You found a great deal on a private listing, met a friendly seller in a parking lot, and closed quickly with cash. Weeks later the transmission fails and you learn the car had been in a major collision. You may have been curbstoned — sold a vehicle by an unlicensed dealer posing as a private individual. Curbstoning is illegal in Alberta, it’s more common than most buyers realise, and it exists for one reason: buyers drop their guard with a “private” seller.
What curbstoning is
A curbstoner sells vehicles as a business but pretends to be a private seller to dodge the licensing and consumer-protection rules that apply to Alberta dealers. By staying off the books, they avoid the disclosure obligations a licensed AMVIC dealer must meet. The vehicles they move are often the ones a legitimate dealer would have to flag: cars with hidden accident damage, rolled- back odometers, undisclosed liens, or salvage history bought cheaply at auction and flipped fast.
Why it’s a problem for you
Beyond the poor-quality vehicles, curbstoning strips away your protections. A genuine private sale is already largely “buyer beware,” but at least it’s an honest one. A curbstoner is actively misrepresenting who they are and, usually, the vehicle — and because they’re operating illegally and anonymously, recourse afterward is difficult. The deal that felt casual and low-pressure was engineered that way.
The warning signs
- The seller’s name doesn’t match the name on the registration or title.
- They’ll only meet in a neutral spot — a parking lot, a gas station — never a home or business.
- The same phone number appears across several current listings.
- They can’t answer basic history questions, or say they’re “selling it for a friend.”
- They push for a fast, cash-only close and discourage inspections or paperwork.
How to protect yourself
- If the seller behaves like a dealer, verify their AMVIC licence.
- Confirm the seller’s government ID matches the registration.
- Run a VIN decode, a recall check, and a lien search.
- Insist on an independent pre-purchase inspection.
- Slow down. Curbstoners depend on speed and cash — a buyer who takes their time is a buyer they can’t fool.
Every one of these steps is part of the standard Alberta buying checklist. Follow it and curbstoning simply doesn’t work on you.
Last reviewed: January 2026