Re: Buying/Selling a Used Car

["Doyt W. Echelberger" <Doyt@nwonline.net>]

At 07:08 PM 2/6/1999 EST, you wrote:
>I am in the market for a used Quattro.  If I decide on one from an
individual,
>how should I go about purchasing the car?

.......................see the suggestions I send you in the next
post(long) numbered (2). If you are not experienced at evaluating used
cars, employ an experienced mechanic to survey the car before purchase, and
estimate the condition of all systems and cost of necessary repairs.

  How do I get the title in my name?


.......................................The owner of the car signs over the
title to you, in front of a notary public, who documents the event. You
take the signed notarized title to a state bureau/title office, and pay the
sales tax on the deal (usually in cash), and they issue you a new title in
your name, for a fee (cash helps here also.)
 
>How does the money change hands?

....................................normally, especially when dealing with
strangers, I go with the owner (and his title) to the notary and I exchange
the money for the notarized title, right there in front of the notary.  You
can use cash, or a money order, or a personal check, or a credit
card....whatever you and the seller agree on beforehand. Talk about this
with the seller and get an agreement on how much and what form, before
going to the notary. Tell the seller that you plan to exchange the money
for the notarized title. Then there are no surprises on either side.
Sometimes you have to go to the seller's bank, to liberate the title, which
the bank is holding as collateral on a loan. they usually have a notary at
the bank.

I try to pay by personal check, cause it gives me a receipt. Be sure to get
a receipt with the VIN number of the car clearly identified by the seller,
no matter what form of payment you use.

Dealerships do the whole thing a little different. They fill out a sales
order that documents all that stuff, and you pay them and get a receipt,
and they take care of all the title changes and deliver a clean new title
to you in a few weeks. Meanwhile, you drive on a temporary tag that you buy
from the dealer, who is an agent of the state (in Ohio.)

>
>What're the safety precautions in buying/selling a car used from an
>individual?

................We just discussed the financial safety precautions. The
physical ones are dealt with in the long post to follow. Basically, it is
"buyer beware."  Once you hand over the money, it is yours, totally, with
all the benefits and responsibilities and problems, regardless of what was
said by anybody.  Make that seller prove everything he says, with
documents, prior to exchanging money.

Doyt Echelberger



>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Chris