There are a lot of dodgy people out there, most of whom do their best to get as much money out of other people as possible. And one of the most common areas in which these scammers work is in car-selling. Whether you decide to sell your used auto with a third-party dealer or privately, you will be at risk of running into some very unsavory characters. To make sure you don’t fall foul of their scams, here are some tips that can keep you safe when selling your car.
Use A Trusted Dealer
There are so many different used car dealers out there. How are you ever meant to know which ones aren’t going to scam you out of a lot of cash? You just need to ask your friends and family for any recommendations they may have. For instance, someone you know might have recently sold a car through the likes of http://cashforcarsinlasvegas.com/. Your friend or relative will be able to tell you about their experience using the company. Don’t know anyone who has recently sold a car? You can always take a look at online review sites where other customers rate the dealer’s service.
Use A Safe Number
If you want to sell your car privately, you might decide to place an advert for your car in a local newspaper or online advertising board. More often than not, you will be given the option to put a safe telephone number on the advert. This is a number different to yours but will connect to your phone when used. That way, your private number is hidden, and telephone scammers won’t be able to find it and add it to their list for cold callers. Otherwise, you’ll spend ages trying to block them all: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/no-more-junk
Describe The Vehicle In Full
When you are writing your description of the car for the advert, it is very important that you mention absolutely everything that there is to say about it. If there is a fault with the auto, even just a very small one, that isn’t mentioned in the advert, the buyer will have the right to request a full or part refund once they discover the fault. There are some scammers who buy cars just with this in mind. If they find a big enough fault that isn’t mentioned in the advert, they can even take the seller to court to try and get some extra cash.
The Test Drive
It is perfectly normal for the buyer to want a test drive. But there is also a very easy way scammers can get you during the test drive. They will ask you to drive the vehicle first with them in the passenger seat. Then, when it is time to swap over, the scammer jumps into the driving seat and leaves you high and dry without a car! To make sure you don’t have to walk all the way home, make sure you take the keys with you as you get out of the driver’s seat and only hand them over once you are back in the car.
