Buying cars on Facebook Marketplace as a dealer

Most of what is written about dealers on Marketplace is about listing a lot's cars there. Buying there is a different job. You look at dozens of ads a day, you need the good ones before other buyers call, and you have to spot the sellers who are not who they say.

How Marketplace search works for a buyer

Facebook's help page on finding items to buy lists four ways in: search for something specific, browse by category, filter your results, and change the location of the items you're looking for. Facebook describes filters as a list of terms you choose from to see matching items. Browse the vehicles category to see what is out there, and search by make and model for the cars you buy every week.

Location decides what you see. Facebook's help says searching by location and distance shows items for sale near you. Set the location to your lot and the distance to how far you will drive for a car. A wider circle shows more cars, but a car two hours out costs you most of a day to go and look at.

Then sort. Facebook's page on sorting Marketplace results gives Suggested, Distance and Date listed as the orders to choose from. On a computer, open Marketplace from the left menu, type a search and press Enter, then click Sort by and choose. Use Date listed. Suggested is Facebook's order, not yours, and seeing a car first is most of a dealer's edge on Marketplace.

Saved searches bring new matches to you. Facebook announced that you can save a Marketplace search to get updates on new listings. Those updates only help if they reach you. Facebook's page on Marketplace notifications shows where to turn each type on or off: click your profile picture, then Settings & privacy, Settings, Notifications and Marketplace. Save one search per model you buy rather than one broad search, so a notification tells you which car it is before you open it.

Facebook's terms govern how you use Marketplace. This guide covers searching and buying by hand, in the app or a browser. It says nothing about automating Facebook.

How fast good cars go

Facebook does not publish how long a car stays listed, and the answer changes with the price and the model. A common car at a fair price gets messages soon after it posts. The seller answers the ones that look serious and sells to the first buyer who shows up with money. A car priced high sits until the seller cuts it, then draws a second round of messages.

Measure your own market. Pick ten cars in your buy box that you did not call. Note when each one posted and when it went pending or came down. After two weeks you know how long you have for the cars you buy, and how often you need to look. For Los Angeles, the market page shows how many private-party cars sellers post a day on Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp.

Keep notifications on for your saved searches. Check them, sorted by Date listed, at set times, such as before the lot opens, at lunch and after close. When a good car comes up, message the seller within minutes, not at the end of the day.

Messaging sellers so they answer

A seller with a good car gets a stack of one-line messages asking if it is still available. A one-line message tells the seller nothing about you. Your first message should show that you read the ad, that you can come soon and that you are ready to buy.

Ask the questions that end a deal early, before you drive anywhere:

• Is the title in your name, and do you have it? A no to either changes the deal. See title problems on private-party cars.
• Is there a loan on the car? If so, which lender, and what is the payoff?
• What is the VIN? A seller who won't give it before you drive over gives you a reason to pass.
• Any warning lights, leaks or smog problems?
• Why are you selling?

Tell the truth if the seller asks whether you are a dealer. Some sellers prefer a dealer, because you pay at once and know the paperwork. Some want nothing to do with one. Either way the seller finds out at signing, when your business name is on the paperwork.

Keep the conversation in Messenger until you meet. Facebook's page on scams on Marketplace lists moving a conversation off Facebook and Messenger as a warning sign. The written thread is also your record of what the seller told you about the car.

Spotting curbstoners and scams

Two kinds of seller cost dealers money on Marketplace. A curbstoner sells cars for a living while posing as a private owner. A scammer has no car at all.

Curbstoners

The clearest sign is a title that is not in the seller's name. The seller is selling it for my cousin, and the title is signed by someone you will never meet. Other signs: the profile lists several cars at once, the photos share one backdrop, the text reads like a lot's listing, or the ad offers financing. The curbstoner guide covers the full list.

The name on the title decides whether you can title the car. The California DMV's page on branded titles says a seller who is not the owner, or an agent the owner authorized, is not entitled to sell the car. It also says that when the seller's name is not on the title, there must be papers, such as a bill of sale or a power of attorney, that authorize the sale. Other states set their own rules, so check your state's DMV.

Scams

• The deposit to hold it. The seller has other buyers coming and wants a deposit by payment app before you see the car. Facebook's scam page says not to send deposits on high-value items such as cars without confirming they are real. It tells buyers to confirm the car exists and that the seller owns it, for example by seeing the pink slip, in person or on a video call before paying.
• The car far away. The price is low because the seller moved or was deployed, and the car will ship to you through an escrow or shipping company. Craigslist's scam advice flags offers that involve shipping and says escrow requests can be a scam. OfferUp's page on buying a vehicle advises against buying a car you have not seen in person.
• The verification code. The seller wants to make sure you are real and asks you to read back a code sent to your phone. Facebook lists verification codes among the things never to hand over, and Craigslist calls every such request a scam.
• Gift cards and wires. Facebook, Craigslist and OfferUp all name gift cards as a scam payment. Craigslist and OfferUp say the same about wire transfers.

Meeting and inspecting

Meet in daylight. OfferUp's buying advice suggests a well-lit public place, and a spot with security cameras for high-value items. For a car there is a trade-off. Seeing it at the address on its registration tells you the seller lives with it. A bank parking lot lets you inspect, pay and sign in one stop.

Check the papers before you look at the paint:

• The name on the title matches the seller's driver's license.
• The VIN on the title matches the VIN on the dash and on the door jamb label.
• The title shows no lienholder, or you have a plan to pay off the lender.
• The title carries no brand you did not expect, such as salvage or rebuilt.
• A history report for the VIN agrees with the title. NMVTIS lists the approved providers.

Then inspect the car as you would at an auction preview, with a scan tool, a paint gauge and a test drive long enough to bring it to full temperature. The private-party buying checklist has the full list.

Paying safely

Pay when the title changes hands, never before. Do it at a bank when you can. OfferUp's vehicle page recommends a cashier's check from your bank or cash, and advises against electronic transfers, wires and gift cards. Craigslist says not to pay before meeting in person.

If the seller has a loan, pay the lender, not the seller. Get a payoff letter first. Go to the lender with the seller when it has a branch, pay the payoff there, and pay the seller only the difference. Ask the lender how and when it releases the title.

Facebook will not cover the deal. Its Purchase Protection page says local pickups and Messenger transactions don't qualify. The car, the title and the money are between you and the seller.

Sign the title and a bill of sale on the spot. Transfer deadlines and forms vary by state, and licensed dealers follow their own rules. In California, the DMV's page on private-party purchases gives a buyer 10 days to transfer ownership and a seller 5 days to report the sale. Check your state's DMV and your dealer handbook.

Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp for a buyer

All three put you in front of private sellers. They differ in what you learn about the seller and in how new cars reach you.

Craigslist splits cars and trucks into by-owner and by-dealer listings, and its fee page lists $5 to post a car in either one in the US. The owner section keeps out lots that post as dealers, but a curbstoner can pay the same $5 and post as an owner. On OfferUp, a TruYou badge means the seller's ID passed a check, and OfferUp's TruYou page says the badge does not guarantee the seller is who they say or that they are trustworthy. See Craigslist car alerts for setting up the Craigslist side.

Some sellers post the same car on two or three of these sites. Covering all three means three sets of searches and alerts, and the same car turning up more than once. VinCount puts the private-party cars from all three on one sheet in Los Angeles, checked every 30 minutes from 6 AM to 11:30 PM Pacific. A car posted on two sites shows as one row when a VIN, a plate, shared photos or the same ad text proves it is one car, and VinCount marks a car whose ad reads like a dealer's as likely dealer. See how it works.