If you're planning on selling your car to a relative, here's a step-by-step process:
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- Step #1: prepare your car for sale
- Step #2: price your car
- Step #3: negotiate the sale
- Step #4: transfer ownership
- Step #5: finalize the deal
When selling your old car, finding one of your family members or friends to purchase your vehicle is very convenient. In addition, you are dealing with somebody you trust and don't have to worry about looking for this buyer through classified websites or social media.
While it's great to sell your car to a relative, sometimes it can be challenging, especially if you don't have previous experience with how the process is done, what paperwork is needed, and if you're uncomfortable negotiating the price.
This article will help you understand a step-by-step process for selling your car to a relative. Highlights all the details you need to do, from preparing your car to finalizing the deal and signing the paperwork.
Selling your car to a relative
Suppose you're planning on selling your car to a relative. In that case, you need to know that although the process is much easier because you don't have to worry about finding the buyer, there are a couple of things that you need to take care of yourself, especially if you're a relative doesn't have previous experience in the paperwork especially.
The following step-by-step process gives you all you need to know to help you sell your car to a relative. Once you go through the list, you don't have to have previous experience selling the car because things should be moved smoothly without any complications.
1. Step #1: prepare your car for sale
When selling your car to a relative, you must first prepare the vehicle for sale. This involves performing a thorough inspection and necessary repairs that are reasonable and within the typical budget.
Perform thorough inspection
Could you look at the vehicle and perform a visual inspection to see if it has any visual problems? For example, you might notice that the tires need to be inflated or are in good condition. You also might see that the brakes are not working properly. In some instances, you might have significant issues in the body.
If you're not experienced and determining what issues are in your vehicle, you should hire a professional mechanic. This hit depends on the value of your car and whether it's worth investing in a mechanic to check the vehicle and estimate how much it is worth.
You'll need to document all these problems and work with your mechanic to determine which problems are reasonable to address before selling the vehicle. For example, you should emphasize some money performing minor repairs, but it might not be worth it to perform major repairs.
Perform minor repairs
Some of the things that you should invest in are replacing a broken mirror or fixing a crack in the windows. You might even want to replace the tires if they're not in good shape, and replacing them will increase the value of your car and enhance your chances of receiving a higher offer.
As I said before, a quick conversation with your mechanic should help determine which repairs are considered OK or not. In other words, if the repair cost will not improve the vehicle value and enhance the chance of receiving a higher offer for your vehicle, it's not worth it.
Also, if you're planning to sell your vehicle to a junkyard or a cash-for-cars company, they only care a little about the vehicle's condition if it's really in bad shape. In other words, if the vehicle doesn't run and has a lot of major issues, fixing a broken mirror is not going to make a huge difference.
That's why we highly encourage you to do an author evaluation to figure out whether you need to invest in fixing the vehicle or leaving it as is for the potential buyer.
If you're planning to sell your car to a relative, you must be upfront with the buyer and tell him that your vehicle has these issues. However, hiding these problems can cause many complications because the end of the day will use the vehicle and realize that a lot of issues need to be clarified before the sale.
2. Step #2: price your car
After providing the vehicle, the next step is to understand how much your vehicle is worth. Again, you can use many online tools like Kelley Blue Book or edmunds.com that could help you evaluate your vehicle. These tools should provide you with a minimum and maximum price as your vehicle deserves, allowing you to select a number between the two when listing your vehicle.
You also should research the market value because some changes in the current market value are not accounted for in the color blue book analysis. For example, if you know someone planning to sell his vehicle in your area with the same characteristics, you should look at what value he's asking for and use it as a starting point to price your vehicle.
3. Step #3: negotiate the sale
After listing your vehicle's price, you would like to talk with your relative about how much except for this vehicle. You should be slightly flexible when selling the vehicle to the relative and allow room for negotiation.
Whether it's your relative or anyone else, typically, people will ask for dropping the price either slightly or significantly depending on what you're asking for. So, you'll need to have evidence that your vehicle deserves the asking price, like a copy of the KBB value.
It's also important to show your relative that you're willing to negotiate and drop the price so you can find a sweet spot between what you're looking for and what he's interested in. This way, you can finalize the deal without any hassle or complications.
4. Step #4: transfer ownership
After you agree on the final sale, you must take care of all the paperwork. The ownership transfer might differ in different states, so we typically recommend you go through the DMV website to get a sense of what needs to be signed so you don't get helped d liable for anything happening to the car.
I would also like to know whether you need to leave the vehicle plates on the vehicle itself or take it with you, depending on your state regulations. You might want to have a verbal conversation with the DMV office to get a sense of what exactly needs to be done so you don't have any issues, especially if your relative needs to learn how the car-selling process goes.
5. Step #5: finalize the deal
In the last step, you should have finalized the negotiation process and figured out what exactly needs to be signed, which means that you're ready to get paid, and you need to agree on a payment method that's considered safe and appropriate for both of you.
Typically, automotive experts recommend getting paid in cash which is the safest car-selling payment method. However, if you're planning a clear cultural relative, consider using a wire transfer in some instances. Of course, you want to decide on the payment method depending on how much you trust the person you're selling to and the capacity of the system you choose.
In other words, if you're planning to use PayPal or wire transfers, you want to make sure that the transfer accepts the total amount of money you're asking for this vehicle; otherwise, you might want to do it on two separate payments.
Final thoughts
Selling a car to a relative is a great idea because it saves you a ton of hassle finding the potential trusted buyer through classified websites or other means. However, the process can be challenging if you don't have previous experience with what needs to be signed and how the paperwork should be taken care of.
This article walks you through a step-by-step process to help you sell a car to a lot of people. It started with evaluating the value of your car and preparing it and ended with finalizing the deal and signing the required paperwork.
If you're looking for a better option for selling your vehicle and want a higher offer account, I can always check with a cash car buyer at 7737914363. At our company, we guarantee to pay the top dollar for your vehicle and provide you with free towing service within one to three days only!