from overseas for instance, then this should raise an alarm in your mind as such individuals will probably try and get you involved in a scheme to con you. Get the address and contact number and ensure that you deal with customers close to your location.
If you get an offer from someone yet they haven’t seen or test driven the vehicle, then this should be another red flag. A genuine customer will try and book a test drive and see what they are investing their money in before they commit.
Always go with your gut and if you feel like something is not going right, don’t continue with the conversation and hang up. Do not be blinded by the need to sell your car quickly and get money. Only allow for a test drive when everything feels right and the buyer seems genuine. And even then, get them to answer few questions. This will help you vet the potential buyer and find out of they are really genuine or not. Before scheduling a test drive, ask the buyer who else will be joining them. Note their tone of voice and if there is any hesitation to give off the information discontinue with the test drive. Also watch out for car flippers who are only interested in buying your car so they can resell it at a profit. These guys will want to push your price down as far as possible. Sure, they may not be a safety risk but they are skilled negotiators and its probably a good idea to avoid them all together.
When you meet with the buyer for the first time and he or she requests for a test drive, ask them for their driver’s license, take a screen shot and send it to a close friend or family member. Avoid going on a test drive with the buyer alone. Ask someone such as a family member or a friend to join you. That way you have added backup in case of any situation. If you are alone, making sure that a family member, or close friend knows where you are. Have a code word ready which you can quickly send. In case something happens, they will know that you are in a bad situation. Ensure that you have taken out anything of value in the car. Jewelry, and wallets should be kept safe. Also ensure that there isn’t anything dangerous that can be used against you in the car. Always make sure to accompany the buyer in the test drive instead of letting them go it alone. This will help prevent a situation where they could drive away with your car. Also keep the trip short and keep the route where it’s populated.
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