How to Sell a Car in Texas

Selling a car here.

If you live in Texas and you're ready to sell your car or truck, make sure your vehicle is in the best condition possible. Maximize your profit by fixing minor mechanical problems and detailing your car both inside and out. Familiarize yourself with the Texas title transfer process to ensure that the sale is legitimate.

Instructions

1. Get the car insured. When you sell a car in Texas, the car owner must have insurance. It is the seller's responsibility to provide insurance for the car for the first 30 days during which the title is transferred. After the 30-day time period is up, it is the buyer's responsibility to get the car insured.

2. Secure payment from the car buyer. Protect yourself by only accepting cash, a money order, or a cashier's check. If the vehicle is new and requires financing, make sure the buyer obtains their own financing and provides you with funds in the full amount. This prevents you from having to worry about repossessing the car because of non-payment.

3. Transfer the title certificate to the the buyer. There is a section on the title certificate that allows you to sign the title over to the buyer. Fill out that section completely and give it to the buyer. Provide the buyer with a bill of sale. Include the date, a description of the vehicle, the amount paid by the car buyer and notate it with, "Paid in full."

4. Obtain a title application form from the county tax assessor-collector's office. The required form is Form 130-U. Fill out and sign the application form and take it to the county tax assessor-collector's office along with the title certificate. You must do this within a month of the sale. This legally completes the title transfer process.

5. Obtain the "Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification" form from the Texas Department of Public Transportation. Fill it out completely and submit it to the Texas Department of Transportation. This protects you from being linked to any future parking tickets, registration tickets or crimes associated with the car.

Tips & Warnings

• A similar title transfer process is used in Texas if you give a car as a gift, transfer the title because of the death of the owner or go through a divorce.

• If you have lost the title certificate to your vehicle, you must obtain a new one before you sell your car. Apply for a new title certificate at the County Tax Assessor-Collector's Office.

References

• DMV.org: Title Transfers