How To Sell A Car With A Loan On It
You have two main options when it comes to selling your car with a loan on it:
- Selling it to a private individual
- Trading it in at a dealership
With both options, youre still responsible for paying off the loan. With a private party, you can either pay off the loan first or use the profits to pay off your lender. With a dealership, you can switch in your car for a vehicle of similar value and roll your old loan into a new deal.
Sort Out Selling Details
If youre selling your car to a third-party buyer, you cant legally transfer the title without paying off the loan first. The fastest and easiest way to do that is to visit your lenders office with the buyer to pay off the loan, remove the lien, and transfer the title to the buyer. Usually, you can complete the transaction and transfer the title in one appointment.
The other option is for the buyer to pay off the loan. Most lienholders accept a check from the buyer for the payoff amount in exchange for the title of the vehicle. Even when you take this approach, you will need to visit the office of the lender with the buyer and complete the payoff process.
It might seem easy to have the buyer pay off the lien, but remember that the price of the vehicle will go down significantly in this case and you have to agree to an amount lower than the actual value of the car. Another downside is that if the buyer and the seller are from different regions and the lender does not have a nearby office, this process can be cumbersome.
Provide A Clear Title
Transferring the title to your buyer completes the sale and allows the buyer to register the vehicle in his name. Transferring the title generally involves signing the back of the title to indicate that you are giving up ownership to the buyer. You also may need to supply the buyer with a bill of sale, which contains seller contact information, sale date, sale price, vehicle odometer reading, and signatures of both parties. Specific requirements vary by state. In Alaska, for example, the title serves as a bill of sale and gives the buyer everything needed to register the vehicle in their own name.
To prove to the seller that you paid off the car, obtain from the lender a signed lien release or a letter on the lender’s letterhead stating that it holds no financial interest in the car.
Buyers generally won’t be willing to pay unless you have a clear title you can furnish during the sale. A clear title is one that is clear of any claims. You wont have a clear title if you still owe money on the car. If the car is still financed, the lienholder’s name will appear on the title to indicate its financial interest in the car.
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Finalize The Deal And Get Paid
Depending on what option you decide to go with, you also need to ensure that you sign all paperwork and confirm that you’re no longer liable for any remaining lien on the vehicle. We want to make sure that no legal components could put you in trouble after selling this car.
Therefore, you must work with your lienholder to confirm what paperwork needs to be signed so you can sell the car and free responsibility.
Once it’s time to get paid, you’ll need to discuss the different payment options with the potential buyer. Most auto experts recommend getting paid in cash, especially if you’re trying to junk your car because cash payments are the safest. Otherwise, if you got paid in checks or money orders, you want to meet with the buyer at their banks to confirm that the check goes through.
File Lien Against Business
If a business owes you money and refuses to pay their debt, you can file a lien on the assets of the business. Before you can file a lien against a business, you must first obtain a judgement against the business in court.
To get a judgement in court, you will have to file a claim in the proper court and provide evidence to prove that the business owes you money. If a judgement is entered in your favor, you can then file a lien against the businesss assets.
The lien should be recorded with the clerk of courts. If the lien is against a bank account, a copy of the documentation should be sent to the bank or broker that holds the account. For liens on vehicles, you can send the documentation to the local DMV.
Once the lien is in place, you have the legal right to seize and sell the business assets to satisfy your debt.
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How To Sell A Car With A Lien & New York’s Laws
To remove a lien, you first have to pay the amount owed. Once that happens, you’ll need to clear the lien off your title to prepare it for a new buyer. New York State has a series of steps that need to be followed to accomplish this.
You also can sell a car with the lien still attached and leave it up to the new owner to file the paperwork. However, the new owner then risks having the lien transferred to his title. Here are the steps you’ll need to take to get rid of the lien and successfully transfer the title to the new owner.
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Buy Or Sell A Used Vehicle In Ontario
Know the steps you need to take to buy or sell a used vehicle in Ontario.
Before you sell a used vehicle, you need to:
- buy a Used Vehicle Information Package
- make sure that the Vehicle Identification Number on your vehicle matches the number on your permit
- check to ensure the vehicle has no money owing on it
When you sell your vehicle, you need to give the buyer:
- the Used Vehicle Information Package
- a signed Bill of Sale with your name, the buyers name and address, the date and purchase price
- a completed and signed Application for Transfer this is found on the back of an ownership permit, under the vehicle portion
- a certificate that verifies the vehicle meets safety standards
- you will need to get this from a licensed mechanic
- look for a green and white sign with Ontario Motor Vehicle Inspection Station on it
You keep:
- your licence plates
- the plate portion of your permit
- you will need this if you want to register your plates on another vehicle
- you can also request a refund for any full months left on your plate stickers
Finding out if money is owed on a vehicle
A Used Vehicle Information Package will tell you if there is any debt/money owing on your vehicle.
If there is a lien on the vehicle, you can contact the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, Personal Property Security Branch, for more information:
Toronto area:
Before buying a used vehicle you should:
When you buy a vehicle, ensure the seller gives you:
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Getting A Lien Release
When banks receive payment for the full amount owed on the vehicle, they will release their lien from the title. This is called a lien release and is given to you when you pay the loan off. If you have the title, you can give it to the seller when he pays. If you do not possess the title and your lender is local, call your lender to arrange a meeting between you, the buyer and the lender so that the lien can be paid off and the title securely signed over to the buyer. If your lender is not local, you can arrange the sale using an escrow service that will hold the money until the title is released to the buyer.
Option #: Pay Off The Lien Yourself
As noted above, you can get better value by selling to a private buyer rather than a dealership. But in that case, youll need the resources to pay off the lien before you sell. That translates to either paying off the loan in full or finding a buyer whos willing to pay off the loan themselves.
Its easiest to pay off the loan yourself in many instances, provided you have the ability. In that case, the process is rather simple. You just need to call your lienholder and arrange payment.
Once your payment has been processed, your lender will contact your states motor vehicle agency, which will issue you a clean title. With a clean title in hand, you can then proceed to sell your car.
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Looking To Sell A Car With A Lien
After deciding that you want to sell a car with a lien for cash, you will have to figure out the pay-off amount, which is the amount of money including interest and other fees that needs to be paid to the lienholder to get the title for the car.
Your lender can tell you the amount. It’s easier to sell the car if you owe less than what it is currently worth. If you owe more, you may have to pay the difference in order to sell the car.
The next step is to decide whether you want to sell the car to the dealer or sell the car privately. Selling to a dealership can be the easier option, as they will handle all the financial paperwork for you.
The dealership will determine the value of your car and the amount it will pay . After you agree to sell your car to the dealership and give them power of attorney, they will contact your lender directly on your behalf and pay the existing balance that you owe, thus satisfying your loan.
The dealership will then give you any money that’s left over from the loan’s balance, which can be applied to the purchase of a new car if you decide on that option. The lender will give the dealership the title to the car once the transaction is completed, and you should get documentation from the dealership stating that your lien has been satisfied and you no longer owe money on it.
Then You Give The Title To The New Owner When You Deliver The Vehicle And He Or She Can Apply For A New Registration And Title
How to sell a car in nc with a lien. Note that the lien can arise without the final bill being generated. Follow the links to find the form that you need based on your role in the project. North carolina titles must be notarized.
After signing all papers , they told me that they have to keep the car for a few days because there was a lien on the car and they had to clear it. For a title transfer, the information on the back of the original title must be completed by both the original owner and the recipient. Write out a clear, dated bill of sales that includes all.
Sell in the location of the lienholder, if possible. Here are a few things you’ll need to consider to make the process easier: If you are able to follow this maze of guidelines properly, you will generally be able to get a title to the vehicle, sell it, and pay off the lien and your sale expenses.
Reed also advises to contact the lien holder any time you want to sell the. A notice of pending lien sale for vehicle valued $4,000 or less by certified mail to the department. Have proof of vehicle ownership such as a drivers license, state id, or passport and an old vehicle registration.
This is good for both you and the dealer: To file a mechanics lien, please visit connect ncdot. See civil code § 3068 .
Checking for a car lien. This means that you typically wont be able to sell your car and transfer ownership until the lien has been satisfied. How to sell your junk car without a title.
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Can You Privately Sell A Vehicle With A Lien
Most vehicles on the market that are only a few years old tend to still have a bank lien on them, meaning the bank holds the title until the vehicle is paid off. That doesnt mean you arent incapable of privately selling your vehicle to another person, it just means there are a few more hoops that need to be jumped through in this case, which isnt always a bad thing if you are able to sell the car for a decent price. Keep in mind, your bank will not give you the title to sell the vehicle without completing a full payment, so the price at which you are selling your vehicle must at least be the remaining balance on your auto loan unless you want to pay out of your own pocket to get rid of the vehicle. The best option is to contact the bank holding your vehicle lien and discuss selling options with them, as they may suggest that you come into the bank office with the buyer to complete the transaction.
What If The Lienholder Has My Title Certificate
In many other states, the lienholder keeps the title certificate until the lien is satisfied. The lienholder sends the title certificate to the owner when the lien is satisfied. If your vehicle is registered in NYS and you receive the out-of-state title certificate from the lienholder, send the title certificate to the Title Services Bureau at the address shown above. The DMV will send you a NYS title certificate. There is no fee because you paid the title certificate fee when you registered your vehicle in New York.
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Selling Your Car To A Private Party
You’ll get more money if you sell your car to a private party than if you trade it to a dealership. The dealership wants to make a profit from reselling your trade-in, so it must pay you the least amount possible. But if you have a lien on your vehicle, selling to a private party is more complicated. It’s not as simple as the buyer taking over the payments.
Selling a car with positive equity…
If the proceeds of your private sale will bring enough money to pay off the lien, the process will be easier. That means you have positive equity in the car you’re selling. In this case, you and the buyer will meet at your lenderâs office, and the buyer will either pay you or the lender. If the buyer pays you, you’ll then pay the lender with the proceeds and keep anything thatâs left. Then you and the lender sign the title over to the buyer, and the lender sends a lien release to the DMV.
Selling a car with negative equity…
If the proceeds from the private sale arenât enough to pay off the loan, things are trickier because you have negative equity. Just as in the example with positive equity, you can meet at your lender’s office, and the buyer can give you or the seller the money to purchase the vehicle. But for the lender to remove the lien, they’ll expect you to pay the difference. For example, if you sell a car for $8,000 but still owe $10,000 on the vehicle, the lender is going to require you to pay $2,000. If you canât pay the $2,000, the lender won’t allow the sale.
Selling A Car With A Lien To A Dealer
The easiest option is to head to your local dealer and sell them the vehicle. Many places will consider this even if you are not purchasing your next vehicle from them. Find out what you owe on your current car and keep that number in mind while negotiating.
When you give the dealer whats called Power of Attorney, they will contact your lender and handle paying off the loan directly. You arent actually trading in your vehicle because you dont technically own it. All you are doing is selling it to the dealer who is then paying off the loan before reselling the car. The dealer pays off what you owe and then applies the remaining balance toward your next purchase.
This wont always work. They will turn your car down if they cant get as much out of it as you owe. It also wont work if the lien is a Mechanics Lien, court judgement lien, IRS lien, or any other type of complicated situation. It only works on a standard lien resulting from a car title loan.
Important Note dont ever leave your car with the dealership until youve received all the appropriate documentation stating that the lien is satisfied.
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Lien Paid By The Buyer
If settling the transaction at the lenders office is not feasible, the buyer can pay the lender directly through a wire transfer or with a cashiers check. Either of these methods can satisfy a lien and can also be used to pay the remaining balance to the seller.
This option provides an added level of assurance to the buyer. That’s because the funds can be routed directly to the lender, which completely avoids the need to send the sale proceeds to the seller, who must then transfer the funds to the lender to satisfy the loan.
Depending on the laws of the state where the sale takes place, the buyer may be able to send the paperwork and transfer instructions along with the payment to receive the cleared certificate of title directly from the lender. If they can’t do this, the lender can send the cleared title to the seller instead. In either situation, both parties must sign the certificate of title to complete the sale and transfer ownership to the buyer.
One of the problems with this option lies with the fact that if there are any proceeds left after the loan is paid off, it could take a while for the lender or lien holder to issue a check. For instance, let’s say you have a balance of $9,000 on the car. But the buyer agrees to pay you $9,500 for some of the upgrades you’ve made, such as a new stereo system. It may take some time for you to get your money. That’s because you’ll be at the mercy of the lien holder issuing you a check for the proceeds.
