How to close a private car sale safely

The handoff is where a conversation becomes money, a title and a car. Here’s what to think about before you get there, because this part is on the two of you.

This page is general guidance, not legal advice. It describes how private sales usually go. Rules differ by state and change over time, so for anything that turns on your own situation, check with your state’s motor vehicle agency (New York DMV), your insurer, your bank or a lawyer.

AutoRadian is new and growing one state at a time. This defaults to New York, since that’s where sellers list today. More states will be added as AutoRadian expands. If you’re not in New York, use the paperwork, state by state page and check your own state’s agency directly.

Where to meet

• Inside or outside a bank branch during business hours. It solves the payment problem and the safety problem at once.
• Many police departments have a marked exchange spot in their lot. Call your local department and ask.
• Daylight, and bring another adult. Tell someone where you are going.
• Sellers: check the buyer's driver's license and current auto insurance card before a test drive, confirm the name on both matches, and ride along.

Getting paid (sellers)

Most sales go fine. These precautions are for the ones that don’t.

• Cash: meet at your own bank and have the teller count and deposit it while the buyer is there. Counterfeit pens miss good fakes; a teller doesn't.
• Cashier's check: only if you go to the buyer's bank and watch the teller print it. Your bank can tell you when funds are actually collected. Money showing as available doesn't mean a check can't still be returned.
• Beware of personal checks, payment apps, or wires from strangers — and skip any escrow site the buyer suggests. Watch out for overpayments too, even if they say to just send back the difference.
• Sign the title over only after the money is verified.
• Once you have shaken hands on a deal, use “Mark pending sale” on your listings page so other buyers know where things stand. They can still message you as a backup. Remove the mark if the deal falls through, and use “Mark sold” only once the money is verified and the title is signed over.

Before you pay (buyers)

Most sales go fine here too. These checks are quick, and they’re for the rare cases that aren’t.

• Check that the name on the title matches the seller’s identification. It usually does — if it doesn’t, understand why before paying, since a mismatch is one of the things that shows up with stolen cars and “title jumping” (selling a car that was never actually registered in the seller’s name).
• Check the VIN on the dash and the driver's door jamb against the title and the listing.
• If the listing carries a Lien Disclosed By Seller badge, the seller told us there’s still a loan on it. A lien usually needs to be resolved as part of the sale — the exact process depends on the lender and state, so confirm it directly with the lender before money changes hands. A lien the seller didn’t mention usually shows up the same way: as a lender’s name on the title.
• Never pay a deposit to hold a car or to get an address.
• A “Sale Pending” badge means the seller has a deal in progress with someone else. The listing is still live and you can still message the seller as a backup, but plan on that deal closing unless you hear otherwise.
• Have it inspected if you want to. Private sales generally come with far fewer protections than a dealer sale, and which ones apply varies by state, so assume that what you find before you pay is what you get. The inspector directory lists independent shops and mobile inspectors near the car. Inspectors listed on AutoRadian are independent businesses, not AutoRadian employees.

The paperwork

Every seller here is in New York, so the seller’s side follows the New York DMV’s process. As it describes it today: the seller signs the title over and fills in the odometer reading, you both sign a bill of sale (MV-912), you both fill in your parts of the sales tax statement (DTF-802), and the buyer takes those plus registration form MV-82, a New York insurance card and photo ID to the DMV. Forms change; the DMV’s own page is the authority on what it wants this month.

Check whether your state wants a notary when the title is signed. Several do, and where that is the case a title signed without one is generally not accepted at the counter, which can mean doing the whole handover again. Your state’s agency says which it is. Most bank branches have a notary on site, which is another reason to close the sale at a bank.

New York DMV says the plates stay with the seller. It asks you to take them and the registration sticker off before the car leaves, and to surrender the plates before you cancel your insurance; see the DMV’s own page for the current steps. Other states handle plates differently; check yours.

Sellers: ask your state agency about a Notice of Sale or Release of Liability and file it as soon as the car is gone. It is how you tell them the car is no longer yours, and until something on record says so, tolls, parking tickets and impound fees charged against that VIN tend to find their way back to the last registered owner — which can be you for as long as the buyer takes to register it.

Registering it somewhere other than New York? Each state’s agency wants different forms. Paperwork, state by state links to each agency so you can check the current forms yourself. More states will be added as AutoRadian expands.

Scripts that are always a scam

• “Get me a vehicle report from this website first.” Whatever the title records say, when we can get them, is already on the listing page, labelled with where it came from — point them at it. Be cautious if a buyer sends you a link to buy a vehicle report. Verify independently before entering payment details.
• “I’m out of town, my shipper will bring a cashier’s check.”
• “I sent too much, send back the difference.”
• “AutoRadian needs a fee / a deposit / a protection payment to complete the sale.” We don’t. The seller’s listing fee is the only thing we ever charge, and we never touch a cent of the sale. There is no AutoRadian escrow, buyer protection plan or transaction fee, and nobody collects money on our behalf.
• “Text me the code I just sent so I know you’re real.” They are not verifying you. They are using your phone number to set up a burner number, drain a bank app, or hijack an account in your name. Never send a verification code to a buyer or seller.

The FTC tracks current car-buying scams as they’re reported — worth a quick look if something feels off: consumer.ftc.gov/all-scams/car-buying-scams

If you think you’ve been targeted by a scam, report it directly to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.