Automobile Sales
Automobile sales is primarily handled by independent dealerships.
New Car and Truck Sales
If I understand correctly, new car and truck sales dealers must have a direct or indirect relationship, some sort of license, with the Car manufacturers they represent.
New cars are subject to the "lot price", where they decrease in value the moment they drive off the sales lot. Still, the idea of buying a brand new car is a much more comforting and attractive choice for many car owners. I bought my current car new because I was able to get a competitive interest rate on the car loan directly from Toyota (1.9% for four years). I've since paid off my car loan as my car is now almost five years old and it has about 67,000 miles on it.
Used Car and Truck Sales
Some new car dealers also sell used cars, and some of those vehicles are sold under warranty, too. There are some dealerships which specialize in used cars. Other used cars are sold directly by their original owner, often advertised through newspapers, automobile trading publications, or on the internet. Values for used cars are tracked by Kelley blue book, and vehicle accident histories are tracked by Carfax.
Carmax is the largest used car dealership.
Requirements for a Car Sale
I've only purchased a car in my home state of Massachusetts, so this only reflects my experience there. To buy or sell a car, the car must have a title - an officially printed document representing ownership of the vehicle. Once ownership of the vehicle passes to the new owner, the new owner can register and insure the car for travel on public roadways (insurance is required by law in Massachusetts, but I do not believe that is so in all states). When the car is registered, the fair market value is used to calculate the sales tax on the car which is payable to the state. When the vehicle is registered, it is given license plates for identification.
The title of the car remains with the owner for the duration that they own the car, but the registration must be renewed every so often.
