Questions About Selling a Car to an Individual in 2019

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I was in a similar situation 5 yrs ago. I had my out-of-state buyer take a photo of the cashiers check and send it to me so I could verify funds.
 
Having him include, ahead of time, or in person, the tear-off receipt part of the cashier's check would be comforting. Make sure the cashier's check is properly signed. I had a guy come up from FL to me in NJ to pick up a '70 Vette I sold him on ebay. His bank didn't sign the cashier's check! Amazing that I even noticed it. He used the opportunity to try to back out of the deal - fortunately he had accounts at Bank of America with funds and I was able to go in person to branch to have him transfer funds directly from his BofA account to mine.

Test drive is a measured risk that must be accepted, with whatever risk-reduction techniques you feel necessary as have been suggested.
 
John, it sure sounds like you've got it covered.

Not having it paid off ahead of time complicates it, but again, sounds like you got it.

The last time I sold one of my daily-drivers, I had just paid it off and the lien was still on the title. It was a poor timing issue on me. I had to run to the bank to get a lien release letter to give to the buyer along with the title.
 
Well, everything went off without a hitch. I had called the branch manager of the credit union the day before, and he was awesome. He called the NFCU branch and made sure he'd be able to call when we arrived yesterday morning and verify funds (some banks refuse to verify funds over the phone under any circumstances; the branch manager mentioned Bank of America as being one that fit into this category).

The young infantryman arrived with an entire "posse", as the credit union manager called it. He brought a guy, I suppose, who was supposed to know enough about cars to check over the WRX for any problems, as well as test-drive it (the buyer, a 20-year-old, couldn't drive manual). Also had another guy, and 2 girls with them.

It was raining and cold as we stood in the Bank parking lot looking over the car, and the "mechanic" opened the oil fill cap and sniffed it, and then sniffed the dipstick (lol).

The guys balked a little bit at my request to make copies of their driver licenses, but they did comply.

The most irritating moment came as the "mechanic" started to back my prized WRX out of the parking space, and immediately started to rev the engine and let out the clutch. The smell of fried clutch filled the cabin. Everyone started to sniff the air, and I said, "Um, yeah... That's burnt clutch you're smelling."

He said he had a GTI manual, and knew how to drive...

He did goose it a little, once, but was generally respectful.

By the time we got back, of course, my buyer was hooked. We hopped out of the car, I said, "So, you want it?" The answer was an enthusiastic "Yeah!"

We walked back in, by which time the manager had already verified funds on the check (which was, incidentally, what he called a "loan check", which was, in his words, "even better and more secure" than a cashier's check).

So, one cool thing about this whole deal is that I was able to transfer the Subaru Gold Plus 7-year, 100,000-mile Extended Service Plan (the top-of-the-Line extended warranty that Subaru offers) to the new buyer. (Subaru of America gave me this warranty for my trouble a couple of years ago when the car sat at the dealership for a couple of months while they tried and tried to track down a noise that eventually ended up being a missing exhaust header stud nut, which caused an exhaust leak.) The new buyer will be able to apply for a transfer by sending in paperwork along with a $75 transfer fee. It makes me feel good that this 20-year-Old soldier will have great warranty coverage all the way till 2023 or 100,000 miles. (That is, if he doesn't wreck it or modify it.)

They agreed to give me a ride home. I drove the car on the 15-minute trip from the bank to my apartment, and gave him some tips on driving a manual, as well as general tips (be careful, don't let your buddies drive it). At least he seems like he's got some sense, so, hopefully he will heed this advice, and the car will last him a long time!

All in all, I kinda hated to sell the car, but I needed to, and the sale turned out not to be a bad experience at all.
 
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