Vehicle lien

[maxxpower]

Hello, This may seem like a foolish question to those of you who buy vehicles regularly. I will start off by saying that I usually purchase vehicles from a dealer or private vehicles that are paid off. I found a great deal on a 2003, but the seller still owes the bank money. He wants me to pay him the money, he will then sign over the title which will make me the owner. He will then send in the money to pay off the loan, and send me the lien release after the bank procceses it. My question is, say he doesn't pay off the loan and uses the money for something else. I would not be able to title the car? Is there a way to cover my rear end? I realize that alot of people sell this way so there must be some sort of protection under the law. Any advise?

 

[DJ]

Re: Vehicle lien

You're f completely at his/her mercy. If they stiff you, there is little you can do.

You can sue for the documents, but they still may not produce them.

I have only gone into deals like that with someone I knew-very well.

If the bank is local, you can join them there to pay of the loan.

Also, banks are not quick to issue lein releases. I've waited over a month for some. If you go in person, you can usually walk out with the release.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Vehicle lien

Pay him with 2 checks. One, to pay off the loan, made out to him AND the bank. The other for the difference.

Or, meet him at the bank and see that it's paid off yourself.

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: Vehicle lien

As a banker my advise would be to meet him at the bank and get it all handled at once. If you pay the lien with a check not drawn on the bank that holds the lien it will hold up getting the lien release for an extra 10 days or so. Under no circumstances would I give him the full amount and trust him to get a lien release.

 

[maxxpower]

Re: Vehicle lien

Thanks for the replies! Well of course it can't be easy, he has it financed through the manufacturer (Volkswagen) which is out of state. I plan on using Boatbuoy's suggestion with the separate checks. Then after he signs the payout check made out to him and the bank I will mail it to the proper payout address, and pay him for the remaining balance. Rottenray, would it be wiser to send a personal payout check to the bank or a cashiers? Thanks!

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: Vehicle lien

Cashiers checks are always preferable. From a bank perspective once in a great while you will see a bogus one but very rarely. I think that plan will work fine for you. Not a lot of choices since the vehicle is financed through VW. It sucks that we have to be that cautious and suspicious anymore! :'(

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Vehicle lien

is done all the time. if you are financing, the two banks handle everything, just takes some coordination. if you are paying cash, you can usually contact his bank directly and make arrangements with them. when i did this, i sent the bank the full amount and they then sent the seller a check for the difference. in reality, you're buying the boat from his bank, so deal directly with them.

 

[maxxpower]

Re: Vehicle lien

Well thanks for the replies but it ended up being all for not. The guy who was selling was in the process of moving out of state and seemed a little shady. I ended up doing a carfax just to make sure there wasn't any other liens and found out the car was in an accident less than a year ago. Carfax rates the accidents minor, moderate, and severe, this one showed up as moderate. When I asked him about the accident to see if he had any documentation for the repairs he got mad and said he didn't have to "go through all of this". I then tried to respectfuly explain how I would have a difficult time selling the car in the future without any documentation. Had he not lied in the first place, or at least cooperated after the fact I would have gone through with the deal after a thorough inspection. But it wasn't meant to be. I will admit I was hesitant to pay for the carfax but I think it helped me out in the long run.

 

[KRS]

Re: Vehicle lien

I read that you already handled it, but thought I'd add my 2 cents.

I am also a banker, and Boatbuoys suggestion is not a good one.... there is nothing to prevent him from cashing the check for the "difference" that is payable to him only.

Always use a bill of sale to evidence the sale and amount.

This scenario is too easy to get burned. I would use a bank for a loan, and they can handle the payoff, etc.

Then use your cash to pay it off.

 

[KRS]

Re: Vehicle lien

at the bank, we would verify the payoff, obtain a copy of the title from the bank, do your loan, do a bill of sale, fund your loan and send the payoff to the existing lender with instructions to mail us the lien release and (if a non-title holding state) the title.

When rec'd, we take it to the DMV and title it.

All this for not, you've moved on... now it's my turn to.