Should I Sell My Car Myself?

The hidden dangers of selling your car yourself

The used car market is hot, hot, hot right now.

If you’ve got an extra vehicle sitting in your driveway that you’re not needing to trade in, now is the time to sell it while demand is high and prices are higher.

You also have more options for selling your car than ever before. Dealers and wholesalers are clamoring to buy cars, or you could go old school: stick a for sale sign in the window and see what happens. 

Unfortunately, what happens isn’t always a good thing.

It’s going to be a pain in the neck

Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace have made it easier than ever before to sell your car yourself by letting your reach hundreds, even thousands, of potential buyers. 

• Thousands of potential buyers messaging you 24 hours a day to see “is this still available?” only to ghost on you when you answer. 
• Thousands of tire kickers who show up in your driveway, crawl in, around, and under your vehicle, while asking 793 ridiculous questions (“No I’m afraid, I don’t know the torque rating at 6,000 rpm.”) before heading home to “think about it.”
• Thousands of time vampires who set up appointments for you to show them the car 20 miles away on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and then never show up. Crickets!

You probably won’t get as much money as you expect

It’s easy to look at what vehicles are selling for at car dealerships these days and think that you can cut out the middle man and stick all the extra cheddar in your pocket. The dirty little secret of car sales though is that’s just not the way it works.

• The people shopping on Facebook Marketplace and Craiglist are there for the same reason you are –  to cut out the middle man.
• Dealers spend billions on advertising and billions more on clean, impressive, well-lit showrooms for two simple reasons: to create trust and add value. 
• You’re probably not as good of a negotiator as you think you are, and after your 37th no show, your 28th “let me think about it,” and your 453rd “is this still available,” you’ll take whatever you can get just to get it all over with.

It’s possible you could end up with a little more money by selling your car yourself, but you’re going to work for every penny.

It could be dangerous

“If you’re going to sell your car to anyone, you need to make sure you trust this person,” says Benjamin Dykstra from Vehicle Hero, but you don’t even know the people showing up off your Craigslist ad, much less trust them.

• From bad checks and counterfeit money to convoluted sob stories and gunpoint, scammers and thieves have a million ways to separate you from your vehicle and title without ever actually paying you.
• Meeting strangers in strange places is almost never a good idea.
• Inviting strangers to your address where they can scope out you, your home, and your possessions for future shenanigans is even worse.

You might end up in hot water

If you don’t know what you’re doing, if you’re not completely careful, if you don’t dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, the police could show up on your doorstep to hold you legally and financially responsible for a vehicle you thought you sold months, even years, ago

“It’s really important when you sell a car privately, that the buyer signs the title, that you sign the title, and that you retain a copy of it so if it ever comes back, you can prove that you sold it,” says Dykstra. 

“You want to fully release yourself from liability.”

Some buyers will try to convince you to hand over the keys and a signed title but leave the buyer section “open” so they can turn it around for a quick buck without registering the vehicle or paying taxes. If that vehicle is subsequently used in a crime or involved in an accident, and you can’t prove that you actually sold it, you could wind up on the hook or in the slammer.

There’s a better way

Vehicle Hero allows you to sell your vehicle for the most money in the least amount of time, without risking your personal safety or causing yourself needless aggravation. 

Connect with Vehicle Hero, give us the basic information about the car, truck, or SUV you’re selling, and then something completely unexpected and magical will happen: 

You’ll get to talk to an actual, real live human being, your Vehicle Hero.

Your Hero isn’t going to try to sell you anything. What they do is help maximize your selling price by introducing you and your vehicle to our network of local, pre-vetted buying partners. Buyers we know and trust.

Get Your Cash Offer Today

If you’d like a free, no-obligation cash offer that will allow you to sell your vehicle at the highest price without wasting any unnecessary time, without meeting strangers in strange parking lots, and without letting your vehicle lose any more value while you try to decide, enter your VIN here.