Seller - Selling Car Privately - Procedure?

kwikksilva

Hi Guys,
A guy is coming down to view my car on Tuesday / Wednesday.
He's bringing a mechanic, and i guess he might buy on the spot.
He asked me what my rocket bottom was in an emai lnad i said 12k, i'm not going any lower than that as there is still finance owing on the car and its about 14k

So bearing all of this in mind, what is the normal procedure for these types of transactions, i have never sold a car privately before.

i.e what way should i be paid?
i.e how do i deal with the fact that i'd rather he didn't rip roar my car down the road by himself.

Also, because there is still finance owing, how is this handled?

Just general stuff, any advice?

Thanks in advance!

Tipsy Mac

Might have been abit premature lowering your asking price via email without the buyer seeing the car as it gives him the upper hand, be prepared for him to attempt to knock the price down further, if your happy to take a further deduction in the price set this in your head and don't move from it no matter what, it can be very difficult trying to decide on the spot if he starts making offers.

Cash is best, however these hard times you might be tempted to take a draft. If you are taking a draft make sure it's genuine, check with the bank who issued it that it is. If he has cash let him take it there and then, Insurance is his problem, also make sure you fill in the change of ownership on the back of your vehicle registration cert and you send it away.

From a security point of view I would recommend if he is going to buy it to meet him at a bank and have him transfer the cash into your account, it's alot of cash to have lying around.

Most likely the guy buying it is not an idiot, he will check your car on cartell or motorcheck etc and find out there's finance outstanding, if you havn't mentioned this to him I would do it prior to him coming down as if he finds out it will likely cause him to back down on the sale. I think the normal procedure when finance is outstanding is he would make a draft payable to the finance company for the sum outstanding and your would get the balance.

For the test drive I would recommend checking he has insurance and a license prior to the drive, bear in mind that his insurance will most likely only cover your car 3rd party, I'd go with him in the car to make sure he doesn't take the pi$$.

kwikksilva

Thanks for the reply, those comments make a lot of sense.

What about dodgy notes? Suppose he comes up with everything in 20's?

How would i know if all of it was not counterfeit?

Would i be better off to request that he bring down a draft?

Rowley Birkin QC

I have often gone shotgun with mates when they were selling motors.

Never meet them at your homeplace, local supermarket carpark or somewhere similar is preferable. One way in, one way out if things turn nasty.

Bring someone with you, there is likely to be upwards of €10k cash floating about.

bazz26

Arrange to go to the bank with the buyer and lodge the money into your account especially if large amounts of cash are involved. You do not want that amount of cash sitting at home overnight.

If he is paying by draft, then verify the draft number with the bank who issued it.

j4vier

bigkev49 wrote: »

I have often gone shotgun with mates when they were selling motors.

Never meet them at your homeplace, local supermarket carpark or somewhere similar is preferable. One way in, one way out if things turn nasty.

Bring someone with you, there is likely to be upwards of €10k cash floating about.

on the other side, id be wary of buying a car off someone that wont tell me where they leave, it feels like they have something to hide

Brabus

kwikksilva wrote: »

Hi Guys,
A guy is coming down to view my car on Tuesday / Wednesday.
He's bringing a mechanic, and i guess he might buy on the spot.
He asked me what my rocket bottom was in an emai lnad i said 12k, i'm not going any lower than that as there is still finance owing on the car and its about 14k

So bearing all of this in mind, what is the normal procedure for these types of transactions, i have never sold a car privately before.

i.e what way should i be paid?
i.e how do i deal with the fact that i'd rather he didn't rip roar my car down the road by himself.

Also, because there is still finance owing, how is this handled?

Just general stuff, any advice?

Thanks in advance!

As mentioned already, by giving him your rock bottom price before he saw the car, you backed yourself into a corner and didn't allow any room for dealing, but don't worry about it. You'll learn from it for the next time.

As the others have said I would also take a bank draft for it from the potential buyer but i would also take a cash deposit of say a few hundred euro that way you can suss fairly quick if he's the real deal or not.

Most importantly if he wants a test drive in it, firstly check he is insured to drive your car, remember it's still your car till you sign it over.
Then you and a friend go with him in the car on the test drive. This is purely for your own peace of mind. Answer any questions he'll have for you about the car cos believe me he will have questions!

If he's happy about the car and wants to buy, then tell him how you want to conduct the transaction. The important thing here is that your happy about how the whole thing is proceeding.

If your not happy about something specific, or something doesn't look right then call it off imediately. Give him some story about you have someone else who can offer you better money (he may not take this news very well!!)

Finally about the finance co. i would imagine you could just pay them off straight away. I don't have any experience of dealing with finance crowds myself.

I hope thats of some use to you and let us know how you got on after.

Good luck!

ytareh

That finance thing is or should be a big issue from his point of view...(Especially if he thinks you are trying to avoid/delay telling him...)Unless the finance is cleared outright the finance company own the car PERIOD.(Assuming it wasnt just a personal loan-in which case its irrelevant ...)He would be wise to accompany you to the bank to see you lodge the draft to the finance company having found out himself from them what you owe on the car.People have the misconception that as long as you (the previous owner) keep paying the monthly instalments everything is ok...It isnt ...
This is a potential nightmare scenario for buyers .Im assuming you are honest but you need to convince him too...The fact you owe more than hes paying you wont make him any more confident.And I would advise you to SELL SELL SELL!!!(Even if it means taking a hit of 3-5k euro)It is almost impossible to sell a car at the moment ...dont play hardball and hope he might give you a few hundred more...he may buy from someone else for what you would have taken ...What ya selling anyway?(if you dont mind saying)

kwikksilva

Its a Peugeot 307 with all the usual bits.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Peugeot/307/ST-1.4/1185060/