How to pay (and get paid) for a car between private parties without losing sleep

The payment moment is where private sales earn their reputation. The buyer fears paying and losing the car; the seller fears handing over and losing the money. Every payment method distributes that fear differently.

Cash

Immediate and intermediary-free — and everything else against it: legal limits when a business is involved, the physical risk of moving it, counterfeit notes, and zero trail if anything is disputed. For car-sized amounts, the worst available option.

Bank transfer

Traceable and safe once CREDITED. The trap is receipts: a screenshot of “transfer issued” is not money in your account. Instant transfers solve the wait; if it isn’t instant, the car waits for the credit.

Banker's draft

Issued by the bank against already-reserved funds, it's among the most solid offline instruments. Verify it with the issuing bank and hand over during banking hours. A personal cheque, by contrast, is worth whatever the signer's account is worth.

Third-party escrow

The pattern serious deals use: money locked by a third party, released when the condition is met — here, the ownership transfer. Nobody trusts anybody, and nobody needs to.

How Autamo works

The deposit by card and the balance by transfer into an account where it is HELD: the seller sees it, doesn’t have it. When the DGT confirms the new ownership, it is released and the seller receives the full price. The fear of the exchange disappears because there is no exchange.