Craigslist is one of the oldest and most popular online selling and buying portals. The “car and truck” is one of the most searched tabs on craigslist. Earlier, the listing of your vehicle was free on craigslist, but still, you can list it at a nominal cost of $5. Almost all potential buyers face one major problem: “How to find craigslist cars and trucks for sale by owner.” The online world of selling and buying is full of frauds and imposters. It is hard to determine whether the person who has put the ad is the car’s real owner or a broker, or a curb stoner. So let’s understand how to identify the true owner from a broker.

The difference between an owner, broker, and a Curb stoner:

Craigslist is heaven for brokers and curb stoners. You must understand the difference between them. When you type in the car or truck model and then type “cars and trucks by owners”. People generally think that there is only the actual owner, but you would be surprised to know that most of them are not. Most of these so-called owners are, in reality, brokers or curb stoners. Let’s understand the basic difference between the owners, broker, and curb stoners.

Owners:

These are the people in whose name the car is being registered. Owners are in the present procession of the vehicle you wish to buy. These are the best people to buy the car from, as you can get the best deal from them and they know in detail about the car. 

Truck or car Brokers:

A car or truck broker is the one who facilitates and looks over the sale of a car on behalf of the owner. The broker takes a fee from both owners and, in some cases, from the seller. The broker looks after the whole paperwork involved in selling the car on behalf of the owner, thus saving the buyer a lot of time and energy. 

Curb Stoner:

Curb stoners are illegal people who act as owners of the car or trucks on Craigslist used cars and trucks option and act like owners. They then sell stolen, faulty, or unfit used cars or trucks to the unsuspecting buyer. They also act as buyers and purchase the truck at a cheaper rate only to sell it at a higher rate to an innocent buyer.

Due to these problems, it is always better to buy the car directly from the original buyer who takes good care of the car.

How to identify craigslist used trucks ads by the owner:

If you are a little vigilant and active, you can easily identify an original owner on craigslist. Here are some points that can help you identify the actual owner of the truck or car.

Mentioning the ownership details:

The owner always tends to write about the car’s ownership in the ad. Even if they are the second or third owner, they mention it in the ad. Especially the first owners.

The owner prices the car in actual terms:

The broker and the curb stoners don’t do it. Instead, they put a fictitious and clickbait price like the car for $8999.99 only, etc.

Owners don’t blur the license plate:

It is done mostly by the curb stoners and brokers. They do this because if the license plate number is visible, the owner can be tracked and contacted, and they do not want that. Also, the DMV can track the number, and they do not want the DMV to be tracking them. So if you find a blurred plate in the ads, you must leave this car and never go for the deal with them as it must be brokers or the curb stoners.

The category is the owner but in the ad, it is nowhere mentioned:  

The Curb stoners and brokers use this trick to trap an unsuspecting buyer. They put their ad in the owner’s category but never mention the term owner in the ad itself. As a result, the buyer gets confused by the category and thinks it must be the owner.

How to select the true owner in craigslist used trucks and cars:

Now that you are aware of what to look for in the ads. We shall now see how you can find a true owner of the truck or car on craigslist. You can find craigslist cars and trucks for sale by owner after searching for craigslist trucks for sale, select your price criteria, say about $8000 or any amount of your choice. See the results which show up. Now go through the ad and see whether you like the car. After that, see that. See if the license plate is being erased or blurred.

This is a red sign which is the sign of a broker. If you dig deeper, you will find that the broker never mentions the ownership generally anywhere in the ad, only in the title for clickbait they may put, but not in the ad itself. They have smartly selected the category of the owner but have admitted to it nowhere in the ad. If any ad does not have any of the above-said issues, you can be sure that this is the owner.

Conclusion

Also, don’t go beyond the current date on craigslist. If the car were great, it would have sold up already. If not, why would you like to buy it? So you must always often check for recent ads and only legitimate sellers. Stay away from everything that is just trying to waste your time and resources.