How to Sell A Car On Craigslist

Why People Sell Their Cars On Craigslist

Craigslist is one of the best online marketplaces out there. We have all heard of the legendary transactions that have happened on Craigslist, like the man who traded a paperclip for a BMW. There is a lot of opportunity to be had on Craigslist for the savvy deal maker. Even if you’re not trying to make a fortune and just want to offload some of your goods, it it is still a relatively great marketplace.

This is why quite a few people want to sell their cars on Craigslist. There are a lot of potential buyers and you can broker deals directly with buyers. Craigslist is also locally focused, so you will mostly come into contact with buyers in your area. Most importantly, Craigslist doesn’t charge you; it is entirely possible to sell your car on Craigslist for free.

Craigslist Isn’t Great For Everything

Unfortunately, a lot of the features that make people love Craigslist marketplace, are reasons that should make car sellers wary.  It is an unregulated marketplace that attracts a wide variety of people. This makes room for people to get scammed. There are quite a few car frauds happening on Craigslist. It can be difficult for unknowledgeable sellers to avoid well-orchestrated Craigslist car scams. Don’t worry though, this article will help you identify some of the red flags, so you can learn to spot a scam.

Craigslist Red Flags

Most scams are accompanied by a series of red flags that tip the seller off to shady happenings. Once you learn how to spot them, you will know how to spot a Craigslist scammer. Here are some common Craigslist red flags to look out for:

• Avoids talking on the phone.
• Asks to pay in a convoluted way, avoiding cash or simple checks.
• Buyer is over eager to complete the sell and doesn’t want you to take too much time to think about the deal.
• Buyer doesn’t want to see or inspect the car before  purchasing it.
• Buyer has a complex story that isn’t seemingly related to the deal at hand.
• Buyer needs seller to ship out of country (could be sign of a Craigslist shipping scam)
• Buyer asks to meet in an unsafe area.

A single red flag isn’t enough to suspect a scammer, but enough of them together should be cause for concerns.

How to Avoid Scammers

There are multiple ways to sell a car on Craigslist without getting scammed. The first is to of course learn to spot the red flags listed above. But there are also certain actions you can take to sell a car on Craigslist safely:

Don’t meet alone

You’re not going to know the seller you meet on Craigslist, so you won’t know what kind of person they are. It is best to avoid meeting them by yourself to avoid being taken advantage of.

Take multiple photos of the car

You want to make sure to photograph the car from every angle before selling it. Have the buyer approve of each photo so that they can’t come back later and say you sold damaged goods.

Be upfront and honest describing the car

If you lie about the state of the vehicle, you just leave the buyer open to take advantage of you later. Make sure to cover your bases, so there’s nothing they can complain about in the future.

Price the car reasonably

People are less likely to want to cheat you if the deal is already a good one.

Take care of the paperwork personally

If you’re selling your car yourself, you want to keep the process in your hand as much as possible. This definitely includes handling the paperwork, which is the most important part of the sale.

Only accept cash

Check and credit scams are changing all the time. It is relatively impossible for the lay salesman to keep track of all of them. It is much harder to scam people with cash though, so just keep it simple.

Never go on a test drive alone

Generally speaking, you never want to meet with a Craigslist buyer alone. This is doubly true for the test drive phase. Make sure to protect yourself as much as possible.

Always Better to Sell to Copart Direct!

The best way to avoid Craigslist scams is to just not sell your car on Craigslist. It is better to utilize a middleman like Copart Direct to sell a car online safely.  We have over 35 years of car buying experience. We will always give you a competitive cash offer, so you will make money on your used vehicle while avoiding the hassle of selling your car online.

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Go here to read more about the other places where you can sell your used car, and the pros and cons of each!

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