Caramel does not charge any fees for title verification, escrow services, or for the use of lending, service contracts, or transportation coordination. However, Caramel charges a fee of $129 to complete the full title and registration process on behalf of the buyer.

You can click the Cancel button underneath any transaction in your Dashboard until the car is delivered by the seller to the buyer or transport company.

If a seller cancels a sale after the buyer has signed their paperwork, a $250 fee applies. At this point, the buyer may have gone through hard credit inquiries and paid for insurance. So we discourage cancellations this late in a sale. If you choose to cancel Bring a Trailer Verified Checkout you will still be required to complete the transaction for the vehicle by arranging payment details with the other party

Caramel verifies the identity of every buyer during checkout and of every seller before checkout even begins. If you're a buyer, all you need is your Driver's License and the ability to take a selfie with the camera on your smartphone. Following identity verification, you will be asked a few additional questions, like if you are a member of the military community. These questions ensure we are able to properly register your vehicle with applicable discounts.

If you don’t pass the identity verification step, you will not be able to move forward and your transaction will be canceled. You will be able to view why your identity was not verified.

Yes, a U.S. based phone number is required to checkout with Caramel.

Yes, a non-expired U.S. government issued driver’s license is needed in order to checkout with Caramel.

During Verified Checkout, you have the opportunity to complete a financing application. Any of our partner lenders that may offer a competitive financing option for you and your vehicle will review your application, although only one inquiry will result on any given credit bureau. Our lenders offer financing options for vehicles of any price, year and model, as well as any credit tier. For older model year vehicles or higher mileage vehicles, rates and down payment requirements will be more notably impacted by impaired credit. We cannot guarantee financing in all cases, but we will have financing options for the far majority of buyers and competitive rates for customers with strong credit.

No. Financing is completely optional. If you don’t want financing and would prefer to pay for your vehicle in full with funds from your bank, you can simply tap or click “Skip Financing.”

All you need to enter is your preferred down payment amount, preferred loan term, & estimated credit score. You will then be able to view your estimated monthly payment (excluding taxes, fees, & add-ons), down payment, & APR.

The down payment and loan term you enter into the screen with our loan estimator is used for your loan application too.  We try our best to match your preferences and return the closest loan approved by our lending partners.

Yes. You are not locked into financing by submitting a lending application. You can skip financing at any time.

Yes. You will be able to see estimates before you choose to proceed and a hard credit check will only occur if you click ‘I AGREE' on the lending application page. This is required and run by our lending partners.

Caramel partners with large national banks, and we’ll show you exactly who will provide your loan on the approval screen.

Caramel’s lending partners independently review your application and approve you based on their own criteria.  Factors like credit history, income and others can all play a role.

Yes, they are financed. The payment amount shown on your initial approval will exclude taxes as fees, as they are not yet calculated.  But you’ll see your final all-in payment on your Price Breakdown before you setup payment.

Some of our lenders provide options to customers with past credit issues, but we can’t guarantee a loan to every buyer.

After you buy your car, your lender will send a welcome letter with all of the info you need to setup autopay, make payments and review account information.  You can also click on the Previous Transactions section of your Dashboard to find your lender’s contact information right away.

There is no penalty for early payments.

While you cannot reapply for the same transaction, there are no restrictions to reapplying under a new transaction.  However, we suggest waiting 30 days so any changes in your profile that may impact your approval with one of our lenders has time to process.

Protection refers to our vehicle service contract, Caramel Care, which is like an extended warranty and protects your vehicle against costly mechanical repairs or unforeseen circumstances. Caramel Care covers various mechanical components and often includes roadside assistance and towing.

Exact coverage varies by vehicle, and you can click on the More Details link in your Caramel Care page to view all of the items covered.

No. Vehicle Protection is completely optional. Simply tap or click “Skip Protection.”

You can cancel anytime and receive a refund for the unused portion of your plan.  Simply go to your vehicle in the Previous Transactions section of your Dashboard, click Caramel Care, and dial the contact number provided to cancel your policy.

Your car’s manufacturer’s warranty is good until expired.  Caramel Care will pick up where it leaves off and may cover repairs excluded from your manufacturer.

Caramel Care is provided by partners of ours who specialize in vehicle protection products.  Go to the Previous Transactions section of your Dashboard to find your vehicle and click Caramel Care.  There you’ll find your provider’s details and contact information to ask questions and make claims.

If you finance your car, you can usually finance Protection as part of your monthly payment.  We’ll automatically give you this option when available.  If not, we still give you an option to finance Protection products through a separate lending partner. In this case, you’ll be set up on autopay and receive a welcome letter after your purchase with a link to access account information and make changes.

We do not at this time.

Buying insurance through Caramel is completely optional. Simply tap or click “Skip Insurance”. However, having insurance for your vehicle is required. You will need insurance coverage before you sign your documents in the Signature step. If you skip this step, you can use your existing insurance or buy insurance directly.

After completing the Insurance step, you will be emailed a copy of your policy details including your insurance ID card.

Caramel connects you to over 100 carriers varying dramatically in size and specialty and displays the best quote for you across three common coverage levels. Once you select one and proceed, you have the option to customize coverage to your exact specifications and view other quotes.

You can.  When you dial the number on the insurance screen, the agent you speak with will share updated quotes with any desired adjustments, including added cars and other household members.

You can adjust your coverage as soon as you dial the number on the insurance screen.  You’ll have the ability to adjust your deductible and liability limits.  You can also add cars and other household members.  Once set, you'll receive an updated your quote from the selected carrier.

Property damage liability pays for property damage you cause someone else up to the policy limits purchased. This coverage is mandated by law in some states and is typically required by lenders or leasing companies.

PIP insurance, also known as “no-fault” insurance, is required in certain states. It pays medical expenses, and in some cases lost wages and other damages regardless of who is at fault in an accident.

Physical Damage Coverage (sometimes referred to as “Comprehensive & Collision” coverage) pays the cost of repairs or replacement of your car, minus your deductible.  Collision covers damage to your car from an accident with another car or a physical object, such as a highway median or curb.  Comprehensive covers damage to your car from events other than a collision, such as theft, fire, hail, or vandalism. This coverage is typically required by lenders or leasing companies.

Liability Coverage is for accidents that are your fault and is mandated coverage by law in most all states if you own and operate a vehicle on the highways. Bodily injury liability pays for bodily injury you cause someone else up to the policy limits purchased.  Liability coverage does not pay for injuries to you or the people in your family. You can buy medical payments coverage for you and your family.Liability coverage does not pay for repairs or replacement of your car whether you are at fault or not. To cover repair and replacement of your own car, you will need collision coverage for accident-related damage and comprehensive coverage for non-accident incidents, such as theft, vandalism, hitting an animal or storm damage.

After completing the Insurance step, you will be emailed a copy of your policy details including your insurance ID card containing your insurance company contact information.

Caramel accepts three payment methods:

On all transactions, we allow buyers to pay via ACH.  To do so, there's an option to simply link your bank account to Caramel, and we initiate the ACH pull once you sign your documents.  It can take up to 3 business days for an ACH payment to clear.

Also on all transactions, buyers can pay via wire transfer.  This is a great option if you are looking to pick up your car or have your car transported more quickly, as wires can clear as fast as same day or on the next business day.  Please note that if the transaction price is $40,000 or greater, you will be required to make payment via Wire transfer.

Finally, on most transactions with a payment up to $25,000, we allow customers to make an Instant Payment.  For this payment method, you'll link your bank account similar to ACH, and we'll initiate the payment as soon as you sign your documents.  However, your payment will clear right away 24/7 so you or a transporter can get your car right away.  Instant Payments cost .5% of the payment amount.

Plaid is a secure and credible service we partner to make and receive payments electronically with you. Caramel has no access to your bank account when you use Plaid. Plaid will guide you to use your bank login information to get connected. If you have trouble, you’ll enter your account and routing numbers, and Plaid sends you small deposits to verify and connect your account. Once you confirm the amounts, they’re reversed and you’re set.

No. You will not be charged & funds will not be withdrawn until you sign your documents in the Signature step.

In your Price Breakdown, the total due at signing is the exact amount that you will be charged. This will include the full purchase price of the car and any other selections if you pay in cash. If you finance the car or Caramel Care, it will include the down payment for those items.

Your “Same Day ACH” must be submitted and approved before 12:00 PM PT on a business day in order to be sent with a same day effective date.  Otherwise it will be sent the following business day.

You cannot. We partner with Plaid to offer a convenient same-day bank withdrawal for all buyers. We then release funds to sellers at exactly the right moment for the protection of buyers and sellers. This is more secure than any in-person payment.

Caramel passes through DMV fees to you at no mark-up. These are the fees you pay to transfer your title and register your car whether or not you use Caramel.

As long as your transaction is canceled before your car is picked up by you or your transporter, you’ll receive a full refund, which can take 7-10 business days depending on your bank’s processing time.  After the car is picked up, the sale is no longer cancellable.

Upon delivery of your vehicle or title, we send you the first half of your payment. As soon as you deliver the remaining item, we pay you the remaining funds. If within banking hours and early enough in the day, funds will arrive the same day. Otherwise, they’ll arrive the next business day. If your buyer picks up their car directly, make sure they click the button in their Dashboard to confirm pick-up before they drive off to ensure you’re paid promptly.

In the Payment step, we connect to your preferred bank account with our partner, Plaid, which allows us to authenticate your account and pay you quickly and securely. If you use Caramel, we do not allow in-person payment for the protection of our buyers and sellers.

In your Price Breakdown, the amount listed under “You’ll be Paid” is the exact amount that you will be paid.

You are only charged a fee, which is $250, if you cancel after your buyer has signed their documents. At this point, the buyer may have gone through hard credit inquiries and paid for insurance. So we discourage cancellations this late in a sale.

You should be able to receive a refund, though you’ll get it from the company that sold your vehicle protection product.  Contact them directly to cancel once you complete your sale.

No problem. We pay off your loan or lease for you and automatically pay you the difference between your sale price and the payoff amount. Once Caramel submits a seller's loan payoff, it takes on average 5 to 10 business days for the lender to reflect the payoff. During the checkout process, we’ll check for loans and leases, and we’ll confirm your lender or lessor and payoff amount. If you owe more than the price of your car minus any fees, we’ll charge you the difference and pay the full amount owed to your lender.   If you owe more than your sale price minus fees, we’re unable to provide financing or payment plans for this amount.

Sometimes we can automatically retrieve the amount you need to pay your existing lender or lessor, and we show you this amount during checkout.  However, we always double check this information by contacting your lender or lessor directly.  If we verify a different amount, we’ll update this number to correct it so your title can be free and clear.

You will receive an email with all of the documents you signed. You will also be able to access them anytime in the Previous Transactions section of your Dashboard.

If any of your registration documents need to be notarized, we automatically link you to notarize.com during the Signature step.  You’ll be connected with an online notary, sign and notarize the forms, and then be linked back to Caramel to complete checkout. We do not mark up this service, which is $25.

You can chat with our support team, and we’ll resend the form to you directly through Docusign.

Buyers: We automatically populate all required documents to complete your purchase and allow Caramel to properly transfer the title to you and register you in your state.  There are other documents that only certain buyers sign as they are based on optional selections made during checkout. When you sign documents with Caramel, you are in fact buying the car from us.  We operate as a licensed dealer to complete the sale, title transfer and registration.

Sellers: We automatically populate all required documents to complete your sale and allow Caramel to properly transfer the title to the buyer.  When you sign documents with Caramel, you are in fact selling us your car.  We then operate as a licensed dealer to complete the sale, title transfer and registration for your buyer.

Caramel needs to complete the 'Buyers' title reassignment section on the back of your seller’s vehicle title and other potential DMV forms in order to transfer title and register you. To sign on your behalf, we need to have this document signed. Once we’ve completed all signatures, this power of attorney will be submitted to the DMV within the registration and title package.

Caramel will prepare a title package for the buyer, including the necessary sales documents, allowing you to work with your local motor vehicle bureau (or an associated service like AAA) to register the vehicle on your own.

As a licensed dealer, Caramel is obligated to collect sales tax on all transactions. If you choose to register the vehicle yourself, Caramel will not collect any DMV title and registration fees.

We recommend that you notify your DMV shortly after you complete your sale, which you can often do on their website. If your DMV asks you for an address for Caramel, please use the Caramel address on your sale documentation.

Depending on your state, this typically takes anywhere from 45-60 business days from the time they receive the title and complete registration package.  All major holidays should be considered. Your title will be sent from the DMV to the address you provided Caramel.

We will need the title to be transferred to your name, proving to the DMV you are the current owner of the vehicle. This will prevent any delays in paperwork and processing times with the DMV.  In some cases, we are able to send DMV forms directly to the title owner so that you can avoid transferring title.

If you do not have a lien on your title, you will need to apply for a duplicate title through your state DMV. This title will be needed to show proof of ownership during your checkout process and will also need to be physically sent to Caramel prior to payment.

This is so that we can successfully register and transfer title to your buyer. If the car has already been picked up when we receive the title, you will be paid the remaining half of the sale price within a business day of receipt. We hold the buyer’s funds in escrow until the title is received and the car picked up for everyone’s security, and we are legally obligated to release funds upon those two events.

Based on your state's guidelines, we’ve sent you the appropriate number of temporary registration tags to affix to the front and/or back of your vehicle. If you’ve received only one, then your state only requires you to place it on the back of your vehicle. If you’ve received two, then your state requires you to place them on the front and back of your vehicle. Typically, these are placed in the same place as your license plate. If you have a plastic sleeve to place these in we’d recommend using it. Although this is not mandatory, this will help protect your tags until your permanent registration and license plates are received. You can print the temporary registration out on standard paper.

Caramel is a licensed dealer in this state, and the temporary registration enables you to legally operate your vehicle in your state. At the same time, we work with your state’s DMV to get your permanent plates and registration issued ASAP in your home state.

Your temporary registration is valid for 40 days.

If your temporary registration is set to expire in less than 5 days please contact Caramel so that we can send you an additional one.

Caramel will handle all of the registration and title paperwork processing on behalf of you and your lender, if applicable. This includes out-of-state transactions. Most, if not all, DMV forms are signed by you during your checkout process. We also collect the appropriate DMV fees at this time. These DMV forms, fees and your seller’s title are all submitted to the DMV in order to complete your registration, issue your license plates and your vehicle title.  If for some reason Caramel needs additional information, forms and/or fees, a Caramel Title & Registration Specialist will be in contact with you.

Yes, if this is something you prefer to handle on your own, we can accommodate. However, Caramel will need to transfer the seller’s title into your name and list the appropriate lienholder, if applicable, before doing this. This will take several weeks depending on your state. Once this occurs, the title will be sent to you, or your lender, from your state DMV’s office. Once the title is received, you can complete the registration process yourself.

Depending on your state, this typically takes 45-60 business days from the time they receive a complete registration package.  All major holidays should be considered. Your registration and license plates will be sent from the DMV to the address you provided Caramel.

As soon as we’re made aware that your registration and license plates have been issued, we send you a notification with an estimated time of arrival.

This is great news! Depending on your state, you’ll receive 1 or 2 license plates, registration and license plate stickers. Apply the license plate stickers to your license plates and install your license plates on your vehicle. If you only receive 1 license plate, install it on the back of your car. Keep the registration in your vehicle. Safe driving!

We do not mark up DMV fees or state taxes and use a national service to calculate them as precisely as possible.  If we charge too much, we refund the difference.

Your state requires that your vehicle be inspected for emissions, safety and/or to ensure the VIN# is correct. For Caramel to register and title your vehicle, the vehicle must “pass” this inspection. The report is needed to send to the DMV as proof of completion and passing your state's protocol.

Certain states require that a vehicle being registered for the first time in their state or a vehicle that has changed ownership complete these inspections. Not until these are completed and passed can your vehicle then be registered.

Yes, as long as your car qualifies, which we check for you.  In this case, please note that depending upon your state, you may have limited usage of your classic/vintage vehicle. In most cases, the vehicle can only be operated as a collector’s item, including participation in club activities, exhibitions, tours, parades, and can not be used for general transportation purposes.

Your state requires additional forms in order to register your vehicle.  Please complete and email or chat the form to us as soon as possible to avoid added delays in completing your registration.

Unfortunately, states require you to have a residency where you register your car.

We’re sorry to hear this. In most cases, you as the registered owner can apply for replacement registration and/or license plates through your state DMV’s online portal for a fee.

In cases where we’re unsuccessful at obtaining the necessary documents or requirements from you required to title and register your vehicle, we’ll send you your title package in order for you to complete your title transfer and register your vehicle at your local DMV office. You’ll need to go to your local DMV and submit the package for processing.

No. Under no circumstances should you hand over your title, and we recommend you do not bring your title.  Caramel will provide you a prepaid label to send us the title so we can properly transfer the title and register your buyer.

Please remember to remove all of your personal belongings from the car but leave any manuals, keys and equipment you received with it or otherwise communicated would be included.  Always include charging cables with electric cars.   Under no circumstance should you deliver your vehicle title to your driver or buyer.  If you have your title, you’ll send it directly to Caramel using the prepaid label we send you.

If you hand the vehicle directly to your seller, just make sure to include the items you received with the car.  If your car is picked up by a transport company, they should always complete an inspection and ask you to sign a bill of lading, which records any damage prior to pick-up.

If your buyer is picking up the car, please contact them directly.  If your car is being delivered to your buyer, please contact our shipping partner at: support@runbuggy.com or 1-888-872-8449.