Buying a car off Craigslist

"Jay, the practical enthusiast" (jay-m)
11/02/2018 at 10:50 • Filed to: None

The Subaru was the 5 th car that I checked out on Craigslist. It started off the same as all the others. I texted and asked if they were a dealer. I don’t mind buying from a dealer, I just want to know up front. Then I asked if the car was still for sale and when I can I see it. I missed out on a sweet Mustang GT because I was working and couldn’t get out to see it.

So I met a young college student in a parking lot and we took the Subaru on a short test drive. After that I spent about 20 minutes checking the car over and making note of everything that was wrong. He was asking $3,500, I offered $3,000, he countered with $3,100 and it was a deal. And this is where our problems began.

He said the car is not in his name. His dad’s friend is a dealer and he bought the car for him but he doesn’t like driving a manual. So he didn’t transfer the title. I’m thinking this sounds fishy but it gets a little worse. He shows me the Colorado title and it has a brand: REPO. Nope. Not interested. He insists it’s meaningless and asks me to talk to the dealer. I still tell him no, but the title has a cover page and I take a look at it.

It has the bank information, legal stuff, and at the bottom it has the loan amount. $9,000. Whoever walked away from this Subaru owed roughly 3 times what the car was worth. I was worried about the previous owner having some legal claim to this car, but not with that loan amount. Nobody’s coming back for this car. But still the title is branded.

We go to the dealer’s house and he puts me a little bit at ease. We talk for a long time and go over just what the REPO brand means. It basically just shows that the bank took back the vehicle and it disappears with the next title transfer. Of course, I don’t believe it. We come to an agreement, $1,000 now, I take the car, and if the title comes back clean I pay the rest. I know this still sounds super shady, and maybe it was, but I went ahead with it.

The truth is a REPO brand does drop off the title with the transfer. I got my clean Florida title a week after taking the car, paid the rest, and that was it.

DISCUSSION (13)

Arrivederci > Jay, the practical enthusiast
11/02/2018 at 10:54

Interesting and good to know!

Sovande > Jay, the practical enthusiast
11/02/2018 at 11:06

What was keeping you from just never returning with the rest of the money, other than the fact that you are a good and honest person? I mean you had the car and the title...

facw > Sovande
11/02/2018 at 11:10

I’d hope the dealer guy was smart enough to put the terms in writing. He’d still have to go to court to enforce them, but he could. There are of course all sorts of situations where the product is delivered and then you are invoiced and have to pay later.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > facw
11/02/2018 at 11:19

Yep, that's exactly what happened. The dealer did all the paperwork including a receipt for the downpayment and the total sale amount.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > Sovande
11/02/2018 at 11:22

This was actually the biggest concern of the kid who was selling the car. His dad's friend wrote up an invoice and said he just had to trust me.

The Dummy Gummy > Jay, the practical enthusiast
11/02/2018 at 12:41

What a jump, a mustang gt to a subaru outback. Oppo you never fail to delvier.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > The Dummy Gummy
11/02/2018 at 12:55

I also looked at an Infiniti Q45, a foxbody Mustang, and a Suzuki SX4.

camarov6rs > Jay, the practical enthusiast
11/02/2018 at 13:04

You wouldn’t have had any issues being that you got it retitled in Florida. It’s very common that people go to FL to wash titles of legitimate brands on titles.

E92M3 > Jay, the practical enthusiast
11/02/2018 at 13:06

There's no way I'd let someone leave with a car and title with just a third of the money up front.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > camarov6rs
11/02/2018 at 13:06

Now that's something I didn't know.

The Dummy Gummy > Jay, the practical enthusiast
11/02/2018 at 13:08

lol.. I don’t get it, but you do you friend.

camarov6rs > Jay, the practical enthusiast
11/02/2018 at 13:16

Florida and Texas both have a bit of a reputation that way.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > E92M3
11/02/2018 at 13:19

He knew there was no way I was going to buy a car with a branded title. We just had to trust each other.