How to Stay Safe when Selling a Car in Ontario

How to Stay Safe when Selling a Car in Ontario

Posted on May 6, 2022

If you are reading this, you must be thinking about selling your used car for cash, there have been countless stories of people selling cars for top dollar, and you want to get in on the action.

We are going to give you the straight goods on what steps need to be taken, so you can make the most of this opportunity, so be sure to take notes as we begin your used car selling journey together.

The paperwork you will need

There is some necessary paperwork you will need to have ready when trying to sell your used car.

The first is a valid registration for the car; some jurisdictions in Canada will let you sell a car with an expired registration, but you will be saving yourself and potential buyers time by having a valid registration.

When you and the buyer close the sale, you will sign the registration over to the new buyer.

This buyer would take the registration and bill of sale over to the local motor vehicle registrar to put the vehicle in his/her name.

Along with the registration, if you have the lien release that the original lender of the car sent out, you should have it ready for the prospective buyer.

The lien release is proof there are no liens on the car. When the buyer tries to register the car under his/her name, the registrar will do a search based on the VIN; if there are active liens, the transfer of ownership will not take place until the lien has been removed.

Why you should deal with only buyers, you can meet in person

Covid has conditioned us to do just about everything remotely, including buying and selling cars.

Now that most Covid restrictions have been lifted, there is no legitimate reason you cannot meet with the prospective buyer in person.

One of the most common tactics used by scammers is coming up with a reason why they cannot meet with you in person.

Suppose you stick with the rule to only deal with buyers in person. In that case, the risks of being scammed are reduced but not completely eliminated.

Only accept payments in cash or a bank draft that originates from a bank in your area. If you stick with this approach, the risks of being scammed will drop considerably.

How to Stay Safe when Selling a Car in Ontario

There is a quick and easy way to sell your used car for cash that is worth mentioning; you can sell your used car to a local dealership.

While most of us know that car dealerships sell cars, they also purchase used cars to augment their inventory.

Therefore, you would need to head down to the dealership so they can determine what the fair market value is of your vehicle.

Once the dealership has worked out what your car is worth, they will then prepare an all-cash offer for your consideration.

If you accept their fair offer, you get paid immediately.

This is a great no-fuss way to get cash for your used car and avoid all of the challenges that come with trying to sell a used car on your own.

If you’re looking to stay safe when selling a car in Ontario, we’d love to buy it! Simply fill in the form below and we’ll get back to you ASAP! 

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