Guides

Buying and selling cars privately, without getting scammed

Practical writing for people in the middle of a transaction — how the money actually moves, what the common frauds look like from the inside, and what to do if something has already gone wrong.

Ten guides · free, no signup

• Is it safe to wire money for a car?

  A wire is final the moment it lands. How recalls actually work, the four scams that depend on wires, and what to do in the first hours if you have already sent one.

• Facebook Marketplace car scams

  The seven vehicle scams that run constantly on Marketplace, what each is trying to get from you, and the specific tell that identifies it.

• Craigslist car scams

  Craigslist vehicle scams have barely changed in a decade because they keep working. The main variants and what to do differently on a platform with no profiles.

• How car escrow works

  What actually happens to your money during a vehicle escrow transaction, step by step — plus how to spot a fake escrow site.

• Is DriveLink legit?

  Who we are, exactly where your money sits, what we cannot do, and how to verify any escrow service independently — including this one.

• Buying a car out of state

  Out-of-state purchases fail at three points: the payment, the title, and the registration. The order of operations that protects you.

• Selling to an out-of-state buyer

  Remote buyers widen your buyer pool and raise your price. Payment confirmation, title handling, transport, and ending your liability.

• Buying a car sight unseen

  A practical checklist for a vehicle you cannot inspect in person: what to verify, what to ask for, and where remote purchases go wrong.

• Cashier's check fraud when selling

  A counterfeit cashier's check can clear into your account and reverse weeks later, leaving you liable. How to verify one properly.

• A buyer wants to pay before seeing the car

  Sometimes genuine, sometimes the opening move of a fraud. How to tell, and how to structure a remote sale so it does not matter.