Private Party Pitfalls

A car is one of the largest purchases that a person ever makes. Some people like buying a car from a private party. If you ask why, you will be told they can get a better deal and save a few dollars. One of my customers traded in a truck that he had purchased on a street corner from an individual. This was an older truck, it didn’t look pretty, but it ran well and did that job that it was intended to do. We found out when we tried to sell it that the ID plate in the dash had been replaced. The number plate from a wrecked vehicle had been installed over the real plate. The id number was different from the one that was on the frame of the truck. He had unknowingly purchased a stolen truck. He then realized why his insurance company called his 2 wheel drive truck a 4 wheel drive.

This is just one of the problems you could face when buying a car from an individual. The car could have mechanical problems, could have been wrecked and rebuilt. There could be a lien on the car that wasn’t listed on the title. The title could have been forged. The best advice I can give when buying a car from a private party is to make sure the party you are buying it from is the party listed on the front of the title. If this is not the case, chances are you are most likely dealing with a “curbstoner”. This is a person who buys and sells cars to make a few extra dollars on the side. These people do not want to put the title of the car they are selling in their own names because they are only allowed by law to sell 3 cars per year. In this case there is the possibility that the car had been sold more than once between the person whose name is on the title, and you the potential buyer. Legally, if someone got a ticket driving the car and didn’t pay the fine, it could come back to bite you when you tried to register the car. If you do have a problem you are stuck with it.

The advantage from buying from a dealer is that the dealer is licensed and bonded. If there is a mechanical problem you have an implied warranty. If there is a title problem, he must correct it. You have legal recourse.

A large percentage of private party transactions turn out to be good, but if it turns out to be bad, it could be your worst nightmare.

I would like to hear your story, good or bad, about buying a car from an individual.