4 Ways to Avoid a Scam When Selling Your Car Online
Selling your car online is a convenient alternative to the dealerships, newspaper ads and flyers of yesterday, but who can you trust in a space full of strangers? Arm yourself with the helpful tips below, and you’ll be better protected—and have a better chance of selling your car—on the web.
Verify the Website
Before you fill out any online forms to find out how much your used car, truck, SUV or van is worth, make sure you know that the junk car site you’re using is credible and secured. You can check by looking for the locks:
Look for a green lock next to the URL on Google Chrome:
On Internet Explorer, look for the lock on the right of the URL:
On Mozilla Firefox, check for the lock on the left of the URL:
A secured junk car website is a good predictor of site credibility because it verifies that the site is encrypted and helps keep unauthorized people from viewing the information you share.
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Read the Terms and Conditions
I know, I know. Reading terms and conditions can be about as much fun as a root canal, but the terms and conditions hold valuable tidbits of information that will help keep you safe and may keep you from sharing too much information.
Legitimate websites should also have a privacy policy available that will let you know how and when they use the information you provide. If they give ANY information to third parties without your consent, reconsider giving them your business.
Find Out What Information They Want
If you’re going to remember one thing from this article, let it be this: Never give any information over the internet more sensitive than a phone number or email address! An email address and phone number can be easily replaced. Your social security number and your driver’s license number? Not so much.
If a junk car site asks for your sensitive information or bank account information to “transfer funds” they offered for your vehicle—run the other way. Only trust a car purchasing site if they promise to meet you, pick up your vehicle and give you cash or a check for your vehicle on the spot.
Make Sure You Talk To a Person
Not only would it be impersonal to accept an offer on your vehicle without talking to a business representative, it should be a warning sign.
Our CashForCars.com vehicle purchasing agents are trained to answer questions from potential buyers and to help them through the selling process over the phone. It’s a bad sign if the junk car site you’re on is pushing you through the selling process without every talking to a real person. How will you know who to contact if something goes wrong or you have further questions?
A legitimate business has employees who will answer your calls and check vehicle pricing in real-time to get you the most value for your used car.
The Bottom Line
Don’t settle for less and put yourself in a dangerous position. Selling your vehicle online can be simple, and keeping these four tips in mind may save you time, money and a major hassle.
