Selling your own old vehicle is a difficult process that can be both stressful and frustrating because it can take up a lot of your free time. But, you probably want to buy a new car, so you have to go through this. You will need to find a buyer that will accept your price offering. Anything lower is probably not worth the hassle and even lower than the car’s value. But, when selling your car, you shouldn’t just worry about the money you will make, but protecting yourself too.
You will need to do everything in your power to ensure the safety of both yourself and the buyer. To reach the right amount of safety, you will need to go through a couple of things before going to the meeting place and finalizing the transaction. To help you with this, we have made a simple guide for 2024 that will tell you exactly what you will need to do to ensure that everything will go smoothly.
Inform a friend or a family member
One of the first things you will need to do to ensure that you will be safe during the transaction between yourself and the buyer is to inform a close friend or someone from your family about who you are meeting with, where you’re going and what you’re going to do. Personally, I believe that the smartest route is to just tell them the moment that you list your vehicle for sale. This way they will be a part of the process and will help you with anything regarding this situation.
By keeping them informed throughout the entire selling process, you won’t have to worry about a thing. Once you set up the meeting place, you will be able to feel safe because you know that a friend or a family member is aware of what you are doing right now and where you are located.
The reason why you have to do this is because you are meeting up with a complete stranger. The chances that the stranger might be a criminal or something worse are low, but it is still better to take certain precautions to ensure that everything will be all right.
Be the one to pick the meeting location
Like I already said, meeting with a random stranger that is interested in buying your vehicle can be a bit sketchy. You do not know anything about this person, whether they really want to buy your vehicle, whether they have the right amount of money, or even if they can drive. For all you know, they might have just come to take a crazy test drive in your car.
To avoid any kind of incident during the meeting, I would suggest that you are the one who picks the location. By doing this, the stranger will not have any kind of leverage against you when you meet up. This is why it is also important that the location you pick is public. The more people there are, the safer you will feel while talking to the said stranger.
I should also mention that you should never tell this person where you keep your cars or where you live. The last thing you want to do is tell them your home address. And naturally, you should never invite them to your home to check out your car. A random parking lot that is usually full of people and is active throughout the day and night would probably the best place for such a transaction.
After going through all this trouble to pick a public meeting spot and you still don’t feel comfortable going through this, then I would suggest considering a car buying company. It is legal, it is official and you will be working with a reliable brand. And according to carsellzone, the entire process will be simply faster and the pricing will be fair too.
Pick the test drive route
You have informed your friend about who you are meeting with, you have found the best place for this transaction which means your next step is to pick the test driving route. I would never recommend giving the keys to a stranger for a test drive without planning a route previously. You will want to ensure that the test driving route is local and is no longer than 10 or 15 minutes. It is more than enough to satisfy the buyer.
If the buyer ever protests this idea of you planning the route, I think that’s a huge red sign and you should avoid the meeting altogether. Find someone who will accept all of your terms.
Make sure to inform your friend or family member about the test drive route you will be taking. This way they will have a good idea of how long the entire transaction process should last.
Take a friend with you
One of the best ways you can protect yourself well selling your vehicle is to simply take someone with you. Going alone when meeting with a random stranger is never a good idea. But, when there are two of you, you simply have nothing to worry about, especially if you are located in a more public place. The chances that anything might happen while you are together with a family member or friend are almost 0.
Be honest
The last thing you need to do to ensure the safety of both you and the buyer is to be honest when talking about the state of the vehicle. You should always explain all of the faults regarding the vehicle because no one likes buying a broken car, right. There is really is no need to lie to people because that can make them angry which may be the cause of problems in the future.
By following all of the steps I mentioned in this guide for 2024, I am sure that you will be well protected well selling your car and you will feel quite safe too.