Buying a car from an individual

$500 is only 5 bills. tuck them in your socks.

avoid "ran when parked", rust, and anything made by Koreans.

The polite thing is to leave with what is now your car and let them leave with theirs, if applicable.

Other than that, here in Washington there's not much more to it. If it's new enough, you also need to worry about completing the odometer statement that's printed on the title itself, but there is no other paperwork at the time of sale. That's assuming it's a "clean" title with no outstanding loan against it and so forth, of course. The seller is also supposed to fill out the part indicating how much you paid. This will be checked against a standard book value to make sure it's reasonable for the purpose of determining sales tax when you take the title in for transfer. If the agent thinks the reported sales price is too low to be believable, you'll pay tax on a higher amount.

If the seller is competent, you'll also be asked to fill out the release of interest form that's attached to the title so the seller can tear it off and independently send it to the DoL just in case you don't bother to transfer the title before, say, going on a crime spree with the car. That's the seller's lookout, though, so don't sweat it if the seller doesn't ask to do this. This step will require showing the seller your driver license unless the seller is unusually trusting and just takes your word for such matters as your address and license number.

A few tips:

(1) Before handing over any money, make sure the VIN on the paperwork exactly matches the VIN on the vehicle. Typographical errors can be corrected at the time of transfer, but it helps to get a written statement from the seller at the time of sale specifying that the vehicle being sold is the one corresponding to the paperwork despite the discrepancy. In the case of a discrepancy you'll also need to have the vehicle inspected by the State Patrol before any errors can be fixed, which requires going to a licensing agent to get permission to set up an appointment, making the appointment, then taking the vehicle to an inspection station (not the same as an emissions station). For the Seattle area, the closest station is in Bellevue not far from Bellevue College. Sometimes they're booked for weeks in advance, though. A typo need not be a deal-breaker (I've been there...), but you should check to see whether it's something you'll need to address.

(2) You can print out and bring along a WA bill of sale form (from the DoL website) but it typically doesn't do much more good than just a plain piece of paper for resolving difficulties unless you get it notarized while signing it. It does help to assure you get all the necessary information, though. If there are no issues with the VIN or any other points, you don't need the bill of sale at all, just the completed title.

(3) If there's more than one name on the title, make sure each owner has signed off. You can't transfer the title without everyone's signature. This can be awkward if it hasn't happened and it turns out the co-owners are not on speaking terms. Trust me on this one, it's just not fun.

I always purchase from private parties, typically with the patented "wad o' cash" method. Good luck.

EDIT: If the vehicle has an out-of-state title, there's a chance you'll have to go through the State Patrol's inspection process with the vehicle even if the paperwork is in order. It's at the discretion of the licensing agency whether to require this step. You'll also want a written statement from the seller specifying the purchase price if the out-of-state title doesn't have space for that. This would be another occasion in which the official bill of sale form might be handy. One last point, although it doesn't matter at the time of purchase: You may also have to worry about an emissions test if it falls within the age range for which that's required, although that's true regardless of whether you deal with a private seller.

Yep, this is normally the difference between joint custody states and ...um, everything else.  OK, no problem (may have changed now) but TX it was a real issue

If can try to make the deal at neutral place. Here a little visual aid for the money transaction:

https://youtu.be/00bhWY-vTj0?t=34s

Even worse when the one person is dead ... Purchased a tow pig in NY (from a dealer), I live in NJ...NY requires a signature and copy of the death certificate, NJ requires a signature and a notarized copy of the Power of Attorney.   Imagine me asking some widow I haven't met,  who did not sell me a car to send me some legal paperwork.

i had moved and was living about 100 miles from the dealer (who also did not sign the paperwork correctly) ... when I explained the difficulty of fixing the paperowrk to the lovely women at the NJ DMV she helpfully informed me "I didn't tell you you had to walk there!"   

My moral of the story is "transfer owners or states one at a time" .... I like the PA process.... you and former owner go to a "Auto Tags" place (typically used car dealers or AAA) and do all the paperwork on the spot and you walk away with a new title, temp tags and sometimes transportation insurance.... all available on nights and weekends!   here is a web site for a chain place (no I'm not advocating, but it has a typical price list and service list)... http://imperialautotags.com/

I was just referring to our daily drivers.   As for the Super Snipe, that is in my name alone.   She does not consider it a car, but a plaything.

Plus keeping the car streetlegal is really awesome for testing... and daily driving.