QandAs: Autos

Any advice for trading in a car?

Answer:
First of all, we must get one thing straight from the

start: Trading your car in at a dealership never gets you what the car is worth, because the dealer needs to be able to resell your trade-in, and their offer will necessarily include built-in margin for any necessary repairs or maintenance the vehicle will have to go through before it can be resold.

That said, we must also get one more thing clear: Selling your car in a private sale can be full of hassles, and can even set the stage for unwanted stresses months afterward. Let me explain:

Selling automobiles in private sales can be risky business these days. If I sell an automobile to someone who shortly afterward happens to have an accident with the vehicle and an investigation shows the vehicle had existing damage which was responsible for causing the accident, I could be held liable for selling an unsafe vehicle and putting others at risk...even if I did not know of the damage to the vehicle when I owned it...and even if I sold the vehicle "as is". Today, that just doesn't hold water.

Of course, every situation is different, and the example of my own personal experience described below is not necessarily typical, but it is worth considering in any event. I believe the example at least helps to describe how easily private sales can go awry.

I once sold a used vehicle to a college student, who proceeded to use the vehicle daily for several months. Then, one day months later out of the blue, I received a notice from State Police that I owed money for them to tow away and store the vehicle I had allegedly "left abandoned on the highway". "Not me!", I immediately retorted. "I don't even OWN that vehicle anymore. I SOLD that vehicle several months ago to (name given here)". Unfortunately, I was told that I was the last name recorded with the State Dept. of Motor Vehicles, so I was responsible for the vehicle.

Apparently, the new buyer never registered the vehicle with the DMV, and drove it on bogus marker plates all those months! Luckily, I was able to convince the police that I did, indeed, sell the vehicle (I had a copy of the bill of sale). They ultimately retracted their towing/storage charges, but I learned a very valuable lesson: If I ever sell another vehicle in a private sale, I will send a letter to DMV with all the pertinent information included, so they have record that I no longer have possession of the vehicle. I'm not certain that would guarantee my protection against what already happened, but it should help!

So, it becomes a bit of a paradox as to how to handle getting rid of a vehicle you have decided to replace. On the one hand, letting the dealer take the vehicle is a much simpler transaction than selling it in a private sale. All you have to do is hand over the title and keys, and the vehicle is "off your hands". On the other hand, a private sale is likely to bring you considerably more cash than a dealer could offer, for obvious reasons.

So it actually now becomes a question of what you are willing for, I guess. My personal opinion on private sales has been somewhat soured by my earlier experience, but certainly that sort of thing does not happen every time private auto sales take place! Many people buy and sell quite frequently in private deals, and those deals are certainly not all in the category mine was in, thankfully!

Whatever route you decide on, please take my experience into account and do whatever you need to do to protect against a similar situation for yourself. Perhaps some states have different procedures than my state has, and perhaps there is built-in protection against similar experiences to my own, but I know I do not want to go through anything like that again.
Good luck to you!


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