Get on the phone, call up a total stranger, invite them around to your house and let them drive your car down the freeway. Go on...

Yeah, didn't think so, but that's exactly what you're doing when you sell a car privately. It's something that's hard to get around, though, assuming you really want to sell the thing.

But what about minimising the risk? Got to be worth some investigation, right? So CarPoint talked to the people who know all about car theft, the police stolen car squads of this wide brown land. And did they have any suggestions? Did they ever...

THE PHONE CALL

Be patient and polite to enquirers. Have all paperwork at hand ready to answer questions. Make appointments during daylight hours. Callers can get nasty if they travel long distances only to find the car is sold. Make it clear that if they don't turn up at the designated time, you reserve the right to sell it to someone else after that time. Ask for a return number in case the car is sold in the meantime or if a deal falls through later.

Keep potential buyers separate so you are not trying to watch several buyers at once. Think carefully before giving a caller 'first refusal' on your car. Some buyers will use this to get you to hold the car at their convenience and force you to drop your price after you have put off other callers. Don't be pressured into dropping your price until you give the ad time to work. Don't give out unnecessary information over the telephone.

THE VIEWING

For a start, if you're selling something exotic or otherwise desirable it's best to do the deal on neutral turf, so potential baddies don't know where the car lives. Otherwise, show the car on your own ground, but if you live alone and are vulnerable, consider showing it from a friend's house then disclose your address only when the deal is done. Or have a friend around. Don't give anyone the keys. Don't let anyone wander around your house.

This might sound basic, but don't leave anything valuable in the car, such as the service record (think about it) and the rego papers. Some cars also have a code number on the key. Remove it and be wary of anybody who takes an unhealthy interest in it.

Some so-called buyers are shopping for a car and your household effects but don't intend to pay and use the visit to check out security systems and keys. Be aware that key codes are often stamped into the key or listed in the owner's manual which can allow a caller to get their own key made and take your car later. Remove key codes from your documents.

THE TEST DRIVE

Many buyers will want a test drive, though you are not obliged to give one. Is the buyer really interested or just wants to hoon around in your car? Buyers who don't take the time to fully check out the car before a test drive are rarely genuine.

Do they have a current driver's licence? You also need to make sure that your insurance will cover the other driver.

By all means accompany the test pilot, but never get out of the car before the keys are back in your hands. Many's the seller who's been asked to check a tyre the driver reckons is going flat. The seller steps around to the back wheel and guess what? Yep, that's the last they ever see of their car.

Don't accept the keys to the potential buyer's car as security, either. You wouldn't be the first person to be left holding the keys to a stolen car parked in front of your house while the baddies are miles away with your wheels.

And we shouldn't have to say this, but don't do a deal where the buyer gives you half the money now and half later, "but I'll take the car now". And he never saw the car or the other half of the money again.

How surprising.

Article by Joe Kenwright and CarPoint.com.au