Title, payoff, and ID: the paperwork you need to sell your car

Selling your car is mostly about proving two things: that the car is yours to sell, and how to close out any loan on it. Here is exactly what to have ready, and what to do if you are missing something.

If you own the car outright

You need the vehicle title and a valid photo ID. That is it. If your title is sitting in a drawer at home, bring it or have it handy for your inspection. You do not need to clean the car, and it does not need to be registered or insured for us to buy it.

If you still owe money on the car

You can absolutely sell a financed car. Instead of the title, you provide your lender information so we can request the exact payoff amount. We pay the lender directly. If your car is worth more than the payoff, you keep the difference. If it is worth less, you cover the gap.

A payoff letter from your lender speeds things up, but it is not required. We can request the payoff for you.

If the car is leased

We buy leased vehicles too. In that case the paperwork is your leasing company's information rather than a title, because the leasing company owns the car until the buyout is paid. We contact them to verify the buyout amount, and the sale works much like a financed car: if the offer is higher than the buyout, the difference is yours.

If your title is lost

Do not worry, this is common and it does not stop the sale. We help you request a replacement title from your DMV. If your bank is holding the title because of a loan, that is fine too, we work directly with them, and we can provide free prepaid envelopes for mailing.

Selling a company or fleet vehicle

We regularly buy from business owners and fleets. The paperwork is the same idea: proof that the business owns the vehicle (the title in the company name) and ID for the person authorized to sign. If you have several vehicles, you can submit as many as you like, and each one is referenced by its VIN so nothing gets mixed up.

What you do not need

• Current registration. Expired or missing registration does not stop the sale as long as you can show ownership.
• Insurance. It is not required for us to buy the car.
• A clean car. Skip the detail. We price the actual condition, not whether it had a wash.
• A working car. We buy most vehicles, running or not, and we pick up ones that cannot be driven.

A quick checklist

• A valid photo ID
• The title, if you own the car outright
• Your lender details and payoff, if you still have a loan
• For a leased car, your leasing company so we can verify the buyout

When you get paid

If you own the car outright, payment is sent once we have the keys and the signed title. For a financed or leased car, payment releases after the payoff is confirmed and the documents are signed. Either way it goes out by secure ACH, and most customers are fully paid within one or two days.

That is the whole list. When you are ready, enter your VIN and a real person will build your offer, most in 10 minutes or less, and walk you through anything specific to your situation.