When I first posted to this community, I got some advice suggesting I sell my car, which is a 2012 Toyota Yaris in excellent condition (though it could stand to see the underside of a vacuum), on which I still owe almost $12k.
I have a huge amount of internal resistance to this idea, because the security of having a car I know I can rely on means a lot to me for a lot of reasons. But I'm trying to overcome it; I'm poking around the edges of it, trying to figure out what it would mean for me to be without it.
My alternative, if I sold it, would probably be Zipcar plus my bike. I already bike most places I need to go around town, and I have public transit for the rest. Right now, honestly, I'm not using the car for much beyond emergencies and an emotional security blanket. Well, and a relationship aid - my room mate and I shared her car for a couple of years, and it was always a big source of strain for us; our friendship, which is really long-term and important to me, is better off for me having a car.
So, I'm thinking about it. I'm not quite ready to commit to it. But what I want to understand, if you guys can help me, is the process for selling a car. I've never done it - this is the first car I've ever owned. I understand about advertising, and trying to be safe when letting people see or test drive the car. But how does the actual money exchange work?
Say I get someone to the point of buying the car. I wouldn't want to sell it for rock-bottom prices - I need to make back at least what I still owe on it, and preferably more so I can make back some of what I've spent. But that's a lot of money for most people - do they pay cash? Do they get a loan from a bank and bring me a check from the bank? If that's how it works, do I cash the check and pay off my loan before I hand over the keys? What do I do if they want to write me a personal check? I would think I'd need it to at least be a cashier's check or something, right? And after all that, how do they get the title, if the title is still held by Toyota?
I hope you guys will forgive my waffling on this - I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Owning my own car was a major milestone for me, it feels like the thing that made me (at this very late date) officially a grown-up. Letting go of that is a hard transition, but I'm trying to get there.
I hope you'll also forgive my utter ignorance on this topic - any advice would be welcome!