What is the process of selling a car to a private party?

Each state or other governing jurisdiction may vary in legal and other requirements for selling motor vehicles between private parties; therefore, it is important to check local regulations to ensure the transaction is carried out legally and smoothly.

While official processes for selling a car to a private party vary by locality, there certainly are a few things that should be standard fare; some of those are as follows:
o Research for best selling price (visit http://www.kbb.com/ or http://www.nada.com/).
o Clean the vehicle well, inside and out; include engine and engine compartment if needed.
o Advertise the sale of your car in local flyers and newspapers.  Also, a number of online automotive sites will publish your ad for reasonable fees.  Check out http://www.autotrader.com/hornav/trader/index.jsp and http://www.carsdirect.com/sell_cars/home. 

A digital photo and a well written classified ad at sites like these will help sell your car quickly.

When completing the sale:

o Complete a "Bill of Sale" - This is a must.
o Title/registration transfer - be sure to fill out transfer of Title and/or registration information accurately in the space provided on the documents.
o Disclosure of condition - be honest, tell (or provide a written  summary of) what you know about the car.  Some states have Lemon Laws and other statutes that protect buyers (even between private parties) against being sold unsafe or damaged vehicles. 

Being honest about the conditon of the car is for your own protection as well.  Selling known unsafe or dangerous vehicles without clearly divulging those dangers (and getting buyer's signature that they understand) is asking for trouble.