Who are Curbstonners?

Curbstoners

Curbstoners are used car dealers posing as private sellers. Curbstoners will sell used cars out of their home, or on the side of the road. Curbstoners may also recruit other people to help sell used vehicles.

Curbstoners generally sell vehicles with questionable histories including vehicles with rolled back odometers, hidden mechanical problems, or wrecked cars and salvaged vehicles that "cosmetically" look good. Curbstoners normally sell vehicles below book value and give the buyer a hard luck story why they must sell the vehicle. Buyers are taken in by the lure of a low price and the attitude of "his loss, my gain." In may cases, the Curbstoner The buyer is led to believe that they are dealing with either the vehicle's owner or relative and may let their guard down.

When you are buying a used car from an individual, ask these questions before you spend time traveling to take a test drive:

1) Whose name is the car registered?
2) Do you have the title?
3) How long have you owned the car?
4) How many miles on the car?
5) Why are you selling the car?
6) Have you performed any major repairs to the car?
7) Has the car ever been wrecked?
8) Does the car have any rust?
9) Does all the electrical and mechanical systems work?
10) Is the car available for a professional inspection?

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Always be sure you know who you are dealing with when buying a car from an individual. Then determine the vehicle's true condition with a professional mechanical, electrical, and frame inspection.

The #1 reason vehicles with existing problems are purchased is the buyers' inability to determine the current condition before purchase.