Buyer & Seller Guides
Plain-English answers for the situations the standard car-buying and selling advice never covers. Each guide ends with the right document for your transaction.
How to Sell a Boat: Title, Registration, and Bill of Sale by State
Title vs registration, the Hull Identification Number, liens, selling with a trailer and motor, Coast Guard documentation, and a 50-state notary and title table.
Read the guide →How to Sell a Car Privately: Step-by-Step
Pricing, screening buyers, getting paid without falling for cashier-check fraud, the bill of sale, signing over the title, and filing your release of liability.
Read the guide →Buying a Used Car from a Private Seller
The full pre-purchase checklist: title verification, VIN check, odometer, test drive, walk-away signs, and what to put in the bill of sale.
Read the guide →Buying a Used Motorcycle from a Private Seller
Title and frame-number checks, reading a crashed bike, the cold start and test ride, theft history, and the bill of sale you need to register it.
Read the guide →Buying a Used Boat from a Private Seller
Title vs registration, HIN verification, the sea trial, hull and engine checks, the separate trailer paperwork, and the bill of sale you need.
Read the guide →Buying a Used Trailer from a Private Seller
When a trailer needs a title vs registration by weight, VIN checks, homemade-trailer rules, frame and bearing inspection, and the bill of sale you need.
Read the guide →Selling a Car to a Family Member
Gift versus sale, the $1 trap, sales tax exemptions for family transfers, title transfer, and why you still need a bill of sale.
Read the guide →Seller Has No Title - What Now?
Lost title, never had a title, salvage, mechanic's lien, abandoned vehicle. Each scenario has a different fix and risk level.
Read the guide →Selling a Vehicle That Still Has a Loan
Payoff letters, lender title release, escrow options, and how to protect both parties when a lien is still on the title.
Read the guide →Out-of-State Vehicle Purchase
Titling in your home state, sales tax credits, temporary tags, transport, and why a Vehicle POA often matters for out-of-state deals.
Read the guide →Bill of Sale and POA - When You Need Both
The bill of sale documents the deal; the POA handles the logistics. Learn which situations require both and how they work together.
Read the guide →Selling "As-Is" - What It Actually Protects You From
As-is removes implied warranties but does not cover fraud. Learn what the clause protects, what it does not, and how to write it so it holds up.
Read the guide →Trailer Titling - State Quirks and Weight Thresholds
Weight thresholds, registration vs titling, homemade trailer rules, and what paperwork a buyer needs for a private trailer purchase.
Read the guide →Bonded Titles by State
How bonded titles work, which states allow them, what the bond costs, and the step-by-step DMV process when you have a bill of sale but no title.
Read the guide →Title Jumping: Why It Is Illegal
Selling a vehicle without titling it in your name first is a crime in every state. How honest buyers get caught in it and how to spot the red flags before paying.
Read the guide →Antique and Classic Vehicle Title Rules
Age thresholds vary from 20 to 30 years. Plate types, smog exemptions, mileage caps, and use restrictions vary by state. Here is what to expect.
Read the guide →Removing a Co-Owner from a Vehicle Title
Divorce, death, gift, or buyout. AND vs OR vs JTWROS. What paperwork the DMV requires for each scenario and how to handle the uncooperative co-owner.
Read the guide →Boat Title vs Registration
State title vs Coast Guard documentation, hull ID numbers, in-water transfers, and why the trailer is always a separate transaction.
Read the guide →Firearm Transfer Between Family Members
Federal rules, which states require an FFL even for family transfers, interstate transfer requirements, and how to document the transaction.
Read the guide →Mobile Home - Personal Property vs Real Property
When a mobile home is titled like a vehicle vs deeded like real estate, permanent affixation affidavits, and what sellers and buyers need to know.
Read the guide →Buying a Non-Running Project Car
Title status on a non-runner, transport options, what to inspect, parts-only and salvage title implications, and what to include in the bill of sale.
Read the guide →Curbstoning - Signs of an Unlicensed Dealer
How to spot a curbstoner: multiple listings from one address, title not in seller's name, pressure tactics, and what protections you lose.
Read the guide →Selling an Inherited Vehicle
Executor authority, small-estate affidavit path, "or" vs "and" on the title, and when a Vehicle POA helps with inherited vehicle sales.
Read the guide →VIN Check and Odometer Verification
Free and paid VIN sources, what NMVTIS and NHTSA show, how to spot odometer rollback, and the federal disclosure requirements.
Read the guide →Gifting a Car to a Family Member
State gift forms, sales tax exemptions for family transfers, federal gift tax rules, and why a $0 bill of sale still matters.
Read the guide →Lost or Damaged Title - Getting a Duplicate
How to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged title. State timelines, fees, lien complications, and bonded titles for vehicles you never received a title for.
Read the guide →Selling a Totaled or Salvage-Title Vehicle
Disclosure rules for salvage, rebuilt, flood, and junk titles. Realistic pricing, who buys these vehicles, and how to write the bill of sale.
Read the guide →Selling to an Out-of-State Buyer
Whose state rules govern, where to notarize, plate handover, sales tax, temporary tags, and why a Vehicle POA matters for cross-state sales.
Read the guide →Selling a Car with Active Recalls
How to find open recalls, what private sellers must disclose, do-not-drive notices, and the bill of sale language that protects both sides.
Read the guide →Buying a Vehicle at Auction
Public, dealer, and government auctions each give you different paperwork. What is included, what is missing, and the bill of sale you may still need.
Read the guide →Selling a Boat With a Trailer
Boats and trailers title separately. Why two bills of sale beat one, how to allocate the price, and the registration steps for each.
Read the guide →Buying a Firearm at a Gun Show
Private sale rules by state, the universal background check states, and the bill of sale you should always sign for a private firearm transfer.
Read the guide →Buying a Mobile Home Without the Land
Mobile homes on rented lots are personal property. How the title works, park approval, lot rent, and traps that catch first-time buyers.
Read the guide →Bill of Sale for a Project or Unregistered Car
Selling a barn-find, project, or vehicle that has not been registered in years. Disclosures to make and how to avoid title-jumping by the buyer.
Read the guide →Selling a Vehicle to a Dealer or as Trade-In
How CarMax, Carvana, and trade-in offers work, the sales-tax credit on a trade, and when private sale still wins despite the convenience cost.
Read the guide →Buying a Vehicle From an Estate or Probate
Who can sign the title when the owner has died, small-estate affidavits, executor authority, and the bill of sale that completes the transfer.
Read the guide →Joint Ownership: Two Names on the Title
AND vs OR between owner names, survivorship language (JTWROS, TBE, TIC), what each means at sale time, and the bill of sale signatures required.
Read the guide →Selling a Vehicle to a Foreign Buyer or for Export
The 72-hour customs rule, AES filing, sales tax exemptions for export sales, foreign buyer scams to avoid, and the bill of sale port officials need.
Read the guide →Abandoned Vehicles, Tow Yards, and Mechanic Liens
Three paths to a vehicle no one bought from a willing seller: abandonment, tow-yard lien sale, mechanic lien sale. The process, the title risk, and the bill of sale at the end.
Read the guide →Need a Bill of Sale Now?
Get a completed, state-specific bill of sale in minutes. Not a blank template. Every required field, ready to sign.
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