This is By Far The Safest Way to Sell a Car in Canada
This is By Far The Safest Way to Sell a Car in Canada
Posted on February 9, 2023
Are you thinking about selling your used car? Then you are in the right spot! We are going to show you the steps to take to help you stay safe when selling a car in Hamilton. By the time you reach the end of this conversation, you will be in a position of confidence.
What is the Condition of Your Vehicle?
The term “used car” is vague; it just means a car that was driven and/or owned by someone else. A question that must be addressed is the overall condition of your used car. Does it have high mileage? Mileage alone is not an indication of the overall condition of the car, but if a vehicle has low mileage, it will usually get a higher price.
Is the vehicle in a good state of repair? Was it properly serviced at routine intervals? Prospective buyers will have a healthy amount of skepticism, so you will need to allay those concerns by gathering a list of all the work done on the car.
You can also provide prospective buyers with the VIN so they can look the car up on CarFax. This service will let the buyer know if the vehicle was ever reported in an accident or had serious mechanical issues.
Since prospective buyers use the “trust but verify” approach, you can anticipate any questions they may have and prepare a satisfactory rebuttal.
Getting the Right Paperwork
If you are in Ontario, you will need the official used car sales kit the government requires by law for any private used car sale in the province.
Another document that prospective buyers will want to see is the lien release that the lender would have sent to you when the car loans are paid in full. If you cannot find this document, you should go look for it or ask the lender to issue you a replacement.
No buyer will want to make an offer until they are sure the car is free of any liens.
Scams to Keep in Mind
There are some scams that you might encounter when trying to sell your used car; Knowing about them will help you stay safe when selling a car in Hamilton, so we will cover a few of the more common ones.
One scam involved a buyer contacting you, usually via social media. This buyer will ask you legitimate questions about the car and appear to be genuinely interested.
The buyer will say that due to Covid or some other reason, they cannot meet you in person but would like to buy the car. They will ask you for your name and mailing address so they can send you the payment via courier.
A day or two later, the courier shows up with an envelope, and there is a check inside. You cash the check, and the buyer contacts you to say they’ll have a friend pick up the car. In your mind, the car was paid for, so handing over the keys to whoever the buyer designates is no problem.
A few weeks after you sold the car, your bank account is in the negative because the check was drawn on a fake account! Your car is gone, and you are out a significant amount of money.
This scam happens often but is not reported to the public; one surefire way to avoid the scam is by taking your car to a local car dealership and selling it directly to them.
If you’re looking to stay safe when selling a car, we’d love to buy it for a great price! Simply fill in the form below and we’ll get back to you ASAP!
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