Just because someone has reached the age where they are considered to be a “senior citizen,” they shouldn’t necessarily stop driving. There are some cases, unfortunately, of senior citizens who have driven past the point at which they should have stopped, and have hurt themselves or others in the process. If a senior citizen loved one’s driving ability has been affected by age-related changes, it might be time for them to give up their vehicle. If you would like to help a senior citizen sell his or her vehicle, please keep reading.
Help Figure Out the Vehicle’s Worth
The first step in selling a vehicle is to know how much it is worth. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous buyers will try to hoodwink senior citizens, offering them far less than what their vehicle is worth. If you check the following Internet sites, you will have some firm numbers to offer your senior loved one so that they will go into any negotiations knowing exactly what they should be receiving for their vehicle.
NADA Guides (nadaguides.com) – This website, sponsored by the National Automobile Dealers Association, can help determine the value of a vehicle before attempting to sell it.
Autotrader.com- You can look up a vehicle by location, trim, mileage, year, model, and make and determine its worth on this website.
Kelley Blue Book – This trusted online site can give estimates on a vehicle’s worth depending upon its make, model, mileage, condition and year.
Gather All Necessary Documentation
Next, you should assist your senior loved one in gathering all of the documentation that will be necessary when the car is sold. This will include:
Title – the vehicle’s title must be signed and turned over to the vehicle’s new owner upon its sale
Records of maintenance – this shows that your senior loved one has kept up with the recommended scheduled services for the car, and having them can increase the value of the vehicle
Warranty – if the vehicle is still under warranty, the prospective buyer should be informed. This can also increase the value of the vehicle.
As-is documentation – if the vehicle is no longer under warranty, help the seller craft a document telling the new owner that they assume all responsibility for repairs and damages once the vehicle has been sold to them
Bill of sale- this will also need to be drafted, if your senior loved one is selling the vehicle privately
Release of liability – this is a another good document to create, as it states that the seller is no longer liable for repairs or damages to the vehicle once it has been sold.
Get the Car Ready to be Sold
Your senior loved one will then need to prepare the car to be listed for sale. This should include an inspection by a trusted mechanic, as well as washing and detailing the interior and exterior of the car. You should also help your senior loved one to take accurate photos of the interior and exterior of the car, showing the seats, dashboard, carpets and trunk, as well as the wheels and engine. All of this information is important when the car is listed for sale.
List the Vehicle for Sale
Finally, it is time to list the car for sale. Since you are assisting your senior citizen loved one, you can list it for them online. Consider listing it on Trusted Sale, an anti-scam platform that will handle the transaction to prevent scams that commonly happen through classified listings. Trusted Sale verifies the identity of the buyer and the seller and manages the cashflow (no worrying about counterfeit checks or paypal schemes!). Plus Trusted Sale offers buyers extended warranty and financing options, which can make the vehicle even more appealing!
To promote the vehicle for sale, you can list it on local classified and newspaper sites, as well as social media car buying/selling groups, are a good place to start. Bonus: Trusted Sale will automatically publish the listing on a few classified sites, including Facebook marketplace!
Do not give out any of your senior citizen loved one’s personal information (such as name or address) when listing the car for sale. Use a different number (yours perhaps) as the contact, and/or a dummy email account. You don’t want potential buyers coming onto your loved one’s property and potentially taking advantage of them.
Once your loved one has a potential buyer, use SafeTradeStations.com to find a safe place to meet in your neighborhood. On that note, it’s always best if your senior loved one does not meet any potential buyers alone, and never at their own home. Make sure that you or a trusted friend or family member accompany them when meeting with all potential buyers. Help them lay out the terms of the sale and don’t let the buyer try to take advantage of your loved one by lowballing them during negotiations.
Sell the Vehicle
Once your senior loved one and the buyer have agreed on a fair price, Trusted Sale makes it easy to manage the transaction. The buyer will pay through the secure platform and the money will be deposited into your loved one’s bank account electronically. Trusted Sale will issue a copy of the bill of sale. Trusted Sale offers financing to qualified buyers – but the buyer will still receive all cash up front.
If you don’t use Trusted Sale, be sure to help your loved one prepare the bill of sale and be careful to avoid counterfeit checks, people that want to pay via paypal, and be very weary of anything that seems too-good-to-be-true.
Once the transaction is completed, you’ll hand over documentation and the title, and, of course, the keys.
Make sure all of your loved one’s personal items, including the insurance information, is removed from the vehicle, and that your loved one contacts the insurance company to have the vehicle removed from their policy. When the buyer drives away in the vehicle, breathe a sigh of relief and help your senior loved one celebrate the fact that they now have one less thing to worry about!