oh yeah, taxes? how are those handled? thanks

Here in PA we have the notary publics(another expense)
Also the AAA; but the think the local friendly NP is far better usually - they handle thousands of transactions, so they actually run the show.
Simply ask exactly what paperwork is required; this varies from state to state.
And our Motor Vehicle is very, very helpful- one of our nations best, IMO..

Private sales are "as is" -strictly, and or course cash only, most of the time.

So prior to the transaction, one should use his local mechanic to check out the vehicle.

Both parties must be absolutely honest and totally open with communications - this is vital..
When this is absent, it is time to run, not walk away.

Be sure that you get a statment from the buyer of your vehicle to the effect that he did in fact purchase this vehicle. This statment has to be signed by the purchaser if it to have any value. Include the date of purchase, vehicle description, vin number, saying it was purchased "as is". This form should be made up beforehand and be ready at the time of sale. It could have two signatures at the bottom: Buyer:______________ and
Seller:____________________
Date: _____________________

The reason for this note is protection for both the seller and buyer. It provides the buyer with document stating that you did agree to sell this vehicle to him, and it provides you with a document stating that the vehicle was actually bought by another person, and that you are no longer responsible for it. This last part is the important part (and I had an experience where this came in handy).

Here's what can happen. The buyer pays you money for the car and drives off, BUT fails to follow through on his end to get it registered to him. As far as the state knows, its still your car. Any parking tickets, etc. will find their way back to you! If the car is envolved in an accident or felony, it get traced back to you. That little piece of paper can save you a peck of trouble.

About your auto insurance:

Confer with your insurance agent about questions.

Inform your insurance agent immediately after the sale of your vehicle. Usually, you can get your policy rewritten to cover the vehicle that you are buying (with fee adjustments). Your agent can inform you about coverages during a vehicle swap. For examle, my policy has a few days grace period that covers a vehicle that I might purchase. The coverage on my prior car ends when I inform my agent that it has been sold.

Above all, make sure you, the seller, and the buyer sign on the correct lines on the title and that date, price and correct odometer reading boxes are filled in.

Once all signatures are in place, make a copy of title to keep for your records.
Do not let the buyer use your tags. The vehicle is now his responsibility and he is liable for it.

Call your DMV and let them know the vehicle has been sold, otherwise, you'll still be charged personal property taxes on it. (Might be different in Fla., than in Va.)

(Check and make sure he gets any extra keys and remote with it!)
Good luck!

I believe in Pa. they have a lemon law up to so many days after the purchase to protect the buyer.30 days I believe it is.

successful sale. i kept my tag and registration. i cancelled the insurance the next day. I have a bill of sale and I signed the title and got the cash, all done.

now the seller of my truck, well he changed his mind, so I am looking around for another one. the tag office here told me I have a couple of weeks before I have to turn in the tag if I don't find a new vehicle to put it on.

thanks for your help!

here in mich. its easy, sign the back of the title, hand it and the keys to the buyer. sale over. the buyer then gets the title put in his name sometimes or resells it and jumps the title, or drives around and gets a parking ticket in your name. plus it seems everyone in the detroit area is a curbside car dealer. so for that reason unless i know the person iam buying or selling to, i trade in and buy from a dealer. now if your state has tighter rules than mi. go for it. but here i dont recomend it.

What do you do to make sure the buyer of your vehicle doesn't bounce a check or have a fake money order or something equally horrible that screws you out of money and car?

I am selling my Wrangler, but have no idea how to make sure that once I have form of payment in hand, and hand over keys, that my form of payment is valid. Do you go with purchaser to their bank and confirm their account has sufficient funds? Go with them to a legit place to get a money order? How do you do it?

I wouldn't bother, but the place I bought my new used vehicle offered about 50% of what I can sell it for outright. While selling myself is a PITA, I don't think it's worth $2000 for the convenience of them selling it for me!

Cash maybe?

I always tell em, "I ain't in the banking business, cash money long green under the table over the table write it up any way you want don't matter long as its cash."

Well, that would work. I keep forgetting money comes in cash form LOL!

Is meeting the person at my bank during banking hours the best idea? I want to avoid carrying around that kind of money for any period of time. And I don't want anyone to think that I have a lot of cash at my home either. I figure the bank is a nice public place, with security cameras, can get the money, hand over title and keys, and get money into my account immediately. I know most people probably don't worry so much about it, but most people don't live in Durham either.

I'm in Texas, a few years back when I sold my 73 vette ($9500.00) to this guy about 200 miles away. About six months later I get a call from the DPS at midnight saying they found my car ditched on a side road off the highway and wanted to know if I wanted it towed to my house or a particular shop or if I was coming to get it. I thought about for a few minutes but then decided that would be wrong...

Funny stories about different transactions. Bill_h, I'm glad to read that in the Motor City, it's somewhat of a free-for-all. It just seems appropriate, being the home of the U.S. auto industry.

One thing that can work well for selling a car -- if you're replacing it with a new or used car from a dealer -- is what dealers around here call a "courtesy trade." You and the buyer of your car agree on a price as usual, then you and your buyer go together to the dealer where you're buying your new car. The dealer shows your old car on the sales documents as a trade, with the value being the price the buyer is going to pay for it. This saves you on sales tax in many states. The buyer then purchases the car from the dealer for that price.

I know of many dealers who will do this for free, as a service to the person buying the car from them. A few charge the buyer a standard "paperwork" fee. They're willing to do it even though they make no money on the sale of the trade because it can help you buy the new car, since the buyer is presumably giving you more for it than the dealer would have.

Well, I posted the Jeep on craiglist and literally 10 minutes later a guy called and said he'd bring cash from Atlanta tomorrow. We went to the bank and he gave us the money in cash, we signed over the title and had it notarized, and he trailered the jeep away. Not only that, but we got $2000 more than what CarMax offered. Probably could have gotten more- 6 more phone calls and 2 emails came within the next 12 hours until we took the ad down.