Liability and Risks of Selling Your Car

Scams are for both buyers and sellers as well. So, before you place an ad to sell your used car, you will need to be aware of some common scams and learn how to avoid them.

• Buying without seeing

If a buyer offers to buy your used car without looking at it first should be considered as a warning sign. This may prove to be a part of a larger scam with time. The buyer may have a different person to pick up your used car and later deny the same. He may also send some bad cheque for the transaction that may be a great loss to you. A common scam is to pay the seller with a cheque or money order that's fake and void.

• Fraudulent payment

Sometimes a buyer may tell you that someone else owes him money and that he will ask the other individual to pay you directly. Sometimes, the buyer will send a fraudulent cheque and ask you to deposit it. As you ship the vehicle before the cheque clears, you're in for trouble. A promise to pay in monthly payments is usually not a good way to go.

• Verify cheques prior to transfer of the title

To be safe, verify cheques with the issuing bank and not wait for the cheque to clear with your bank. This will avoid any sort of fraudulence through payment by saving time for you. You must also not complete the transaction before the cheque clears.

• Document everything

You must keep a copy of anything that's signed and document the entire process. You must keep the records of phone numbers, names, and other information. This may help you in case of any investigation. In case you let someone test drive the car, you must ask for their driver's license first. For safety, it may be a good idea to not conduct the transaction at your residence but at a public place.