I'm possibly selling a project car to an out of state buyer who will arrange to have the car shipped to him. What are the best ways to avoid getting scammed and also making the buyer comfortable that I'm going to come through with the title as promised? (FYI, the car is in the $3K price range, so super-high end services are not going to be a good match.) All advice, experience, anecdotes are welcomed, I've never done this before.
In today's world I think most people have the ability to do an electronic bank transfer of funds, so you don't have to deal with money orders or personal checks or anything that may be suspicious.
I've bought and sold cross country quite a bit, so I have a little experience with this. It makes things a WHOLE LOT easier if the buyer can or get someone he knows to put eyes on the vehicle. I have refused to sell to out of state buyers who don't have a way to look over the vehicle. Not because of the fact that I think they may rip me off, but because no matter how much or well I describe something, someone can have a completely different idea of what I am describing.
This even happens semi-locally. I had a parts car for $200 that I had listed on Marketplace. I said the block was ventilated, showed a photo with the gaping hole in the side of the block (it was a Slant Six Aspen coupe and I sold off the Super Six intake and exhaust so the hole could be seen very easily), and said the Unibody was shot. I still had people wanting to try to drive it home, and one guy came out from 30 miles away with a trailer to take it home. He seemed disappointed when he rolled under it and realized that the subframes that I said were shot were ... shot. He wanted to use as a parts car for his 4 door (The only parts that would actually interchange would be parts that I told him were damaged, or ones I already sold off) .
There are all kinds of ways. Paypal or Venmo for the deposit.
I have done it before where I use the nuclear launch protocol. That is to say, two people carry the keys, so the button is useless unless they both turn their keys.
If you live in a state that requires a notary, there is next to zero risk of sending the title after he sends a deposit. Now the buyer has the documentation, so you can't sell the car to someone else, and (worst case scenario) if the buyer flakes and doesn't return the title, you have a deposit with which you can pay for a duplicate title.
The title is worthless to the buyer unless he gives you money and you release the car. The car is not saleable for you without the title. Now, you are both equally over a barrel. A handshake escrow so to speak.
If you live in a non-notary state, I suppose there is the possibility that he could forge your signature and claim that he owns the car, but there would be all these strange emails that say otherwise, not to mention, he would have neither the keys nor the car. He could be a completely shady person, but he can't do anything with that title that would net him ownership of the car. If he is trying to steal a car, this kind of paper trail is a complete non-starter.
In reply to Cooter :
My wife picks on me... Says I try to talk people out of buying my stuff! I try to be 100% open about every little thing, to prevent that. Some people still gonna act like that, unfortunately.
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