How to Tell a Licensed Car Buyer From a Curber

Sellers often worry less about the price and more about whether the buyer is legit. In Alberta, you can check.

An unlicensed car flipper is called a curber. AMVIC, the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council, licenses vehicle businesses, keeps a public register of them and runs a consumer line at 1-877-979-8100.

What is a curber?

Someone who buys and resells cars as a business without a dealer licence. The name comes from selling cars off the curb.

A curber isn't always a fraudster, and that's different from outright scams where the money is fake. The problem is what's missing behind them: no licence, no address, no regulator. Just a phone number.

We buy under AMVIC licence B2036941 and give you the number before we come, so you can check it.

Want the number for your own car? Get a free offer. It takes about a minute.

Why does it matter who buys your car?

Two reasons, and neither is the price:

1. 1. Someone to answer to.

   A licensed buyer is on AMVIC's public register, with a regulator and a consumer line behind them. An unlicensed one isn't.

2. 2. A business that still exists after the sale.

   A licence number points to a real business. A social media profile can disappear tomorrow.

How do you check whether a buyer is actually licensed?

Ask for their licence number and look it up on AMVIC's free public register. It takes under a minute.

Search by number, not name. A business can be licensed under a legal name that's different from the one on its website or truck, so a name search can come up empty. Ours is B2036941.

If a buyer won't give you a number, gives one that returns nothing, or says the licence belongs to someone they won't name, don't sell to them.

What does a licensed buyer do differently on the day?

Here's what you'll see from us, before anyone signs:

1. 1.Dealer plates. The car leaves on ours, not yours.
2. 2.A company name on the bill of sale, not a first name and a phone number.
3. 3.A bank draft issued at a branch while you watch.

4. 4. A real business address and phone.

   We also hold an Edmonton business licence.

Is it a bad sign if the buyer never registers the car?

Not by itself. Licensed dealers like us don't register the cars we buy. We sign a bill of sale and the car moves on our dealer plates.

A private buyer has to register it in their own name. So an unregistered car is normal with a licensed buyer and a red flag with an unlicensed one. The licence is the difference.

Either way, keep your copy of the bill of sale and take your plate off.

What should you ask before anybody comes to your house?

1. 1.Ask for the AMVIC licence number in writing, in your message thread.
2. 2.Look it up on the register before anyone has your address.

3. 3. Ask who the bill of sale will be made out to.

   It should be a business that matches the register. Never sign one with the buyer's side blank.

4. 4. Ask how they'll pay.

   A draft issued at a branch while you watch leaves a record. Cash in a driveway doesn't.

5. 5. Say no to anything that only works today.

   Pressure is the main tool of a buyer you can't check.

Is a higher offer from a buyer you can't check worth taking?

A seller recently turned down a higher offer because she didn't trust the buyer. She took ours instead and was happy with how it went.

Many of the buyers messaging you about a listing are in the trade. Asking which ones are licensed takes one message.

Being friendly and on time proves nothing. What counts is whether they're on a record that existed before you met.