Before you make the deal

THE VEHICLE

Check the claim against the car.

Does what you are being told match what you can see and check?

Both people can make claims about the vehicle.

The seller might say the tires are new. The buyer might say the transmission is slipping. Neither claim becomes a fact just because somebody says it with confidence.

Start with what you can check.

Compare the mileage to the records. Compare the condition to the description. Check the equipment that is supposed to be included. Match the VIN on the vehicle to the VIN on the paperwork.

If something does not match, ask why.

A difference does not prove somebody is lying. There may be a simple explanation. But settle it before you depend on it.

Neither person has to accept the other person’s opinion about the vehicle as fact.

If somebody finds a problem you cannot see, ask what they found and how they found it. If it could change the price by a lot, getting another opinion may be worth the time.

Before somebody else takes control of the vehicle, take a few pictures. Get the outside, inside, dash, mileage, warning lights and anything included with the sale.

Write down what goes with the vehicle too — keys, manuals, tools, spare tire, accessories or anything else you agreed to include.

And until the deal is done, stay with the vehicle during inspections and test drives.

THE PAPERWORK

Make sure the papers tell the same story.

Do the papers agree with each other and with the deal you are making?

You do not need to know how to spot a fake document.

Start with something easier: check the same information in more than one place.

Match the VIN on the vehicle to the paperwork.

Match the name on the ID to the name on the title.

Check dates, amounts, signatures and the names of the people involved.

If two records disagree, stop and settle the difference.

If somebody is signing for another person, there should be something showing that they have the authority to do it.

And put the deal itself in writing.

Three weeks from now, neither of you should have to argue about what you remember saying.

Selling? Do not forget the paperwork that belongs to you after the sale.

Your state may have a notice of transfer, release of liability or another step for the seller. Check your state page for the current requirement and any deadline.

🔴 And do not let a thick folder make the decision for you.

Documents can look right and still contain wrong information.

That includes documents made here. Owners Row prints the information somebody enters. We do not verify it for you.

THE PERSON

Know who you’re dealing with.

Do you know who you are dealing with and whether they can do what they say they can do?

This applies to both sides.

Compare names on IDs with the names on the paperwork.

If somebody is signing, paying, receiving money or picking up the vehicle for somebody else, find out why they are involved.

If their authority matters to the deal, ask to see what gives them that authority.

Knowing something about a person is not the same as confirming who they are.

A phone number, address, online profile or friendly conversation can make somebody feel familiar.

But the important question is simpler: can you confirm the part of their identity or role that this deal depends on?

THE CLAIMS

Check what can be checked.

Can you check the important parts of the deal somewhere besides with the person telling you?

Both people say things during a sale.

Some things matter very little. Others may be the reason you are willing to make the deal.

Separate what you were told from what you can check.

Look for another source when one exists — a VIN, record, account, document, bank, government office or company that issued something.

🔴 You are not trying to decide whether somebody looks or sounds honest.

An honest person can explain something badly. A dishonest person can explain something very well.

Instead, ask yourself: what do I know? What have I only been told? What can I check for myself?

If something important cannot be checked, that does not automatically make it false.

It means you know you are relying on somebody’s word when you make your decision.

THE MONEY

Know where the money really is.

Do you know where the money is, who controls it and what happens when it moves?

This matters to both sides. One person is sending the money. The other person is receiving it.

Before you send money, know who is receiving it and why.

Before you treat money as received, check with your own bank or financial institution.

Do not depend on the other person’s phone or screen to tell you what happened.

A message, screenshot, receipt or pending payment is information about money. It is not the same as confirming the money yourself.

And be careful with the word cleared.

Some payments can still be returned, reversed or disputed after they first appear in an account. Ask your bank what that means for the payment method you are using.

If something about the payment changes, stop and look at it again.

A different amount. A different account. Another person paying. Money that needs to be sent back. Part now and the rest later.

Before either person gives up something that will be hard to get back, make sure you understand where the money actually stands.

The closing checklist and payment pages go into the details.

THE PRESSURE

Don’t let the deal change your judgment.

Has this deal changed the way you are making decisions?

⭐ The other questions look at the deal. This one looks at you.

That is important because the problem does not have to be something you have seen before.

You may simply stop making decisions the way you normally would.

Tired. It has been a long day. Plans changed. Now it is getting dark. Without noticing it, your goal changes from check everything to just get this finished.

Sympathetic. The other person’s problem may be completely real. You can care about it without changing what you need to check.

Excited. You found a great price. Or somebody finally offered what you wanted for your vehicle. You do not want to lose the deal.

Good feelings can change your judgment too.

And these feelings can pile up.

You are tired, excited and already spent hours on the deal. Walking away starts to feel like losing everything you already put into it.

That is when small things become easy to explain away.

Four things are worth remembering:

• Somebody else’s situation does not change what you need to check.
• You can be kind without lowering your guard.
• If you feel bad for asking, ask anyway.
• The time you already spent is not a reason to keep going.

THE CONDITIONS

Notice when the deal starts changing.

Are you still doing the deal the way you agreed to do it?

Think about the conditions before you meet.

Where will it happen? When? Who will be there? How will the money move? Who will inspect or drive the vehicle? What will be signed?

Then notice when those things start changing.

A time changes. Then the location changes. Somebody else shows up. The payment method changes. An inspection gets skipped because now it is late.

Each change may have a perfectly good explanation.

But several small changes can leave you in a very different deal from the one you agreed to.

Pay special attention if somebody wants the vehicle to leave without you before the deal is finished.

An inspection somewhere else, a test drive alone or taking it overnight may sound like one small change.

It is not.

You are giving up control of the vehicle before the transaction is complete.

Go with it, change the plan or do it another day.

THE SEQUENCE

Know what you give up before you give it up.

Do you know what you are giving up when you take the next step?

Doing all the right things is not enough. The order matters.

Money moves. Keys change hands. Documents get signed. The vehicle changes possession. The title changes hands.

Each step changes something.

Some steps are easy to undo. Others are not.

Before you take the next step, know what happens if you need to take it back.

Do not hand something over simply because it feels like that is what comes next.

The exact order can depend on the state and the transaction. Your state and closing pages cover those details.

The rule here is simpler: know what will be hard to undo before you do it.

What this does not do

🔴 None of this makes a deal safe.

A database only knows what has been reported to it.

A record can be correct and still be incomplete.

A real document can contain wrong information.

A real ID can belong to somebody making a false claim.

And a deal can go badly even when nobody is lying.

A clean check tells you what that source knew when you checked it. It does not answer every other question.

That is why these eight questions overlap.

Each one checks a different part of the deal. No single check can do the job of all the others.

Before you finish

Are you still checking the deal — or are you just trying to get it over with?

Rushed. Tired. Annoyed. Excited. Feeling sorry for somebody. Embarrassed to ask again. Worried you will lose the deal. Feeling like you have already gone too far to stop.

Notice when you start feeling that way.

Nobody has to be lying for you to make a decision you normally would not make.

Nothing says you have to finish today.

You can be kind without lowering your guard.

And if the deal stops making sense, you do not have to prove it is a scam. You do not have to prove somebody lied.

You only have to decide that you are not ready to take the next step.

The sheets that carry this

The closing checklist puts these questions back in front of you before the deal becomes hard to undo. The disclosure sheet, bill of sale and payment receipt put important parts of the deal in writing. They are there for both of you. They do not tell you whether the deal is good. They do not tell you whether somebody is trustworthy. And they do not replace the things you should check for yourself. Free, no account.