WTB Wheels, Not Enough $$$ On Hand

October 17, 2008 12:06 PM

Are individuals selling used cars frequently willing to work with a purchaser with regard to a payment plan or are they really expecting the full asking price all at once?

I need to buy a used car soon. I have a job but I don't have a lot of money saved up.

For instance, there's a nice-looking used car for sale on my ride home from work. The writing on the window says $2700. I don't have $2700 right now. I could put $1000 in the seller's hand right now, but it'd probably take me 6 weeks to earn up the rest. I could pay the rest out over say, a couple months.

FWIW, this is the 3rd used car for sale I've seen sitting in front of this house in the last couple months, suggesting this person liquidating his personal fleet. I bring this up because maybe this could be an indicator of someone eager to make a deal? Someone who just wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible?

Of course everyone's different, and some sellers would be willing to work with me and some would not. I'm just wondering what the general expectation is when people sell their cars to other people, and whether I shouldn't bother looking for cars until I have more money saved up.

posted by BeerFilter to travel & transportation (17 comments total)

Go down to your local Credit Union and ask about a used car loan. $1000 down on a $2700 car would have you driving one tomorrow. :)
posted by unixrat at 12:16 PM on October 17, 2008

Sorry, I sort of answered an 'unasked' question.

Yes, they are expecting you to have the money in hand because 99.99% are not in the money lending business. Talk to a money lender *first*, the used car person second.
posted by unixrat at 12:17 PM on October 17, 2008

I've bought and sold several cars privately, and always expected, and expected to pay, the full purchase price at the time of purchase.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 12:17 PM on October 17, 2008

If it was me selling the car, no way I'd let it out of my hands without cash in hand or a certified check. Part of the good of buying from an individual is that you get a much better price than you could ever hope to get from a dealer. The bad news is that you'll rarely get anyone to finance you. I could see doing it for my brother or cousin or a very, very trusted friend but I'd be hesitant to do even that, as money can cause real problems real fast in close relationships, whether the parties involved want it to do so or not.

You CAN approach the individual and tell them that you wish to buy the car you like and ask them if they will take it off the market if you give them a good sized chunk of earnest money. Some will, most won't, is my guess -- they want the car gone, they want the cash. If they're not strapped and they want to help a stranger, they'd perhaps be willing to do this. I would, if I wasn't strapped and the amount of the earnest money is enough to make certain that you are, in fact, earnest -- if you would give me a grand on a $2700 car, and I wasn't strapped, yeah, I'd consider it.

Good luck.
posted by dancestoblue at 12:18 PM on October 17, 2008

I sold a used car and I didn't even want to talk to the guy after the transaction. But seriously, they need the money for something else. They're not a bank. Get a car loan.
posted by k8t at 12:22 PM on October 17, 2008

Cash on the barrel head.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:28 PM on October 17, 2008

If they are selling multiple cars, they probably have a sideline business of buying used cars, fixing them up (maybe) and reselling them. So there's unlikely to be a lot of desperation there. i test drove a bunch of cars from these types of amateur dealers this summer when I was looking for a car, and they were all pretty sketchy, too boot. So caveat emptor.

I would never accept a payment plan for a car, unless it was with a family member, and maybe not even then. A bank has ways of getting money from you if you're delinquent, or at least punishing you if you don't pay (collection agencies, credit history reporting) and can afford to absorb at least some deadbeat borrowers. But an individual has none of those options.

Getting a car loan right now will be rough, but not impossible, and it's probably your best bet if you need a car right now. Or just buy a complete junker for $1K.
posted by lunasol at 12:31 PM on October 17, 2008

Ugh, "to boot," not "too boot."
posted by lunasol at 12:32 PM on October 17, 2008

I've sold a few cars in this price range over the years, and would not want to have to interact with the buyer again, lest they complain about the squeaky brakes, clunky transmission or other imperfections common to a <>
You know, $1,000 would go a long way toward a really cool bike.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 12:38 PM on October 17, 2008

that was supposed say "common to a sub-$3,000 car."
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 12:39 PM on October 17, 2008

Payment up-front. If you fall behind, how is the seller supposed to enforce payment?
posted by adamrice at 12:46 PM on October 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

Nth the "they don't want to be your banker" answer. You could try but they will almost certainly look at you like you're nuts.

As far as "liquidating their fleet," chances are they frequent the impound auctions, or are buying totaled vehicles, fixing them, and selling them on a salvage title. In which case there's not a bank in the universe that will give you a loan to purchase it.

The wikipedia article on salvage titles is close enough to correct to explain them to you if it's a new term to you.
posted by phearlez at 12:47 PM on October 17, 2008

I've sold several cars. I don't give any consideration (to the extent that I don't even bother returning the phone call/email) to prospective buyers that want to swing a financing deal with me because, legally, it seems like it would be a giant pain in the ass.

Normally, when you finance a car through a bank, the bank owns the car until you pay off the loan, which is why the lender's name is on the pink slip as the owner, in the records as the owner at the DMV, and with the auto insurance company. As a private citizen, I have zero desire to keep my name on the records as this car's owner while some guy I don't know who paid me a fraction of the car's value careens around on the highways in it. Alternatively, I could sign over the car's ownership to the new owner when I give him the keys but now I've lost all leverage: I've got no collateral, I've got only some of the money out of it and all I got is an private agreement with a stranger that he will pay the rest of the balance. I have no real way of enforcing this agreement and if I tried, it would likely get bounced to civil court after I pour a lot of time and money into the effort, most likely more money than is owed on the vehicle.

WRT to it being the third car for sale in front of that house: might not be the same seller. My house sits on a corner and occasionally it becomes a popular place for people to park their cars for sale.
posted by jamaro at 1:09 PM on October 17, 2008

Don't forget about all the other costs associated with buying a car. $2700 isn't enough. MAYBE if you can get a loan for $3K, and use the $1K you have access to now for the following:

i.e. does it need a safety inspection and/or emissions test, taxes based on blue book value, ownership transfer and license plate fees, insurance, fixing the stuff that is currently broken or is going to break shortly after taking ownership...

Other than that, nth'ing that private sellers aren't lenders. Banks don't usually do car loans for cars older than several years, or for less than a certain amount. A personal loan / line of credit, or credit card is typically offered for that sort of amount. If one bank doesn't go for it, try another.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 1:21 PM on October 17, 2008

I've never known a private seller do anything other than take full payment up front before the keys are handed over. Anyone that offers terms is almost by definition a trader.

Get a loan or wait are your only real options, I suspect.
posted by Brockles at 1:23 PM on October 17, 2008

I've known several people who sold used cars to people they sort of kind of knew (like, the cousin of a friend of a coworker), on payment plans. The way it worked, every time, was that the car stays with the seller until the buyer has finished paying for it (because as noted above, once you have the keys what's to stop you from wrecking it and then refusing to pay for it "because it's broken, man"?).

So it's not exactly unheard of, but it's rare, and I'd never do it unless the buyer was someone I sort of knew and who had someone I trusted to vouch for him/her. And even then there would be a signed document explaining that schedule on which they had to pay me the money, and I'd keep the car and the paperwork. It would be a serious favor (and a major pain in the ass) that I wouldn't do under ordinary circumstances, and the price would be higher than the best cash price to reflect that pain-in-the-assedness of it all.

The expectation is absolutely cash (preferably as cash, not check or other kind of money), not payment plans or IOUs or other kinds of complicated schemes. If you want to make payments, your local used car dealer will be happy to make you a deal.
posted by Forktine at 2:54 PM on October 17, 2008

They want it all at once. Banks can give you a car loan, and you pay them off, not the seller.
posted by fructose at 6:12 PM on October 17, 2008