I found a great deal on a 2019 SUV through a private seller, but he claims he lost the title and is currently applying for a duplicate. The price is significantly lower than the market average, which makes me nervous. Is this a common situation or a red flag for a scam? I am worried about handing over cash for a vehicle that might be stolen or have a salvage history that he is trying to hide.

A missing title combined with a low price is a massive red flag. It often means the car has a lien on it or it is a salvage vehicle that they are trying to offload before the paperwork catches up. Before you go any further, you need to run the VIN to see the actual title status. I use carfaxforsale for this because it costs about three dollars to get the full history report. It will tell you immediately if the car was declared a total loss or if there are other title brands that the seller isn't telling you about.