Being a Calif resident, where the plates stay with the car, there are
several things to do.
1)  Get the car smogged before you sell it.  The buyer can and will hold you
hostage for the repairs, as you are responsible for selling a car that can
pass smog to be re-registered.  $40 is a small price to pay for piece of
mind.  The results arfe submitted electronically to the DMV, so no need to
worry.
2)  Complete the Release of Liability form that you can download off the DMV
website and fill it out completely.  Doing this, you will not need to
accompany the buyer to the DMV to officially transfer the title.  The form
gets you off the legal hook.....believe me..it works!  Keep a copy though.
The signed pink is all the buyer needs.  It does not need to be notarized.
The Release also states the purchase price, so the buyer can't falsify the
price he paid in order to reduce the sales tax that he pays with the
transfer fees.
3) Take the cash and say good-bye to your car.

When selling my '93 Honda Accord is it to both parties advantage to go
to the DMV together to transfer title and finalize the deal
(California)? Someone wanted to buy the car off me last night after
driving it around the block. He had the money but I didn't feel
comfortable with his haste. I have a feeling  something may happen to
the car before he gets around to going to the DMV and it may be my
problem.  Should I insist on going to the DMV together?