Safety
Buying and selling safely.
Throttle is not a party to any sale. You meet, inspect and pay in person, so six habits do most of the work. Here they are, with the scams to know and what the app does for you.
Sample listings and people. Pre-release app.
Six habits
The guide from the app, word for word.
Meet in public
Daylight, somewhere busy. Many police stations have a marked safe exchange zone. Bring a friend.
Get paid in person
Cash at a bank, or a cashier’s check verified at the issuing bank. Never accept an overpayment and refund the difference.
Do the paperwork together
Sign the title at the same time as the payment. Take a photo of the signed title and the buyer’s ID.
Keep it in the app
Contact details are removed from messages so there’s a record if something goes wrong. Report anyone who pushes you off the app.
No shipping, no escrow sites
Throttle is for local, in-person sales. Buyers who want to ship a car sight-unseen, or send you to an escrow website, are almost always scams.
Test drives
Ride along, check their license, and confirm your insurance covers other drivers.
Scams to know
The scams that follow car sales.
Escrow sites
Someone insists the money goes through an escrow website. The site is a fake, built to take your money or your car. Throttle doesn’t handle payments or offer escrow, and never asks you to use an escrow site.
Overpayments and cashier’s checks
A buyer sends a check for more than your price and asks you to refund the difference. The funds show up, then the check bounces days later, after your money is gone. Never refund the difference on an overpayment. This is the most common car-sale scam there is.
Shipping and sight-unseen offers
Full price, no test drive and a shipper to collect it. Throttle is for local, in-person sales. Offers to buy sight-unseen and ship are almost always fraud.
“My agent will…”
The buyer can’t come, so an agent, a transporter or a relative will pay and pick it up. The payment turns out to be fake, and the car is long gone. Deal with the person you’ve been messaging, face to face.
Deposits to hold it
For buyers: the car sounds right, but the seller wants a deposit, a wire or a payment-app transfer to hold it before you’ve seen it. Never pay a deposit to hold a vehicle. See it, inspect it, then pay.
Title washing
A car that was totaled, flooded or salvaged is retitled in another state, and the brand drops off the new title. The paper looks clean. The car isn’t. Run the free VIN checks below before you pay.
Sample listings and people. Pre-release app.
If a message you’re about to send mentions escrow, a wire transfer, a cashier’s check, an overpayment or shipping, Throttle explains how that scam works before it goes. You can edit it, send it anyway or open the guide.
It looks at what you write, not what you receive, so the patterns on this page are worth knowing either way.
Built into the app
What the app does for you.
Contact details come out
Phone numbers, emails, links and social handles are removed from listings and messages automatically. The other person sees [number removed] instead.
A safety card when you plan to meet
When a message mentions meeting up, the conversation shows a safety checklist. Meet in daylight somewhere public and bring someone.
Report any listing, person or message
Pick a reason and add detail if you like. The reasons are below, exactly as the app lists them.
Block anyone
Blocking stops someone from messaging you or starting a conversation with you, and their listings no longer show when you browse. Block from a conversation’s details or while you report, and undo it under You › Blocked people.
Limits on brand-new accounts
New accounts without a verified phone number, such as those signed in with Apple, can start 3 conversations in their first 48 hours. Verifying a phone number lifts the limit.
“Phone verified” means one thing
The person confirmed their number with a text code. It isn’t a background check or a promise about them, so the habits still apply.
Your address stays off the listing
A private seller’s listing shows an area and a distance. Photos are re-encoded on your phone, which removes location data before upload.
![A seller’s conversation about a sample 2019 Chevrolet Silverado LT. The buyer’s phone number shows as [number removed], a note says contact details stay in the app, and a blue “Meeting up” safety card follows the buyer asking to see it Saturday. Sample people and listing.](/_next/static/immutable/media/message-thread.0v4zyfwx3xwvi.webp)
Sample listings and people. Pre-release app.
Report a listing
- Scam or fraud
- Not actually for sale / bait
- Wrong or misleading details
- Photos stolen from another listing
- Duplicate listing
- Already sold
- Not a vehicle
- Prohibited or offensive content
- Dealer posing as a private seller
- Other
Report a person
- Scam attempt
- Harassment or threats
- Tried to move the conversation off the app
- Dealer posing as a private seller
- Spam
- Impersonation
- Other
Report a message
- Scam attempt
- Harassment
- Spam
- Sharing contact details
- Other
When you report a listing or a person, switch on “Also block this person” to do both at once.
What Throttle doesn’t do: hold money, inspect vehicles, ship them or vouch for anyone. Sellers state the title status and mileage; Throttle doesn’t check titles. Buyers and sellers deal directly, in person.
Before you pay
Before any money changes hands.
Meet in daylight, somewhere public A police station’s exchange zone is ideal. Bring someone, and tell a friend where you’re going.
Inspect it properly Look it over in good light, under the hood and underneath. A mechanic you choose is worth the visit.
Take the test drive Buyers bring a license. Sellers ride along and check that their insurance covers other drivers.
Match the VIN and the name The VIN on the title should match the dash plate and the door jamb label. The name on the title should match the seller’s ID.
Check for open recalls NHTSA’s recall lookup is free and takes the 17-character VIN.
Check theft and total-loss records NICB’s VINCheck is free and shows what participating insurers have reported.
Verify the payment Count cash at the bank. Verify a cashier’s check with the issuing bank, using a number you look up yourself, not the one on the check.
Sign the title together At the same time as the payment, with a photo of the signed title and the buyer’s ID.
Free VIN checks
Both are free public lookups. Throttle doesn’t run them for you, so run them yourself.
Where to find the VIN
Get help
If something goes wrong.
You feel unsafe
Leave and call 911. No car is worth it. If you were threatened or robbed at a meetup, report it to the local police as well.
You’ve lost money
Call your bank or payment app first. Then report it to the FTC and, for fraud that started online, to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Tell Throttle
Tap Report on the listing, the profile or the message. Or email the listing link and what happened. A person reads every report. We aim to look within one business day.
support@throttlemarketplace.com
Questions
Safety questions.
Will buyers see my phone number or address?
No. Buyers message you in the app, and phone numbers, emails, links and social handles are removed from listings and messages automatically.
Your listing shows your city and a distance, never your address, and the location is blurred on your phone before it’s saved. Photos are resized on your phone, and location data is removed before upload.
If you’re a dealer, you can show more: with business mode on, your business address, hours and phone number (behind a Show number tap) appear on your dealer page.
Does Throttle check titles or inspect vehicles?
No. Listing details are the seller’s statements. Sellers state the title status and mileage, and Throttle doesn’t check titles or inspect vehicles.
Every listing shows its title status, and rebuilt, salvage, flood and lien titles carry a badge, so they aren’t hidden. Before you pay, see the vehicle in person, run the VIN through NHTSA’s free recall lookup and get a vehicle history report.
Can I buy a car from another state and have it shipped?
Throttle is for local, in-person sales. Offers to buy sight-unseen and ship are almost always fraud.
You can search up to 500 miles away, but plan to see the vehicle, meet the seller and pay in person.
Why do messages stay in the app?
So nobody has to hand a phone number to a stranger, and so there’s a record if something goes wrong. Phone numbers, emails, links and social handles are removed from messages automatically.
Someone pushing to text, call or switch apps before you’ve met is a good reason to slow down, and you can report it.
Throttle staff may read conversations to look into reports, prevent fraud, help with support or meet legal requests.
What does Throttle do about scams?
If a message you’re about to send mentions escrow, a wire transfer, a cashier’s check, an overpayment or shipping, Throttle explains how that scam works before it goes. When a message mentions meeting up, the conversation shows a safety checklist.
New accounts without a verified phone number can start 3 conversations in their first 48 hours, and every listing, profile and message has a Report button.
The most common car-sale scam is the overpayment: a buyer sends too much and asks for the difference back. Never refund the difference.
How should we meet up and handle payment?
Throttle doesn’t handle payments, deposits or escrow, and it isn’t a party to any sale. Buyers and sellers deal directly and pay each other in person.
Meet in daylight, somewhere busy. Many police stations have a marked safe exchange zone. Take cash at a bank, or a cashier’s check verified at the issuing bank, and sign the title at the same time as the payment.
Never pay a deposit to hold a vehicle. Anyone who sends you to an escrow website is almost certainly running a scam.
How do I block or report someone?
Tap Report on any listing, profile or message, pick what’s wrong and add anything else we should know. A person reads every report. We aim to look within one business day.
Blocking stops someone from messaging you or starting a conversation with you, and their listings no longer show when you browse. Block from your conversation with them, or turn on “Also block this person” when you report a listing or a person. You can unblock people under You › Blocked people.
Who can post and send messages?
Adults. Accounts are for people 18 or older, so you confirm your age when you create one. If you don’t, you’re signed out. Browsing is open to everyone.
The first time you post a vehicle, import your inventory or message a seller, you agree to the six community standards. They apply to every listing, including dealer imports.
Keep it in the app.
Messages stay in Throttle, contact details come out and the safety guide is one tap from every listing and conversation. Free to list and buy.
Opens an email to support@throttlemarketplace.com. We’ll write back once, when the app is live.
Coming soon to iPhone and Android.