What curbing is
Curbing is when someone buys a vehicle without ever signing the title, then flips it to the next buyer as if they were an ordinary private seller. In effect they are running an unlicensed dealership from a curb, a parking lot, or a classifieds app, with none of the obligations a licensed dealer carries.
Why a curbed car is a trap
Because the curber never appears on the title, you usually know nothing real about the car's history, and you will not be able to hold the seller accountable when something goes wrong. Contact numbers are often burners that go dead after the sale. The deal is usually priced to feel too good to pass up, and problems with the car tend to surface almost immediately after purchase, exactly when the seller has vanished.
The telltale signs
The classic tell is the meeting spot: a curber wants to meet in a public lot rather than at a home, because there is no home address they are willing to attach to the sale. Listen for the story too. Curbers rarely claim to own the car; it belongs to a friend, a neighbor, or a relative who could not be there. Check the name on the title against the ID of the person in front of you. If they do not match, walk away.
Protecting yourself
Run the VIN through a vehicle history report before money moves, insist on seeing the title and matching ID, and be honest with yourself about deals that feel too good. A licensed dealer is accountable in ways a curber never is: at AR Motorsports every vehicle is inspected before it is listed, sells with its history report available, and comes from a dealership with one address in Bay Shore that will still be there after the sale. Odometer fraud often rides along with curbing, so read our guide on spotting mileage rollbacks before you shop private listings.