How to sell a car safely in 2025 (step-by-step)

Where is the safest place to sell my car?

The process of selling your car privately starts with deciding where to sell your car. There are several options at your disposal, including:

• Car listing websites

  There are numerous car advertising websites where you can list your car for sale. These sites cater to users looking to buy or sell vehicles. Listing your motor on one or more reputable car advertising sites can help you attract a pool of prospective buyers.

• Social media

  In recent years, social media apps have become a popular avenue for selling cars, especially Facebook Marketplace.

  Listing your car on social media apps can be a great way to connect with prospective buyers. However, you should proceed carefully, as once you start dealing with a potential buyer, you’ll need to handle the rest of the sale yourself; this includes facilitating the payment.

• Car enthusiast forums

  Car enthusiast forums aren’t quite as popular as they once were, but they’re still a useful tool for selling your car privately – especially if you have a rare, niche or collectable model. These forums are usually dedicated to specific car brands or types, so listing your motor on a few relevant forums can be a great way to attract genuine buyers.

  If you want to find that ‘needle in a haystack’ buyer who has their heart set on your specific car model (and might even pay a little more than its market value), a car enthusiast forum can be a great place to start!

  To maximise your chances of selling your car successfully, you should:

  • Take a variety of good quality interior and exterior photographs.
  • Include details of your car’s make, model, features, mileage and condition.
  • Be fully transparent about your car’s history (e.g. the number of previous owners and whether it has been written off).

  Whichever selling avenue you choose, you should take the necessary precautions to avoid scams when dealing with buyers. We will cover these in detail later in the article.

Selling your car on safe websites like Facebook Marketplace can be a secure and effective option.

Documentation

Make sure you have all the documents needed to sell your car - and replace any lost paperwork. The following documents are frequently requested by car buyers:

• V5C logbook.
• Car service history.
• MOT certificates.
• Owner’s manual.
• Car warranty documents (if applicable).
• Proof of deposit and purchase.
• Car parts receipts.
• Insurance documents.

Your V5C is one of the most important documents when selling your car to a dealership

Preparation

Key considerations when preparing your car for resale include:

• Having any faults or damage repaired, if feasible.
• Cleaning your vehicle inside and out.
• MOT testing your car, if there is less than 6 months’ cover remaining.

When you sell your car, you should be fully transparent about the vehicle’s condition from the outset. If you attempt to deceive potential buyers about its condition or history, you could land yourself in legal trouble. If you can’t fix it, you must declare it!

Know the signs of car buying scams

If you decide to sell your car on the private market, it’s important to watch out for car buying scams. Here are some of telltale behaviours of a car buying fraudster:

• Creating a fresh profile on a car advertising website just to respond to your ad.

• Attempting to entice you with an unusually high offer.

• Pressuring you to complete the sale quickly.

• Asking to buy the car before seeing it in person.

• Requesting a less secure payment method, with fewer seller protections, before requesting a refund, leaving you without your cash - or your car!

Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

How to get paid safely

• Direct bank transfer, CHAPs payment, and escrow are the safest, most secure payment methods.

• The only details you’ll need to provide are your account number, sort code, and the account holder’s name.

• Never disclose your card number, expiry date, or security code. This information could be used to commit fraud.

• If you’re taking payment by cash, arrange to meet the buyer at the bank. The teller can count and verify the cash.

• Whichever payment method you accept, make sure the money has reached your account before handing over the keys.

• Take extra care if receiving payment by cheque. The buyer’s cheque will bounce if they don’t have the required funds in their account.

You should avoid the following payment methods, as they offer less protection for car sellers:

• PayPal, Venmo, Cash App and other digital wallet apps.
• Cryptocurrency.
• Wire transfer.

How to safely let buyers test drive your car

1. Ask a friend or family member to accompany you to ensure the test drive goes smoothly. Arrange to meet viewers at a familiar location. (Never agree to meet at a remote spot.)
2. Before allowing anyone to get behind the wheel, make sure they have a valid driving licence and insurance to test drive your car. If they don’t, offer to demonstrate the car on their behalf.
3. Plan a varied test drive route comprising a variety of speeds and road surfaces (e.g. country roads, built-up areas, and motorways), before returning to the starting point.

Here are a few more key considerations:

• Don’t meet viewers at your home address, especially if this is where your car is kept overnight. Otherwise, you risk attracting car thieves.
• Never allow anyone to test drive your car unsupervised.
• Never leave the keys in the ignition. A determined thief will spy a chance to take off in your car.

Legal considerations when selling your car to a dealership

You should also ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy at the point of sale. Selling a vehicle that is unroadworthy is a criminal offence – unless you make the buyer aware of the fact.

An MOT certificate cannot be accepted as evidence that the car was roadworthy at the time of sale, so make sure you check your vehicle thoroughly before selling it.

After selling your car, it’s your responsibility to transfer ownership to the buyer. This is a legal requirement. Failing to do so could leave you liable for any driving offences and parking fines – and a DVLA fine of up to £1,000.

Safely transferring ownership of your car to a dealership

1. Take note of the 11-digit reference number in your V5C logbook and collect the new owner’s personal details.
2. Visit the ‘Tell the DVLA you’ve sold, transferred, or bought a vehicle’ page on the gov.uk website.
3. Answer the questions on screen.
4. Submit the form to receive an email confirmation. If you include the new owner’s email address, they’ll receive confirmation too.

The quickest and easiest way to tell the DVLA you’ve sold your car is via the GOV.UK website. This process is instantaneous.

You can also transfer ownership by post, although it may take up to four weeks for the next owner to receive their new V5C logbook.

The process for transferring by post is outlined in our complete guide to transferring car ownership.

The safest way to sell your car with webuyanycar 

webuyanycar offers a safe, hassle-free alternative to private selling.

You’ll also benefit from a guaranteed sale, meaning you won’t have to meet viewers or dealers who aren’t serious buyers. Here’s how it works:

• Enter your reg number into our free car valuation tool to get a quote in under 30 seconds.

• Book your appointment at any of our 500+ UK branches.

• Drive down to your appointment. Happy to sell? We’ll help with the paperwork and send the money to your bank.