What You Should Know Before Selling Your Car

In the state of Indiana, as long as you properly take care of all of the necessary paperwork and procedures when you sell your car, you are not responsible for anything that happens to a vehicle after you sell it. The tricky part of that, however, can come down to properly taking care of all of the necessary paperwork and steps. If anything gets messed up with that, then you can definitely be on the hook for something someone else does. This is one of the big reasons a lot of people prefer to sell their car to a reputable dealership like us rather than a private buyer because we make sure things are done right, so you’re not responsible for anything afterward.

Selling your car is not something you should take lightly since errors or mistakes can be potentially very costly for you. Having someone you can trust, like one of our experienced salespeople here at Blossom Chevrolet, makes the entire process easier and far less stressful. If you’re certain you want to sell your car to a private buyer, however, then please take every precaution to avoid scams and keep yourself safe throughout the process. Let’s take a look at what’s involved with selling your car and how to make sure you get the best deal without opening yourself up to problems afterward.

Basics of Car Selling: Private Buyer vs Dealership

A lot of people worry about their potential liability after selling a car, which makes sense, and it’s always a good idea to consider those kinds of things. While your responsibility after a sale should be the same no matter what, in reality, that’s not always the case. In large part, it comes down to whether you sell your car to a private buyer or to a dealership.

In general, a private buyer is another person interested in buying your vehicle rather than a business like a car dealer. To be completely honest, private buyers are likely to pay you the most for your car, which is attractive to a lot of sellers. The downsides, however, are that you open yourself up to a lot more risk when selling your car privately. While the Internet has made it much easier to find buyers for your car than ever before, it has also made the potential for scams and fraud far greater.

When you sell to a dealership, you might not get offered as much as a private buyer would be willing to pay, but you have a lot more safety and security. You know that you’re working with people who are experienced with buying and selling vehicles, as long as you choose a reputable dealer that will treat you honestly. This also makes it easier to ensure you’re not responsible for your car after the sale because the dealership will handle all of the necessary paperwork properly to transfer the vehicle.

What to Do Before You Sell

Before you sell your car, it’s a good idea to give it a thorough cleaning so that it looks as good as possible, inside and out. Not only does this help your vehicle look great to ensure the best value, but it’s also a good way to find any items you might’ve lost in your car without realizing it. Be sure to check under all of the seats, look throughout the trunk and other cargo spaces, and check any compartments in your vehicle.

If you’re sure you want to sell your vehicle privately, then it can be worthwhile to have your vehicle inspected and take care of any repairs or maintenance beforehand. A new set of tires might help boost the value of your car to a private buyer, but this can be very unreliable, so don’t go overboard on investing in your vehicle before selling it. If you’re planning on selling to a dealership like us, on the other hand, then repairs and new tires generally aren’t worth it for you. We can have work done for less than you’ll spend, so any added value almost never offsets the cost of getting the service done yourself.

Finally, before you go to sell your car, make sure you have all of the original documentation and any original parts or accessories for your vehicle. Remove seat covers or steering wheel covers you might have added, and get the owner’s manual and service or maintenance records together, so you have everything you need. Make sure you have the title for the vehicle and have anyone named on the title available to sign as a seller.

What You Need When Selling Your Car

The title of ownership is the most important single document you’ll need when selling your vehicle, but it’s not the only thing required. You’ll need a photo ID to prove that you’re the person on the title, as well as a bill of sale, which is required here in Indiana. Of course, when you work with us to sell your car, we can help you and handle routine paperwork like the bill of sale, odometer report, and anything else that needs to get filled out.

If there’s a lien on your title because you still owe for a loan on the vehicle, then you’ll need to get that cleared before selling your car privately. As a dealership, we can help you sort out the loan and get it cleared up while buying your car or using it as a trade-in toward your next vehicle. Finally, you’ll need to remove the license plates on your car and keep them after you sell it; they don’t transfer with the vehicle, though we can do that for you quite easily. You’ll also want to cancel your insurance on the vehicle immediately or have your insurance provider transfer your service to a new car.

Responsibilities After the Sale

As long as you transfer the title properly to the buyer, fill out the bill of sale correctly, remove your license plates, and cancel your insurance on the vehicle, then you should have absolutely no liability for what happens to or with the car after you sell it. Of course, mistakes on any of those things can result in an incomplete sale, which means that you’re still responsible for the car even though someone else has possession of it. It’s not impossible for someone to sell their vehicle to a private buyer, make a mistake, have the new owner get into a collision or some other incident, and then for the original owner to owe money or have their insurance impacted by the event.

When mistakes are made while selling a car, the original owner can end up liable for something someone else does with very little recourse to fix things after the fact. This is why it’s so important to sell your car to someone you can trust and who ensures everything is done properly. You deserve to get the most for your vehicle, which means not only a good value but also peace of mind. If you want to sell your car privately, then you need to be careful to ensure you follow every step and do things correctly, so you’re not responsible for what happens after a sale. Or give us a call and sell to a dealer you can trust to help you throughout every step and make sure things are handled properly.