Someone wants to buy my car without seeing it

Car Sales

A big part of every car owner's life revolves around the thought, "should I sell my car or not?" It can be quite the daunting endeavour to sell your vehicle. Selling a car takes a lot of time, effort, and patience. The main goal is to get the best price for your car. Luckily, if you find potential buyers, your task becomes much more easy.

There are different ways of selling your car. You can sell it privately to a buyer or trade it through professional car dealers. Auction is also one of the most common methods used for selling a car. Some people sell the car through consignment. Every way of selling a vehicle has its pros and cons.

Selling the car online is also a great option, but you have to save yourself from scams. The easiest way to carry out the sale of your car is to trade it into a car buying business. The procedure will be the most convenient, but you will not get as much money as you expected.

Such traders pay a low price to the seller and then sell the car for profit after a professional makeover. Selling the car on your own is complex, and it requires your time and attention. We can help you in selling your car to the right customer. Just make sure that you accomplish the following three tasks:

The car should be presentable

When you decide to sell your car, you should pay keen attention to its presentation. Maximise the appeal of your vehicle. Clean the car thoroughly. Keep all the papers ready so you do not face any difficulty later. Give an overall impressive look to your car by adding some detailing.

Advertise in car markets

Take some outstanding pictures of your car and advertise them in online car markets. You can contact professional car dealers and get your car into the market for sale. Choose the most suitable time of the year to sell your vehicle. If you are a good seller, you can earn a significant profit from the used car.

Set the most suitable price

Observing other sellers may turn out to be very useful. You can get an idea of what prices others demand for a product similar to yours. You will also get to know about your competitors. No one will buy a car for a higher price than what others are selling it for. Set a price that suits both you and the buyer.

Steps For Selling A Car

The following steps hold a more detailed discussion of what we explained to you in the above three points. Read them to get the best price for your car through an honest customer.

Know the correct value of your car

The first step is to get the valuation of your car from a car dealer or a car buying company. You can get the best car advice on your phone quickly. It does not require taking the car to them.

The value they give you is the figure you can get for your car right away. Anyone paying less than this will not be a potential buyer. You might be happy with this price, but if you think it's a little less or you do not feel content with it, you must move towards the second step.

Set your private sale price

You know the value and features of your car. If you want to earn more money through the car, you should set a private sale price. Depending upon the condition and the vehicle's features, you can add a few thousand dollars to its estimated cost. Do not take the price too high that your buyers start thinking of an alternative.

If you are selling the car without a dealer, the price you set will be less than any professional car dealer will ask for a used car. A reasonable price with a well-presented used car in genuinely good condition is the biggest attraction for a buyer. Your aim should not be earning thousands of dollars as profit. If you can pocket a few extra thousand dollars, it would be great too.

Get your car inspected professionally

This step will cost you an extra hundred dollars, but it will increase the value and authorisation of your car. Go to some professionals and ask them to complete a detailed inspection of your vehicle.

Remove all the faults and get it in the best condition. Clean the car thoroughly and make it more attractive and photogenic for prospective buyers. A professional inspection will help make the buyer believe in the appropriate state of the vehicle, and hence you can demand the money you want.

Take good photographs of the car

The next step is to get the photographs of the car. Try to get the pictures early in the morning or late afternoon. At these times, the light is at its best, and it gives the perfect photos of your car. Choose the background wisely. A clean and plain background will best serve the purpose. Park the car parallel in the street and start taking pictures.

Take pictures from the front, rear and three-quarters view. Capture the interior, dashboard, engine compartment, and boot. It is your choice to capture the logbook, keys, wheels, and tyres, but these are of secondary importance. While capturing the pictures, ensure that the frame ultimately shows the part you are trying to capture. It should be in focus and fill the frame without being cut off.

List your car online

There are several car business sites on the internet. Read the reviews and choose two to three best sites for listing your car online. Add the pictures and mention the price that you expect from the buyers. Write a few words about the features and other details, if required.

Before listing your car on the site, you can take guidance from other sellers having a vehicle with the same make, model, age, mileage, and condition as yours. You will succeed in selling the car on the first attempt if your vehicle is available at a lesser price than your competitors. You can add a short description written in a friendly tone to attract your buyer.

Add your contact details

Make sure that you are easily approachable when some potential buyer looks at your car. Serious buyers will try to arrange an inspection meeting with you before reaching the price. Some of the buyers might also ask for a test drive. They might give you a good offer if they are happy with your car after the mobile vehicle inspection.

All of this seems relatively easy while you are reading the article. However, it is not that easy. You should be well-prepared for late arrivals, meagre offers, and no-shows at all for a few days or even a month in the starting. Some buyers might insist on using text messages as a means of communication.

When you find a potential buyer, schedule a meeting in your free time. Never rearrange your plans to meet a buyer because it can be highly frustrating if they fail to arrive at the decided time or place.

Do not be stubborn about your price

You might have spent quite a lot of time deciding the most suitable price for your car but do not be stubborn about it. Expect negotiation on the price. You have an idea of what others are demanding for the exact vehicle.

As such, you must put in your best efforts to know how low you can sell your car for. When you and the potential buyer finally agree on a price that suits you both, it's time to make the deposit. Do not forget to write a receipt, and both of you should have a copy of it to avoid any dispute in the future.

Determine a suitable payment method

The most crucial step in selling you cars is to decide on a suitable payment method. If you are selling the car to a stranger who is buying it without seeing it, you must be overly cautious when selecting the payment criteria to avoid scams. Please do not accept a personal cheque as it may bounce. If the buyer pays you through credit card or mobile transfer, ensure the authenticity. It will be best if you get the payment in cash.

You will have to provide all the required documents, accessories, and spare keys to the new buyer, and there you go. You are done with selling your car at a reasonable price! These steps seem pretty straightforward, but you might fall prey to some scams, so we have some warnings for you that will keep your sale safe.

Common Red Flags While Selling The Car

Fake mobile deposit

Never trust someone who asks to log into your banking details through mobile accounts. The fraudsters ask for your mobile bank details to transfer the money, but in actuality, they move all the money out of your account and steal your car as well.

Some dishonest buyers might send you a fake deposit slip to show you that they have transferred the money through a mobile deposit. There is a big chance of cheating in this case because technology has made it easy to create fake screenshots.

Intentional overpayment

Sometimes, the buyers rob you by intentionally overpaying you. They send you a cheque or money order of a higher amount than what you had agreed upon with them. After some time, they ask you to send the extra payment back because they made a mistake.

The money order you received earlier was illegal and not legitimate. So, you end up losing both the car and the money. If you see any case where the seller has overpaid you by mistake, stay alert because you might be falling prey to their trap.

Future payments

If someone says that they will pay for the car once they get their pay check might be a big scam. If the buyer is a stranger, you should consider the promise of future payment as a red flag in the deal. Dishonest buyers often trap sellers by asking for float loan payments. Never trust any such promise to keep yourself safe against any loss in the future.  

Fraudulent ACH transfer

Nowadays, the most common fraud in payments is through ACH transfers. ACH (Automated Clearing House) transfer is the money transfer between banks electronically. Always ask the buyer to pay in cash, especially if you suspect someone is trying to scam you through an ACH transfer.

The fraudster will ask for your account details and personal information. Then he claims to have transferred the money. After a few days, you will get to know that the transfer was illegal or unauthorised, and hence they keep both the money and car.

Tips To Save Yourself From Scams

You can save yourself against scams while selling your car if you keep your senses sharp. There are some handy pointers that can help you avoid scams mentioned below.

Meet the buyer personally

Try your best to meet the buyer in person when you decide to sell them your car. When you are trying to sell it online, the potential buyer or the viewer may be from another town or even another country, so there is a big chance of fraud.

Meeting the buyer personally ensures the authorisation of a legitimate buyer. If the buyer wants you to bring the car along with you to the meeting, you should never go alone. Either meet them at a public place or take someone trustworthy with you. Never meet strangers alone.

Accept cash or verified cheques only

The most common scams people face when selling their cars are payment frauds. Credit cards, bank transfers, mobile deposits, and many other modern payment methods offer a great chance of payment scams. Try to avoid these modes of money transfer when selling your car. It would be best to mention earlier in your ad or to the dealer that you will accept cash only.

Cash is the safest option, and the chances of scams are meagre. However, if the total payment exceeds a specific value that you think is not safe to take in the form of cash, you should go for cheques. It would be convenient to accept a check for payments above $2000. When accepting payments, take a trustworthy person with you. Go to the buyer's bank and ask him to cash his cheque. Then convert it into a cashier's cheque made out to you.

Make an escrow account for far-off buyers

When you advertise or try to sell your car online, buyers from any part of the country or even the world may be willing to buy your car. Trusting an utterly unknown person living in another country far away from you is not easy. First, you need to be sure that the person asking about your car is a potential buyer and not a scam.

Next, it would be best if you discussed the condition of your vehicle. Be honest with every detail, especially if they want to buy the car without seeing it. When it comes to payment, it is better to make an escrow account to reduce the risk of fraud. Use the escrow service and when you are sure that their funds are transparent, ship your vehicle to them.

Listing Your Vehicle For Sale

When you decide to sell your car, you have to take care of a few things to reach the potential buyer without spending too much time on the time-passers. Selling your car online is a great way, but if someone wants to buy your vehicle without seeing it, it is your duty to be honest with them.

However, before you hand over the car to them, make sure that all the funds are clear and you are safe from any fraud. Keep your eyes and mind open when doing business. You can always make use of some professional help if you think you are not too good at selling a car on your own. We hope that this article is helpful and you succeed in selling the car efficiently.