How To Buy A Car On The Weekend

We'll show you the right preparation and tools to buy a private-party car on the weekend safely and easily.

Here are the steps:

We created PrivateAuto to make the private-party car transaction process convenient and fast. Browse used cars for sale by owner, or click the “Create Account” button on the top menu to quickly set up your PrivateAuto profile.

Now, on to the steps you’ll take to buy a car on the weekend.

Get the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) from the seller. This 17-character code identifies the vehicle and is crucial for retrieving important information about its history and condition. Getting the VIN early on is essential because you'll need it to get insurance coverage for the vehicle before you can drive it home.

The VIN is available on the listing page of every car for sale on PrivateAuto. Scroll down the page to “Additional Info” and click the plus sign to open the dropdown. There, along with key info about the vehicle, is its VIN.

Contact your insurance company before the weekend and get temporary coverage for the vehicle you plan to purchase over the weekend. Give them the VIN, and they’ll get you temporarily covered to drive your new-to-you car home.

Contact them during the week because most insurance agents don’t work on the weekend. Some insurance companies will want to know the make, model, and year of the vehicle, as well as your intended use (personal or commercial). Have that info ready when you contact them.

PrivateAuto Pay is our revolutionary payment method. Think of it like Venmo for large transactions. It’s the only way to instantly pay for a car over $5K, anytime, with no transfer fees and no fund limits.

To buy a car with cash on the weekend, you’ll need to fund your PrivateAuto Pay account in advance. It’s super easy.

1. Create a PrivateAuto profile.
2. Link your external bank account to your PrivateAuto Pay account.
3. Transfer funds from your external account into your PrivateAuto Pay account.

If you’re planning to buy a $20K Honda Civic, transfer $20K into your PrivateAuto Pay account. If you’re buying a $120K Porsche, transfer $120K into your PrivateAuto Pay account.

Transfer funds a few days before your planned transaction. It’s not a bad idea to overfund your PrivateAuto Pay account, in case your dream car ends up costing just a little more than you expected—or you decide to purchase additional services such as an inspection or car transport.

Your PrivateAuto Pay account is an FDIC-insured bank account that you own, hosted on the PrivateAuto platform. This means that any money you don’t spend can easily be transferred back to your external bank. It’s your money, and you’re in control.

If you don’t have the funds to buy a car outright, apply for car financing from our integrated FDIC-insured lending partner. Say goodbye to the endless hassle of coordinating with a third-party bank or credit union. Everything happens in your PrivateAuto dashboard, from initial loan application to buying the car.

If accepted, the lender will fund your PrivateAuto Pay account and you’ll be set to buy that car when the weekend rolls around.

It’s the most convenient way to get a vehicle loan. Want to know how much your payments will be? Our handy car loan calculator will tell you.

When you’re ready to schedule the test drive, PrivateAuto makes it easy. We protect you from scammers by routing all scheduling and communication through the PrivateAuto app. Here’s how our handy scheduler works:

1. The seller sets their desired meetup location, whether that’s a local Home Depot or the neighborhood 711.
2. The seller sets their available meetup times.
3. You choose from their available slots.
4. The seller gets a notification that the test drive is scheduled.

If you have questions about the car, you can ask through our in-app messenger and the seller can respond. Meanwhile, everyone’s personal information is protected.

If you want a professional pre-purchase inspection (highly recommended), you’ll love our LemonSquad integration. With a couple of clicks in your PrivateAuto dashboard, you can schedule an inspection to coincide with your test drive meetup.

During the meetup, thoroughly inspect the car, test all its features, and ensure that it aligns with your needs and preferences. Don't hesitate to ask the seller any questions you have about the vehicle's history or maintenance records.

The bill of sale is a legal document that protects both buyer and seller by memorializing the terms of the sale. Some states require it, while other states don’t. We think you should always complete a bill of sale, which is why we make it a standard part of our transaction workflow.

After you’ve inspected the car and indicate your acceptance of its condition in your PrivateAuto dashboard, you and the seller will each be prompted to sign the bill of sale electronically.

PrivateAuto provides an official bill of sale for your state, and the mutual signing of it establishes the legal obligation of the seller to follow through with the transaction—meaning you’re safe to initiate payment. You and the seller each retain a signed copy of the bill of sale in your PrivateAuto accounts.

There's only one safe, convenient, and instantaneous way to pay cash for a car: PrivateAuto Pay. It works instantly anytime—on nights, weekends, or holidays. It never sleeps. And it costs you nothing.

Other payment methods—checks, bank wires, etc—are nearly impossible on weekends due to limited banker's hours and slow processing times. Skip all that hassle, and get the deal done on the spot. PrivateAuto Pay’s escrow-like safeguards give you control over the deal.

Here’s how easy it is:

1. After both parties have signed the bill of sale, you’ll be notified to release payment.
2. You approve the funds transfer from your PrivateAuto Pay account to the seller’s.
3. The seller immediately gets a notification of funds received.
4. On to the rest of the transaction.

Seriously, there’s no other instant, free, and safe way to send a large amount of money for a car. After using PrivateAuto Pay, you’ll never want to buy a car without it.

Now that the seller has been paid for the car, it’s time for them to sign over the vehicle's title, officially transferring ownership to you.

During this step, you and the seller will carefully review and sign the title. Make sure all the details on the title are accurate, including the VIN, make, model, and year.

Once the seller has properly signed over the title, they will hand you the keys, marking the successful completion of the ownership transfer. At this point, the car officially belongs to you, and you can drive it away from the meetup location.

With the purchase process complete and the title signed over to you, it's time to hit the road with your new vehicle. Thanks to your proactive step of securing temporary insurance coverage earlier, you can now safely and legally drive your newly acquired car home.

Once the weekend is over and Monday rolls around, it's time to complete the final steps and officially register your newly purchased vehicle. Head to your state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or equivalent agency to finalize the title transfer, pay vehicle sales tax, and get new license plates.

During this process, you'll need to present the signed title from the previous owner, as well as proof of insurance and any other required documents or fees specified by your state.

Most states have a timeframe within which you must finalize the title transfer and register a newly acquired vehicle. Failing to do so could result in fines or penalties, so do it on Monday.

Follow up with your insurance company. Contact them to update your policy and ensure that your new vehicle is properly and permanently insured.