Anyone buy a car through craigslist?

[merkin]

Looking at a late model, 90 miles from here through private seller. Has VIN posted and has title. After seeing and driving car any ins and out on how to do the transaction.

[BigCliff]

I bought a 2007 Honda Civic for my son a few years back. First off you have to evaluate the seller as to what type of person he is.

I made two trips before buying, but that may not be possible for you since you have to travel so far.I also talked to him several times on the phone.

Make sure he has a clear title for the car. My transaction was made at a bank which transferred the title to me. Also get a written and

legal receipt for the transaction, stating what is being paid and what is being sold by whom and to whom. Both parties should sign such

document and all should be good to go.

[Coytee]

Is Craigslist the question or a private party transaction?

Seems to me there have been listing for cars in the newspapers for years and years. I don't see what Craigslist per se' has to do with it?

I think Cliff gave you some good advice. I would also consider taking the car to a DEALER and have it gone through. Maybe not a dealer per se' but at least a mechanic that you know & trust...

I once bought a used 1969 Mercedes 280 SL. I did not follow my gut and got burned.

I bought it from a guy who was the manager at a car dealer (Honda if I recall). I said I wanted to have it checked out by the dealer and he gave me some song & dance sob story "oh, I used to work there and they didn't like that I quit to come here so they don't like me much...and of course, they'll know my car so they'll probably say anything to get back at me"

I did test drive it and it worked ok, so i bought it.

Then... maybe 5 weeks later.... I got to the bottom of the issue. Long story short, the transmission was chunking out on it and I had to pay another $2,500 to fix the transmission. Of course, I called the seller since he represented it in such glowing terms... all the sudden he was a bit more evasive and slimy.

So, I had my lesson.

Fast forward 10 years and I'm considering buying another SL from a dealer, although this isn't a factory dealer, they simply focuse on used foreign cars. I asked if they had the repair work receipts since they assured me that ALL the work on this car was done there.

He brought out reams of it. I mean there were probably 50 different repairs to this car. Heater this, AC that, brakes this... transmission that... I kind of laughed thinking that SO much of this car had been fixed there was probalby not much left to go wrong.

I still walked on the deal and bought a Miata instead.

[merkin]

Hey thanks BigCliff That is what I'm looking at is a 2008 civic for my son. What is a written and legal receipt? Do I just write it out with the vehicle VIN # and have the amount paid with both of us signing it. Also he says he has title in hand with out any leans. That is the way I have all my cars. So I can look at the title since it is in Illinios and it should look just like mine. I believe there is a place on back to transfer title. I was wondering about a cashiers check or if he would just take a personel check. The last one I bought was from n old farmer and he had the personel check and it was fine. The reason about craigslist is that when you use to buy them out of the want adds they were usually in your area and I hadn't heard about all the scammers. The only reason my radar is up is since this car is listed at a very good price, said no negotiation. Not an unreal price, just one that I would start my negotiation with a dealer. Seller says the price is set low because he wants/has to sell it this week.

Thanks for your input

Keith

[BigCliff]

This will give you and example of a bill of sale receipt:

http://www.autocrisis.com/print_billofsale.html

Yes I would put the Vin on the receipt. I used a Cashiers check when I purchased and did the transaction at a bank that did car

title transfers. GOOD LUCK

[JJkizak]

That transaction is always a knee shaker for both parties, Have done that many times with both parties at the bank but it still takes about 5 days before the bank says "OK, you can use the money" or "You loose, the check did not transfer". This includes cashier checks. Green cash works every time. It's also nice to know the person you are dealing with. I have never had a problem purchasing as it always involved Corvettes of which I new every nut and bolt and every possible nuance that could be a problem.

JJK

[Jeff Matthews]

Bought 2 classic cars - a 1953 and 1956 from 2 different sellers. 1 in Vermont and 1 in Pittsburgh. Never even saw anything but pics and talked to the seller over the phone. I was nervous, but what helped was that I checked the local real property tax records in the areas to confirm that the sellers owned their homes there. Had no real disappointments, but they were not high-dollar cars, either.

[sunburnwilly]

Probably wise to carry if you were to do such a deal . The more public the better .

[JJkizak]

It's hard to hide an AK-47.

JJK

[jhoak]

Last month. I bought a 93 Mitsubishi 3000GT. It was located in a town abot 20 minutes away. I went to look on a Sunday with a little cash in my pocket to make a deposit if I decided to buy. The remainder I pulled out of savings the next day.

I arrived about 30 minutes ahead of my appointment and sat in my truck and ran a CarFax on it. The CarFax came back clean and consistant with what I was looking at.

Turned out to be easy and painless. I'm not sure who was more nervous about the meet up, the seller or me.

Yes I was packing... []

Here's what I brought home Monday afternoon...

[merkin]

The deal fell through anyway so I didn't have to worry. The seller did say I could come look at it pay a deposit and then he would drive to my town and bank and finish the transaction. He never said how much of a deposit. So at the worse he would take off with my deposit. Besides I never pack. The only gun I own is a 12 gauge browning over and under for pheasant hunting. It is a little hard to hide in my pants.