What's The Biggest Red Flag To Find On A Car Listing?

Photo: Spencer Platt (Getty Images)

We’ve all fallen down the Facebook Marketplace rabbit hole scouring used car listings until you realize that three hours have passed and there’s no way you could comfortably afford anything. While we haven’t accumulated a 20-car garage of exclusively second-generation Toyota Priuses, we accrued enough experience to notice the signs of a shady listing online.

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What’s your biggest red flag when looking at car listings? Does it bother you if all the photos of the car are in a single location nowhere near where the listing was posted? Is it suspicious if you can see visible damage but the seller claims there is no significant damage? How do you feel about sellers only willing to do cash-only transactions?

These red flags would be completely separate from sellers who think their cars are worth far more than market price for no quantifiable reason. An example of this type of seller was highlighted in June. A Facebook user in Peekskill, New York, wanted $38,000 for a 2000 Honda Civic Si. The seller had purchased the Civic last year for $18,000 and basically rebuilt the car which was involved in an accident.

Don’t hesitate to share your car listing red flags in the comments section below. It doesn’t matter how small or inconsequential they might seem, even if you include vertical photos in the listing.