To safely sell a car on Craigslist fast, you need to understand your vehicle's value, prepare paperwork, create a killing ad, meet with potential buyers, be prepared for a test drive, and choose the right payment method.
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
Craigslist is one of the largest online retailers that allow you to sell cars and all types of used items. With the increased number of people using Craigslist, several customers complained getting scam multiple times, especially in the used cars category.
If you have a used vehicle and would like to select on Craigslist safely, you need to be prepared and follow detailed “sell a car on Craigslist tips.”
The process is not only about how to sell a car on Craigslist fast; it is also about how to sell a car on Craigslist safely. Yes, you want to get your vehicle removed as quickly as possible, and you are hoping to get as much money out of it as possible, but also, you need to avoid common scams in the car selling process.
This article will provide you with a detailed guide that helps you sell your vehicle On Craigslist fast, for the most money, and without getting scammed.
Sell a car on Craigslist tips
If you're looking for “how to sell a car on craigslist without getting scammed,” and for the most money, all it takes you is to follow the following simple steps:
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How much is my car worth?
You want to get as much money out of your vehicle as possible, right? The first step is to 1st establish a baseline and understand how much your vehicle is worth.
You can either start with the Kelley Blue Book online tool that provides it with a minimum and maximum estimate of your vehicle's value. Or you can use Cash Cars Buyer website, where you input basic information about the type and condition of your car, and you will receive an instant offer within 30 seconds.
Whatever method you chose to go with, it is great to have a number in the back of your head so you can price your vehicle properly.
Keep in mind that some of the available online evaluation tools might not consider your vehicle's condition. Therefore, your judgment is to subtract major problems you know on your car that you could not input when using these online tools.
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Get your vehicle ready
The next step is to get your vehicle ready. Although your vehicle is used, you don't necessarily want to show it as used.
In other words, spend some time and effort taking care of minor problems in your car. You might need to give it a quick wax or car wash before showing it to a private buyer.
By doing these minor things, you boost your chances of receiving your wish offer, and you're also indicating that you're taking care of what's under the hood.
Keep in mind that you don't want to spend a lot of money on taking care of these minor problems. You need to be balanced between what can be done versus what's considered too much.
For instance, you don't want to replace the engine if you know that your vehicle has major engine problems. You need to be clear with the buyer that your vehicle suffers from a certain problem, and it's on him to take care of it if he's interested.
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Understand selling a car on craigslist paperwork
Craigslist expects you to understand what needs to be signed and completed in the car selling process when selling your car through Craigslist.
They don't necessarily provide you with detailed guidance on what paperwork you need to prepare, and there's no such thing as a Craigslist bill of sale.
You need to review your state's regulations and understand what is required. In general, you might be asked to prepare your vehicle's title because that's the document you will sign to transfer ownership.
Some states might require a smog test completed within the last 90 days.
Check your local DMV website and see what is required before meeting with any potential buyer.
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Create an attractive ad (start with sell a car on Craigslist templates)
Since your advertisement is the only first way to get in touch and spread the word to interested buyers, you need to spend a good amount of time and effort creating a killing ad.
Some people might find it a little challenging to create a nice ad, and what we recommend is to start with some “sell a car on Craigslist templates.”
You might find some examples on Reddit or any other forum where people share their advice about writing a good Craigslist ad.
Another way to get an idea about what's considered good is by looking at existing ads On Craigslist for vehicles like yours.
Overall, when creating your ad, you don't want to put so much text because people tend to investigate pictures more than reading a huge text block. Therefore, take a couple of high-quality pictures highlighting your vehicle's main issues and the good parts of artists.
You need to be as honest as possible at this step because otherwise, you're just wasting your time and the buyer's time.
You add you must also include all necessary details like your vehicle's make, model, year, mileage, major problems, etc.
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Choose the best selling car on Craigslist payment
Essential items you need to understand is “selling a car on Craigslist payment.” Craigslist does not provide an in-house payment method where buyers used to pay.
It is all on you to figure out the best payment method. Based on our experience in the car selling and buying market, we advised that you choose cash payments as much as possible.
Cash payments are considered the best payment method for selling a car, especially on Craigslist.
Many scammers take advantage of 3rd party accounts where they tell you that it is a safe method, and then once they put the payment there, they take the vehicle and run away because that account belongs to them.
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Meet potential buyers
At this point, probably a couple of interested buyers reached out to you and are looking to see your view hope.
If you notice that any of the buyers would like to buy the vehicle without seeing it, this is a big red flag and indicates that he's a scammer.
This process's natural way is that a potential buyer will reach out to you and schedule a time to see the vehicle.
It is recommended that you choose a place where a lot of people are around. For example, you might need to meet in a mall parking lot or front of a bank parking lot.
Choose a place that has cameras equipped with videotaping where you can refer to if something goes wrong.
Remember, your meeting with a stranger for the first time, and you don't know anything about him. Therefore, you need to be as cautious as possible.
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Get ready to sell a car on craigslist test drive
Once the buyer is happy with the vehicle's overall look, he will most likely ask for a test drive.
Even if he doesn't ask, it's recommended that you offer him to test drive the vehicle to indicate that you're confident about your car and there is nothing hidden.
It is recommended that if you're meeting with a potential buyer who will test drive the vehicle that you never let him drive the vehicle alone.
Some car sellers find it handy to bring a family member to join them, especially during the test drive for Craigslist buyers.
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Finalize the deal and save paperwork
Once you and the boy are happy with the deal, you can go ahead & the required paperwork.
It is recommended that you keep this paperwork in a safe, handy place if something happens to the vehicle.
Also, you need to visit your local DMV office and cancel the registration, so you don't hold liable for anything that happens to the vehicle.
Don't forget to cancel your vehicle insurance policy because you don't want to keep paying for a vehicle you no longer own. Many insurance companies appreciate it when the sellers inform them that the vehicle was sold.
How to sell a car on Craigslist Reddit
While the mentioned tips and tricks for selling a car on Craigslist or grades, you also recommend that you go through people's feedback about their experience with selling their car through Craigslist.
A good place would be to visit Reddit, where people share their feedback and get a full discussion from multiple people ranging with different levels of experience in the car selling market.
How to sell a car on Craigslist? FAQs
Since selling a car On Craigslist can be a little challenging, especially for inexperienced buyers, we would like to cover some basic questions that we frequently received about selling a car on Craigslist.
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How long does it take to sell a car on Craigslist?
According to quora.com, expect your vehicle to be sold within 10 to 15 days. This time frame is considered relatively much shorter than selling your car through a dealer, taking about 60 days.
Keep in mind that the time frame depends heavily on your vehicle type, condition, and asked price. For instance, if you have a good car and provide a discount, your vehicle can be sold within as short as a couple of hours.
On the other hand, if your vehicle is not in the best condition and asks him for a high price, you might not be lucky enough and it might even take you up to a couple of months to find a potential buyer.
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How much does it cost to sell a car on craigslist?
Many people reach out to us wondering, “does it cost money to sell the car on Craigslist?”
Since April 2019, Craigslist started charging $5 for a used car ad.
Well, some people might find it a little unfortunate, Craigslist intends to protect current customers. Craigslist notice that there is an increase in the reported number of complaints about scams within the platform. Therefore, scammers will be hesitant to reach out and cause any trouble to current customers by charging something.
Thus, their overall intent of charging $5 is to help you as a customer.
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What are the common selling of a car on craigslist scams?
Craigslist car scams are increasing significantly, as we mentioned earlier, and that's what forced Craigslist to start charging $5 per used car ad.
Most of these camps are usually related to the payment methods where a potential buyer might tell you to use a third-party account still hold the payment until the deal is finalized. The third-party account belongs to the buyer, and he will just run away once receiving the car.
Also, there are common scams from car sellers who might provide a significantly low offer lower than the market average used car value.
Another example of Craigslist's scams includes creating a post without any contact information like his phone number or any other details.
How to sell a car on Craigslist? The bottom line
Craigslist is an amazing platform for selling a car and getting connected with millions of interested buyers. However, if you aren't an inexperienced car seller, you might easily get into many scams if you don't follow the right tips for selling a car on Craigslist.
What it takes you is to understand your vehicle's value, get your vehicle ready, prepare all necessary paperwork, take nice pictures, create a killing ad, meet with potential customers, allow them for a test drive, finalize the deal, and get paid.
If you feel that you don't want to deal with all this hassle and still would like to sell your car, we invite you to get in touch with Cash Cars Buyer.
At Cash Cars Buyer, we guarantee to buy your car and provide you the top offer your vehicle deserves along with free towing. Our service is very fast and doesn't take more than three days. We even provide same-day pick-up if you're interested.
To get more details about our process, give our team a call at 866-924-4608 or visit our home page and click on the free instant online offer. Our process is explained in detail in this link.