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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » Selling a Car to Family

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Oct. 2, 2011 9:12 p.m. Salanis SuperDork

My sister's boyfriend just wrecked her car (the guy ahead of her stopped too quickly roll eyes) and she needs another one. Offered to act as the middle-man to sell her my girlfriend's '95 Accord with like 60k miles on it (single family, dealer maintained car). Idea is I pay girlfriend $1500 for the car, and keep whatever more I sell it at (KBB is $3650).

To do this will require me taking a 500 mile road trip to deliver the car and flying home (which our mom will cover the costs of). But now she's saying that she's not going to get the insurance money until after she needs the car, and she wants to do half-now/half-later with our mom fronting the money for that, and just generally adding new complications.

Now, the $2k will be nice to help pay brewing school costs, but this is getting messy. Having seen what KBB is on this car, I'm leaning towards just listing it on Craigslist, and if it's gone before my sister is able to pay for it, tough luck. Maybe that makes me a bad person or something.

Oh, and the car that "stopped too quickly" or whatever, didn't smash the front (radiator is intact) of the car so much as peel the hood back over the top. So looks like something tall enough for the car to go under, like a flat bed or semi or something.
Oct. 2, 2011 9:30 p.m. pigeon Dork

One solid, inviolable rule should be don't sell cars to family, period. It will only cause issues down the road. If you want to assist sister in locating a suitable replacement, even that's a potential problem later if the car isn't perfect, but that's better than selling direct.
Oct. 2, 2011 9:32 p.m. ThePhranc Reader

Don't do it. Run away. Quickly.
Oct. 2, 2011 9:33 p.m. mndsm SuperDork

pigeon wrote:

One solid, inviolable rule should be don't sell cars to family, period. It will only cause issues down the road. If you want to assist sister in locating a suitable replacement, even that's a potential problem later if the car isn't perfect, but that's better than selling direct.

This. I won't ever sell a car to family. I'd hate seeing it.
Oct. 2, 2011 9:55 p.m. Salanis SuperDork

I've got it listed on Craigslist now. I'm going to basically play the "whoever puts cash in my hand first, gets it" deal. If she wants it, she can hustle her butt. Otherwise, she's said she saw adds for "several good cars in San Diego", and can go that route if someone makes me a better offer.

I'm going to treat her like any other potential buyer, except for offering her the car at absolute bottom price I'd take for it.
Oct. 2, 2011 9:57 p.m. mtn SuperDork

pigeon wrote:

One solid, inviolable rule should be don't sell cars to family, period. It will only cause issues down the road. If you want to assist sister in locating a suitable replacement, even that's a potential problem later if the car isn't perfect, but that's better than selling direct.

Eh. We've done it. I'd do it again. Of course, almost anybody in our family is a car guy.
Oct. 2, 2011 9:59 p.m. N Sperlo Dork

My number one rule when selling a car. Red light warranty. When those red lights on the back of the car are gone, I ant' payin' a damn thang.
Oct. 2, 2011 10:26 p.m. alex SuperDork

Yeah, this sounds really complicated with a lot of potential for familial nastiness. I'd find a way to gracefully weasel out of this one.
Oct. 2, 2011 10:33 p.m. oldtin Dork

My experience is bad juju with swapping cars in the family.
Oct. 2, 2011 11:19 p.m. Travis_K SuperDork

No way, it sounds like it's a fairly decent car, and selling it to someone who will destroy it and blame you when things go wrong isn't going to make anyone very happy.
Oct. 2, 2011 11:55 p.m. Salanis SuperDork

Well, within a few hours of listing on Craigslist I've gotten one low (but not insultingly so) offer, one scam bot, and one guy who's interested in it for his daughter and should be available Tuesday afternoon.

60k mile, single-family Honda Accord apparently not a tough car to sell.
Oct. 3, 2011 12:39 a.m. Salanis SuperDork

Okay, one other logistical issue with this: car is my girlfriend's. Plan was that I would sell my Miata and buy this car for $1000. I have since decided that this car will sell more easily for at least as much money. And between the two cars, I'd prefer to have the Miata anyway.

Girlfriend is not as excited about me being the middle-man to sell her car, but has no problems with me buying it and then selling it. I dunno. Extra step just seems... superfluous and wasteful.

Better to keep her happy though. Best option is probably just buy the car from her since she wants to be rid of it, and flip at best profit I can get.
Oct. 3, 2011 12:54 a.m. Trans_Maro Dork

Memorise this line for future use:

"Our relationship is too good to let something as stupid as a car get in the way"

Has gotten me out of LOTS of selling cars to friends or family.

Shawn
Oct. 3, 2011 5:58 a.m. Toyman01 SuperDork

I'd sell to my family, but not my wife's. My family knows what as is no warranty means. Hers doesn't.
Oct. 3, 2011 6:59 a.m. pigeon Dork

Salanis wrote:

Okay, one other logistical issue with this: car is my girlfriend's. Plan was that I would sell my Miata and buy this car for $1000. I have since decided that this car will sell more easily for at least as much money. And between the two cars, I'd prefer to have the Miata anyway.

Girlfriend is not as excited about me being the middle-man to sell her car, but has no problems with me buying it and then selling it. I dunno. Extra step just seems... superfluous and wasteful.

Better to keep her happy though. Best option is probably just buy the car from her since she wants to be rid of it, and flip at best profit I can get.

I'm trying and failing to see how you buying GF's car and flipping it for a tidy profit won't end in a pissed off GF, who will eventually reason that you should have just marketed/sold the car for her and she could keep the money. When it was "here, take my car cheap so you can get rid of that POS Miata" she had an agenda that justified taking a hit on the price; without the Miata being replaced by the Accord the justification for her selling well below market to you goes away.

Oh, and agree on easier to sell Accord than Miata - when I got my '96 Miata about 12 years ago I did a straight trade with the dealer for my '96 Accord. I'm pretty sure they sold the Accord for more than they were asking for the Miata while I was gone test driving the Miata and before our deal was done.
Oct. 3, 2011 9:24 a.m. BoxheadTim SuperDork

Another vote for not selling vehicles to friends, family or work colleagues. Only exception I make is for people who'd fit in here pretty well, every else is going to be a pain in the posterior.
Oct. 3, 2011 9:35 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

I am not even sure I would sell one of my cars to YOU guys.
Oct. 3, 2011 9:54 a.m. rotard Reader

So, why are you buying a car from your gf and selling it for a lot more? Sounds like you're trying to hose your gf and your family. I would say that this puts you firmly in the "shiny happy person" category. That said, any kind of business dealings with family are bad.
Oct. 3, 2011 10:38 a.m. alex SuperDork

rotard wrote:

So, why are you buying a car from your gf and selling it for a lot more?

Salanis wrote: [She] has no problems with me buying it and then selling it.
Oct. 3, 2011 11:32 a.m. Salanis SuperDork

pigeon wrote:

I'm trying and failing to see how you buying GF's car and flipping it for a tidy profit won't end in a pissed off GF, who will eventually reason that you should have just marketed/sold the car for her and she could keep the money. When it was "here, take my car cheap so you can get rid of that POS Miata" she had an agenda that justified taking a hit on the price; without the Miata being replaced by the Accord the justification for her selling well below market to you goes away.

The girlfriend is 100% aware of what I'm doing. I've been talking with her about it the whole time. Helps her out because she wants to be rid of it but doesn't want to do the work to sell it. She also didn't know what the market value was until I looked it up, and we were both a bit surprised by how high it was.

She's also doing this to help me out, because the profit I make flipping it goes directly to costs for brewing school.

Now, why she doesn't want to sell it directly to a buyer, but only wants to sell to me and then have me sell to someone else, I do not understand. She also feels more comfortable selling it to my sister than to another private party, so that is what will probably end up happening.

Edit: Looks like transfer fees are only $51. Less expensive than I was thinking if I transfer it to my name and then someone else's.
Oct. 3, 2011 1:24 p.m. iceracer SuperDork

Sold an old car to a nephew, cheap, Told him to watch the oil , since it uses some. Sometime later he calls and said the engine blew and what was I going to do about it ? He wasn't happy when I told him there was nothing I could do.

So Never, ever sell to a relative.
Oct. 3, 2011 1:52 p.m. NGTD Dork

My dad did it . . . . . . .

ONCE! - To my grandfather - never heard the end of it if something went wrong or broke.
Oct. 3, 2011 2:02 p.m. failboat HalfDork

iceracer wrote:

Sold an old car to a nephew, cheap, Told him to watch the oil , since it uses some. Sometime later he calls and said the engine blew and what was I going to do about it ? He wasn't happy when I told him there was nothing I could do.

So Never, ever sell to a relative.

I had the exact same thing happen when i sold a car to an aquaintence. I practically tried to talk him out of buying it (and the motor was knocking and the radiator blew when he test drove it) but he just had to have it. He was a mechanic and was sure that it was a cheap fix. A week later and he expects me to split the cost of a new motor with him. In so many words i told him to berkeley off. We dont talk anymore.

On the other side of the coin, We are about to sell one of our cars to my brother in law. He is ASE certified though and has worked on the car before so he knows what he is getting.
Oct. 3, 2011 5:54 p.m. neon4891 SuperDork

I have a standing agreement with my sister Holly to buy her windstar for $500 when she replaces it. I have done all of the non-shop work on it, I know it's faults, and if it craps out on me I can almost break even scrapping it.

My other sister Chris wants to buy my Neon from me for her daughter to learn stick, and as her first car... I will just leave it at my car has "quirks" that I wouldn't trust in the hands of a 16/yo girl.

Also the last time family "sold" a car to Chris, it ended badly.
Oct. 3, 2011 6:05 p.m. alex SuperDork

My dad's family buys/sells/gives cars to each other all the time. But they're all up in each others' business all the time anyway, so I don't think it makes much difference.

(My advice stands, Salanis. The sister situation sounds sticky. Make sure your GF understands the tail light warranty. It's one thing for her sister to be mad at you, another thing entirely to have them both riding your ass.)

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