4 Ways to Stay Safe While Buying a Truck From a Private Seller
With the values of used cars and trucks sky-high, many buyers are turning to private party sales to save a couple of bucks. But itās not uncommon to find sellers who request you show up, at their house, with cash in hand. And this can put you in a pretty vulnerable situation if the deal is a scam. As a vintage truck enthusiast, I have developed a few techniques for buying a truck off Craigslist, not getting ripped off, and coming home in one piece. Here are four tips that could keep you out of a bad situation. But as always, trust your gut and use your own best judgementāno deal is worth your safety and obviously I am not a security expert.
Confirm the vehicle exists with a FaceTime call or verification photo
One of the most common scams youāll find online is a seller copying and pasting someone elseās ad and pretending to sell a truck that they donāt even have. Why? Perhaps they are just collecting the email addresses of folks who respondāaccording to Yahoo Finance. But sometimes, they have even more dangerous intentions.
You can always say, āHey, I just want to confirm this isnāt a scam. Would you mind FaceTiming me and showing me the truck before we go any further?ā If they canāt do a facetime, they can always write a quick note, hold it in front of the truck, and take a picture. If the seller refuses to verify that they own the vehicle in question, this is a major red flag.
Tell someone where you are going, inspect it first, then return with cash
If a seller gives me an address in the middle of nowhere and tells me I can come inspect the truck, I often make it clear that Iām showing up without cash. I tell them I will take a look at the vehicle, then drive to a bank to get cash. If they make a big fuss about this, itās also a red flag.
If you go out to inspect a vehicle, bringing a friend or two is a good idea. Itās also wise to send the ad and address to a friend. Tell them when you are going and when you expect to be done. Make a plan to text them an āall clearā so they donāt come rolling in with the reinforcements if they donāt need to. But even better is meeting the seller somewhere public.
Meet at a bank
Iāve often found sellers amenable to driving the vehicle to a public location to meet me. One of my favorite places to meet them is at a nearby branch of my bank.
A bank parking lot is usually well-lit with plenty of security cameras. Thereās plenty of space for them to park the vehicle and for you to inspect it, and even test drive it. If the seller or any friends that. come with them get bored, they can just go into the lobby and probably enjoy a cup of complimentary coffee. And best of all, if you decide to go ahead and buy the vehicle, you can go inside and grab cash or a bank check.
Hire a mechanic to inspect or hire a cop to escort you
As you research how to inspect and buy a used truck from a private seller, and stay safe while doing so, it is easy to think that you have to figure it out alone. But there are actually multiple ways you can enlist help. One perennial favorite is to hire a mechanic to come out and inspect the vehicle for youāaccording to Consumer Reports. Perhaps you already have a favorite mechanic, or perhaps you call around and hire someone near the vehicle youāre considering buying. Paying them for an hour of shop time is a small investment. They may arm you with knowledge to help you haggle the price down or avoid a bum deal altogether.
You donāt have to stop with hiring a mechanic. Many police departments allow their officers to take private security jobs when theyāre off the clock. If you are concerned about the deal youāre walking into, call a police department near the seller, explain the situation, and ask if they would recommend hiring someone.
There are some excellent deals to be had when buying vehicles from a private seller. But again, no deal is worth putting yourself at risk. Luckily you have many tools to stay safe. The best tool you have is always using your own sound judgement.
Next find out which used cars are currently selling above sticker price or find out which are the most reliable decade-old used pickup trucks.