Selling a truck locally – what do I need to know?

As Randy Moss once said, “Straight cash, homie!”.

I tried to use a certified cashier’s check from my credit union when I bought my last truck and the sellers credit union rejected it! They said they’ve had issues which led to the policy change. I had to drive an hour back my credit union to change the check out for cash.

If not a valuable vehicle (under $2000) I would go for cash, and do the transaction at a safe-trading zone if your area has one.

I sold a junker car a few years ago for $500 cash – they buyer wanted to do the transaction at a safe-trading zone that is setup at our local police department – had no issues doing that since another local man was murdered by a serial killer for his used truck around the same time.

For all the paperwork, check with your local DMV – it may be as simple as signing the back of the ownership cards/papers to the new owner and letting them know the plates/tags aren’t yours anymore.

I think precautions vary depending on personal preferences and situations. Sometimes I’ve taken cash at the house if I was comfortable with that. Other times the buyer showed up with a cashier check and if I agreed with their price, I went with them to their bank to get it cashed before handing over anything.

Good advice above regarding knowing DMV requirements and what gets signed and filled in / doesn’t get signed and filled in on the title (some blanks are only for dealer transfers, loans, etc), whether a notary is required, specific bill of sale form, etc. beforehand to avoid wasting time with a clueless buyer. Many states will have the required documents in pdfs on their DMV website that you can print out.

Occasionally I’ve had problems with flaky time-wasters who want to give you a small “deposit” to hold the car. They continue to shop around and may or may not be back, or they’re unrealistic about their chances of coming up with the full purchase price. But there are legit buyers who are waiting for a paycheck or something. Only hold the car for a substantial sum, and write it up on a bill of sale as a non-refundable down payment on the purchase price for which X is owed in cash by a certain date.

Pay attention to the odometer statement – in some states the title just wants the seller to state that it’s correct to the best of their knowledge which is fine, but other states the choice is either warranting that the mileage is correct or just that the odometer says so and so but seller does not know the actual mileage. In that case you don’t want to warrant it is right unless you’re sure it is.

And make sure your bill of sale at least says the car is sold AS IS, WHERE IS, WITH ALL FAULTS, AND NO WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED in all caps. A bill of sale is not just for the buyer from you, they need to sign it too and you get a copy. RocketLawyer has a good bill of sale form if there is not a required state form.

I’ve never sold on FB but I have on Craigslist and that attracts many attempted scams. Not sure if FB has the same problem but if someone is not local and they start talking as if they’re going to buy it without even seeing the car, assume the worst.

Also, some buyers may want to say you sold it them for less on the title. This way they think they’ll pay less taxes. I’d highly recommend not writing a lower amount. If they were to for some reason come back to you, thats the proof of the sale.