As we enter the summer driving and buying season for classic cars there are some steps to take to make your hi-tech classic car buying experience a little safer in the digital world of purchasing a car that you cannot inspect in person or even cannot have inspected by someone else. For sellers, a few of these tips will help you market your car for an optimal online offering, including some of the pros and cons of the most well-known online destinations for both buyers and sellers. This is not an exhaustive guide, nor is it any guarantee that a creative con artist will not still get you. Rather, these are some tools that can help prepare buyers and sellers in an era when large sums of cash are passing between complete strangers.
Know Where to Look Online
Back in the day, if you wanted to sell a car, you pushed it out on the lawn with a for-sale sign or put an ad in the classified section of the local newspaper or the Pennysaver. The internet has now made buying and selling the act of drinking from a global fire hose. That has come with pros and cons for both sellers and buyers. We live in a time of abundance, with all the hazards that come with it. Here is a rundown of today’s various sales channels and some comments on what to expect.
Looking Locally
Almost as a backlash against the ever-expanding universe of the internet, sites such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and the intensely local NextDoor have become places where people do not have to compete against the global swarm. The ads are free or extremely cheap, so sites are not usually well organized or very searchable. Scams are rife—even on Facebook, where the profiles are supposed to guarantee the seller is more authentic—so you need to have your guard up.
If the price seems too low or the deal can only be done remotely using Google Pay or some other online money exchange, do not fall for it. The quality of the cars as well as the people showing up for them can vary greatly. If your car is missing an engine and three fenders, these are probably your go-to sales channels because somebody will have to come for it with a trailer and a couple of friends. For those who like to shop local, these modern versions of the old newspaper classifieds.
Online-only Auctions
Online-only auctions provide a platform that introduces your car to thousands of potential buyers for a low fee relative to a traditional consignment dealer or traditional auction houses. They also provide a degree of confidence that your classic car will sell quickly. For buyers, they offer an abundance of fascinating classic cars whose listings are usually well provisioned with photos and details. The online discussion that accompanies each listing can be helpful as people chime in with information or, sometimes, firsthand knowledge of the vintage car on sale.
For sellers, the community aspect of online auctions is a double-edged sword. The sites leave it to the sellers themselves to police the conversation and beat back trolls, so you are essentially signing up for a full-time job as used classic car salesperson for the duration, lest unanswered negative critiques scare buyers away. Another disadvantage is that you are on your own to complete the sale after the auction, as no money has changed hands except for the seller’s and buyer’s fees to the auction site.
Traditional Collector Car Dealerships
Classic car dealers had shifted their business online even before the pandemic. For example, some remain brick-and-mortar enterprises yet offer cars almost exclusively on Bring a Trailer. Why? Because even if the cars do not sell on the Bring a Trailer platform, its $99 basic listing package fee is the most effective ad out there if one computes eyeballs for dollars. But even the dealers who are still retail stores that welcome in-person tire-kickers need to get inventory.
Depending on your car (and their business model), dealers will either buy the car from you—presumably at a price that allows room for profit—or sell it for a fee. Aside from the fact that frequent flyers seem to have higher chances of getting on Bring a Trailer than casual users, not having to worry about collecting the money and dealing with shipping is the biggest reason to consider going through a dealer.
Traditional Auction Houses
Most of the traditional auction houses have shifted their online efforts into overdrive over the past year. Advantages to selling through a traditional auction house such as Mecum or Barrett Jackson include a hands-off, full-service sale for your car, wherein they vet the buyers, rep the cars to wide audiences, and—if all goes well—get you a check. The disadvantages can include cost for transport if it is a live, brick-and-mortar event, and the fees the auction companies charge the seller.
Be Smart - Know Your Information
Know Your Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs)
The first step of your due diligence for an online or sight-unseen classic car purchase begins with the numbers: either the chassis or engine serial numbers, or, on later cars, the VIN, or vehicle identification number. Either way, buyers should make sure to get the complete VIN—preferably from a photo of the VIN tag on the vintage car. Then Google it to see where the classic car has been before, and, if it is new enough, purchase a CarFax report. You can buy individual CarFax reports for $40 or, if your search will be lengthy, a package of reports at a discount. Do not trust a copy provided by the seller as those can be doctored up. We have seen it all: a VIN of a bad classic car cut and pasted into a good CarFax; the mileage changed; the accident history conveniently missing. All it takes is a printer, a pair of scissors, and question-able creativity. Remember the obscured fax pages in the movie Fargo? Same idea. Sellers need to be ready to cheerfully provide the VIN tag, and if your car has issues with its numbers, be upfront about it.
Ask The Experts!
If you cannot have a trusted third-party or prepurchase-inspection service check out the car in person, you can still benefit from the knowledge of a model- or marque-specific expert. This may cost a fee, but it is money well spent. Not only will they tell you what to look for and where the common problem areas are, they will likely know the current market—they may even know the actual car you are looking at and be able to vouch for it (or tell you to walk away). Also, consider checking in with the local chapter of the associated car owners club and ask if anyone knows the specific classic car.
Hired experts often pay for themselves by finding issues that can then be used as leverage in the negotiating. Try to stick with marque-specific experts, who are usually found by asking club members or by hanging out in the marque-specific forums. Avoid the one-size-fits-all vintage car “experts;” often, they are non-classic-car insurance adjusters who are moonlighting as advisers and may not know the particulars of that vehicle.
Sellers should be ready to facilitate a third-party inspection. The right thing to do as a seller is to be completely transparent. Whatever you know, you should disclose because it builds trust—and the buyer will eventually find out what you are hiding. Disclose the good and the bad to allow a buyer to make an educated decision. Treat the buyer the way you would want to be treated. Either they will find out before they do the deal and walk away, or they will find out after, and the lawsuits begin. The best phone call or email a seller can get is from a buyer who says that the car showed up and was better than described. That should be what we all strive for.
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
Sellers should provide a complete set of good, clear, current photographs showing every aspect of the car, from the exterior to the chassis, particularly of key areas known to be important on this make and model.
Not all pictures are created equal. Sellers should not provide, and buyers should not settle for, images sent via Facebook Messenger or text message; they will be so compressed and low-resolution as to potentially hide flaws. Photos should be emailed in a minimum file size of 800 KB each so that potential buyers can properly zoom in on them on a computer or tablet. Buyers do not examine the photos on your phone, please! In no world should one base a purchase decision on photographs viewed on a 3-inch screen. That email should include photos or scans of any service records, as well as a full ownership history according to the seller. Make sure it matches what you found in your Google search.
Sellers should also readily allow buyers to contact their mechanic or restoration shop. If they are not willing to do that? Red flag.
Online auctions have taught us that there is no such thing as too many photos. Sellers, prep your car for photography. Pull it out of the garage, clean it, and take the junk out of the trunk. Shoot your car against a neutral background with good lighting (see more photo tips here and below). Sellers should take lots of detail shots of areas that are known to be problematic to make sure the buyers feel comfortable about the car. If you neglect to take pictures of a known trouble spot, people will think you are hiding something. Take pictures of the engine and underside, as well. Do a compression check and post photos of the gauge on each cylinder. Videos of the walk-around, start-up, and driving, even if it means buying a $9 suction-cup iPhone mount, are well worth the small amount of time and money invested.
What Is and Isn’t in a title?
Assuming the seller is a private party, how long have they owned the car? Is the title in their name? A short ownership period is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can indicate an underlying issue, and a failure to title a car—a so-called “skip title” (illegal in most states)—of-ten points to an undisclosed flipper or “curbstoner,” i.e., an unlicensed used car dealer. Never buy a car not titled in the seller’s name or in the seller’s company name, LLC, or trust. If they refuse to have the car titled in their name, walk away. Not only are you not supposed to accept a skip title, but you could be on the hook for sales tax or past-due DMV fees in some states, or even find that there is an ownership issue. Which, not to point out the obvious, can be a real problem.
In the absence of face time, there’s still FaceTime. If all the above checks out, ask the seller to send video of the vintage car: inside and out, cold, and hot starting, and, ideally, a ride-along. If there is any area you want to see. It does not cost anything extra to post more photos and videos, and it shows that you are an engaged and thoughtful seller who is not trying to hide anything.
The reason we like video, as opposed to photos alone, is that video is incredibly hard to doctor or edit. And on a video call through FaceTime, Zoom, Google Duo, etc., you can get a feel for the classic car and for the seller, as well. Remember, throughout this whole process, you are playing detective. Does what the seller tells you match up with what they have told you in emails? Is there a license plate on the car? Is it current? Are they filming in a nondescript location or parking lot, or in front of a stately mansion where they do not use the driveway or garage? Or are they filming from what is clearly their home, showing signs of a real person in their real environment? Remember, you are buying the seller as much as the car.
The Exchange
The next steps are even more critical, as they involve sending money. After you agree on a price, negotiate a deposit amount, and create a sales agreement that confirms any terms discussed. One of these terms should be the right to have a pre-purchase inspection conducted prior to final payment. Also, to be included in the written agreement: What paperwork, literature, spare parts, etc., are included in the sale? It is amazing how often that spare set of wheels and tires, or the hardtop, or other valuable parts shown in photos or described on the phone somehow do not make it on the transport truck. If you have not already done so, and before you send anything beyond a refundable deposit, verify that the seller’s name appears on a photograph or scan of the title.
Details Matter
Agree on the timing and method for all payments. A cashier’s check might be a hassle, given the need to go into a bank branch to get one. Instead, perhaps investigate a bank wire transfer or, better yet, using an escrow service (especially on a higher-priced vehicle).
Once you tender full payment, the seller should overnight you the title. Note I did not say mail. I have had many sellers agree to this but then send titles and paperwork via snail mail or FedEx Ground. Sometimes that works; other times I have had titles and valuable documents get lost because a seller tried to save $20. Discuss and put into writing how long the seller is willing to store the vehicle for you after the sale, and how you plan to transport it.
Although it is understood that almost every old vehicle is sold as is, that does not apply when it comes to fraud. So be sure to list in your written sales agreement a venue provision and discussion of who pays legal costs should a legal dispute occur from the purchase.
Once the car is paid for and you have the title in your possession, be sure to insure the vehicle immediately.
With these tips, along with a healthy dose of common sense, you can confidently purchase a collector car remotely. Be sure to take your time so that you do not miss anything as a buyer it is extremely hard to get your money back once it is gone. Getting it home, of course, is the next step.
