I have had one hell of a time trying to buy cars from individuals. It usually goes something like this.
Me: "Do you have title in hand?"
Them: "No, I owe money on it"
Me: "Can we meet for payment at the bank and get the lien released?"
Them: "No,................ Silence. Ad gets pulled.
I bought my car from an individual via Facebook. He had a lien on it, and I was also borrowing money for it. It was a bit of a pain, going back and forth with his bank and mine, but we eventually got it worked out. Took an entire Saturday to get it.
There is so much phishing on craigslist. Be very careful. I sold a few items from the v6 conversion. Within minutes of placing ad, my phone blows up with messages like: do you still have the item? Give me you name and address and I send you check. Ummm NO. Cash in person only. And then messages stop. I got four like that the minute I listed the 4.0 engine.
Some time ago I placed a for sale ad on CL. I was selling my home theatre setup to get a nice one. Some lady from Oklahoma contacted me via email. Asked for my address and was going to send me a check. She was purchasing it for her son who was in the military. My response to her was Why are you looking to buy a home theater from someone in indiana and when your own state has them for sale as well Never heard from her again. It just seemed dumb as shit
Yep, that’s what I did, too! Met in the police station parking lot to sell the car. It should also make the buyer a whole lot more comfortable with a bunch of cash.
I also set up a Google phone number so I never had to publish or reveal my real phone number. It seems like the Craigslist responses were either obvious scammers or they wanted to know the lowest price I’d take. So I’d give them my rock bottom price and I didn’t negotiate when they showed up.