A question for anyone with any experience in the area – I have a Chevy Equinox lease ending with super low mileage so it’s a shame to turn it in to the dealer as they are no longer offering good deals and I would make no money and pay a disposition fee. So I put an ad on Craigslist to see if anyone would pay an amount over my buy back price, and I found someone. Their uncle is a lease broker and is financing the deal for their nephew. After I initiate the purchase from GM financial, the buyer wants to give me half now, take the car, then give me the other half when the title arrives in 2-8 weeks and I sign the title over to them. We will initiate a bill of sale that outlines all the terms – release of liability in case the nephew damages the car, title handover, payment commitments, etc. I have the uncle’s business info which I verified – physical business address, phone number, etc. Can anyone think of any issues with this kind of deal? Am I missing anything as far as making it as safe as possible? I would just take a small deposit and hold onto the car until the title came, but I don’t want to risk losing the deal and being stuck with the car. It would actually seem they are taking the bigger risk as the title is in my name and will remain so until I sign it over to them, but I am giving them the actual physical car for only half the money upfront, so I’m not sure. Any insight/worries/assurances, especially from brokers, would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
And what happens if he doesn’t come back to give you the other half? What’s your Repo plan? Go to the Uncle’s place and tell him that his nephew is an idiot?
Just sell it direct to a dealer.
Have you tried to get quotes from Carvana, Vroom, GiveMeTheVin, Carmax etc?
This seems a bit risky to me in many ways.
Obviously it would be a hassle to deal with the private party reneging, but I would have grounds and the documentation for a civil suit. The online quotes are all much lower than the purchase price. The only quote I got from a dealer was as well. Does anyone think if I had an offer from a private party which is still a few thousand less than what CarMax et all are selling the same model and trim with twice the mileage for, Chevy dealers would give me a better offer?
Scammers don’t pay Civil Suits…that’s the issue and they know it. Now if the uncle Cosigned for you…that’s another story.
This sounds like a lot of risks and headache for not a lot of money. Really have to ask yourself if it is really worth it.
If you are not getting good deal from any online buyers or dealers and want to proceed with private sale, I would recommend not giving them your car beforehand. Just ask for a small deposit to ‘reserve’ the sale, once you get the title, get the Bill Of Sale signed and then give the car as well as title and receive payment. The 2 CL sales I did, I had someone take a video of the whole transaction as well, just for peace of mind.
Giving them the car ahead of time can invite a few issues down the road IMO.
Why don’t they just pay you the full amount up front and you send them the title when you get it? That’s how I’ve done every private purchase as a buyer/seller. The buyer assumes SOME risk here.
Or just do as others have said and shop the car around between dealers and online stores. What’s the difference in offers, here?
How big of a difference though? In trying to making a grand or two, you may be risking $10k.
This is literally what happens on BaT and C&Bs. Buyer pays full amount, once the lien is satisfied the seller receives title from the bank and transfers the title to the buyer.
Seems unnecessary for you to take any risk in this situation. If the buyer doesn’t want to take a risk, they can buy a car when the seller has the title “in hand”.
Agree with the above. Buyer should pay you the full amount. Their risk isn’t that significant because i) they have the car, ii) they have a Bill of Sale proving you sold them the car, and iii) they have proof of their payment to you.
The alternative, as mentioned by others, is to take a small but meaningful deposit, keep the car, and wait for the title.
No no no no nooooooooooo.
Sell to a dealer. If you have no equity, you have no equity. But you also have no negative equity. Welcome to leasing.
Keep in mind that this is a lease, so you will need to register the vehicle in your name when the title arrives including paying tax (if not collected from GM) and then transfer the new title when you get it and try to recover your tax paid under the ca tax exemption.
Thanks for the great advice everyone, so appreciated. Yeah, I’m going to give a dealer one more shot (with the private offer in hand to use as leverage) and if that doesn’t work, I will insist on getting the full price up front from the private buyer. If the deal falls through, it falls through. Again, thanks!
A quick question about this, from my research the buyer pays the tax when they register, if the title is transferred within 10 days, as a seller I pay no tax in this scenario. Am I wrong about that?
fixed that for you.
There’s a form you fill out. And this assumes the buyer registers it in CA.
Ah. Thanks!
You are the buyer and need to register it in order to get a title with your name on it, before re-selling it.
I just chatted with the DMV and they said this about this scenario:
Agent: At the end of the lease agreement, use tax is due on the balance owed.
If the lessee sells it to a third party within 10 days from the date the lessee acquired title
from the lessor, use tax is due only from the third party.
Me: Ok, so once I sign the title over within ten days, is that the end of it? Or do they have to register the car in California within a certain amount of time for my tax obligation as the seller to remain nil?
Agent:They need to transfer into their name and pay the sales tax with in that 10 days
So I’m on the hook if they don’t register within ten days, but it seems as if I don’t have to pay the tax upfront. I know that doesn’t jibe with what you said, forbs, so what do you think? Are you positive about your thoughts on this? I want to be sure.
This only applies if you sell it to a Dealer.
Since you are private partying a LEASE, you need to turn the Title from the Bank to your name before you can transfer it.
When you get the original title, it’s released to you, and not to the third party, hence you need to get your name on it to sell and pay tax.
The Lease part is important.
Edit : Theoretically, the DMV person can do a big double transaction at once, but what happens when you both get there, wait in line, and they say ‘no!’