Dealing with Buyers
Selling your ride can be very daunting and some buyers can really put you on edge by their thorough checks and questions. We want you to feel comfortable with you buyers so here are the most common things a buyer will ask for:
Test drives
Try not to let your buyer go out alone, apart form the huge risk of them never coming back you might find out that the insurance they said they had doesn't exist and you could end being shafted by the law as well as having no car. Let the buyers choose their own route, unless they really are strangers to your home. You can give them a brief tour round the place but try not to make it look like you are telling them which route to take as they may become suspicious. Be prepared for people to drive your ride hard as they will want to test it out a bit. If you think they are starting to seriously abuse it though you can ask them to calm down.
Never leave the keys in the ignition while you are outside of the vehicle. Thieves can be watching you and take any opportunity to engage in the situation.
Inspections
It's a common occurrence nowadays when buyers wish to pay out for an independent vehicle inspection. Try not to let this bother you as the buyer will notice straight away. If the buyer leaves a deposit and you have nothing to hide then you should have nothing to worry about. Your vehicle may well be 'slammed on 18's' but as long as it is not causing danger to the buyer you will have no problems.
Haggling
We are in a world now where people love to haggle. As you aren't running a supermarket people can haggle away with you at your hearts content and believe us they will! As a seller you have to be firm and stick the budget you set yourself originally. Try not to be unreasonable and try to avoid saying no to an offer. Try to negotiate a deal with the buyer where it meets your profit margin and your minimum price in the middle.
Money Handling
The most common way to be paid when selling your ride is good old cash. In this day and age you have to be so careful when it comes to forgery so makes sure you double check the amount and all the notes for forgery.
A far better way is to do an electronic money transfer over the internet. This will mean the buyer pays by credit or debit card over the internet using a paypal or similar payment solution provider. You would need to setup a paypal account for this.
Try and steer clear of cheques. Personal cheques are a big no no when it comes to a large sum as the buyer can cancel the cheque as soon as he gets home with his new ride. Bankers or building society cheques are abetter idea but there has still been plenty or problems with the over the years. People are just not as honest as they used to be I'm afraid!
The best suggestion would be to accept a cheque on the condition that you do not hand the vehicle over until the cheque has cleared and you have a receipt to prove this. This will have to be agreed by both you and the buyer in person and it's always best to have it in writing signed by you and buyer to save any come backs. When asking your bank about the cheque make sure you ask if you can withdraw the funds from the cheque as a 'cleared' cheque can sometimes mean something different.
In any case it is always taking down the buyers contact details such as mobile number, address or similar in case you should need to contact them regarding any problems. If they appear to be wary or refuse to give that information do not hand your keys over as you may end up in a sticky situation.
Once the sale is complete make sure you sign a receipt stating the sale date, The vehicles brief description (e.g. Renault Clio 1.8 16v) and the registration of the vehicle. It would be best to have signatures from both you and the buyer.