Protecting yourself with lien sale

[Carleton]

Can someone help me with a how to protect myself during a transaction when there is a lien on the car.
Buyer says there is a $18,000 lien remaining on the car that has to be paid, then the balance goes to him. He says once the lien is paid it will take 7 days for the company to mail the pink slip to him. My question is.. If I pay the lien, and he gets his pink slip back it will still be in his name. Technically his car.
How can I protect myself from any wroing doings during this. Will a bill of sale from the buyer be sufficient enough stating that I paid the lien and once balance is paid the car is mine. I hope I don't have to get a lawer involved.

Carleton

 

[RavenFan_94]

I usually make sure that the lien is held at major institution and accompany the private party to the bank with two cashier's checks.

Arrange for an appointment at the bank and they provide you with a copy of the release.

If you are already beyond that point or buying the car at greater than arms length, probably best to call an attorney.

Good Luck.

 

[LIVIPER]

FIRST YOU YOU YOU must call the bank and confirm the amount of the lien and where to send a payoff. Ask for the loan number and bank phone number from the seller. Then, look up in number to double check that you are actually calling the bank.

Second, ask the bank their procedure. In most cases, on the day of the sale you will meet the seller with two bank checks. One for the balance of the lien and the other is a balance check to the bank. You can both walk to a FedEx box to send in the payment to be assured it goes in. With the final payment you can include a notarized letter from the seller asking the bank to send YOU, the buyer, the original lien release and they will do so.

You can also ask if you can pay off at a local branch and get an immediate release.

Good luck!! What year?

 

[Carleton]

Thanks for your quick response.
I'm alittle confused. The only lien is what Chrysler holds on the car. ($18,000)
I will do as you say and confirm this. The balance will be paid to the buyer.

What I'm still not getting is that even if the lien release is given to me, the pink slip is still in the sellers name. The car still technically belongs to him, correct? Or am I wrong about this.

It's a 2001 RT

Carleton

 

[LIVIPER]

You have him sign over the title to you at the sale and you take the title with you. Your ownership is subject to the lien. Once the lien is paid, its all yours.

Now when you say "pick slip", do you mean a car title? Is that the same in CA?

 

[Carleton]

Yes, pink slip is the title. The only problem I see is that the lien is paid before the seller and I get the title and the seller signs it off to me.

Carleton

 

[Achilles99]

I did this with my first Viper... similar to what LIVIPER said. I had two checks. One to pay off the lien, and the other to the seller. We had a bill of sale documenting how he would pass the title to me.

However, I had an extra layer of protection. The check to pay the lien was a bank check. The check to the seller was a Peoplefirst check. That check has a stipulation where Peoplefirst can actually revoke the money if the title doesn't transfer.

After I got the title, I paid off the Peoplefirst check/loan. Only cost to me was a few weeks interest. Well worth the piece of mind...

 

[ViperJoe]

When I sold my Z-06 I had a GMAC loan. There was a substantial difference between the balance and my sale price with the difference coming to me. GMAC figured that the cashiers check that the buyer sent to GMAC was from a loan on the car(it was not), so they were going to send HIM the title. I sad no no! This was later corrected as they realized the title should go to the "original" owner.
The guy I guess "trusted" me and everything went smoothly considering he was from Gig Harbor, Washington and I was in Virginia!
And what difference does it make if he owes 200 or 20k, he gave you a price, he just gets the overage from the banking company. If you feel squeamish, just do the entire transaction at his bank with you turning over the check and receiving the title the day of the sale.
Good luck!

 

[cayenne]

This is all VERY interesting. As I've posted before, I've got an '86 930, that I'm tired of sinking money into...and want to sell it to buy a '93-95 viper.

I was wondering my self how to handle the buying of a viper from an individual if I find the right deal, but, also....since "I've" never before sold a car as a private owner...how best to handle the payoff and title transfer. Heck...I don't know what all paperwork you need to do to sell one. I've heard people speak of a "bill of sale"...is there an official one for each state? Any other forms I should know of?

My loan for the present car is a bank that is WAY out of state. I originally got my loan through JJ. Best...as that they were the only company that would give a loan for a car as old as mine, but, they sold the loan to the present bank....heck, with a 10 yr age on the vipers I'm looking for...may have to go through them again. This makes it impossible to 'meet at the bank'...

Anyway, I digress....but, was wondering how I go about getting someone to trust me with payment to pay off the loan and get the title to sign to them.

So, basically...I ASK my potential buyer for my car to bring two checks (one for me and one for payoff)? Is there another way, I really would prefer not to let them know how much over payoff I'm making...

One thing I was thinking of....was maybe using one of those "special checks" from one of my credit cards to transfer balances..to pay off the car...then, I'd have the title...and when I sell the car, just give the "clear" title to the new owner, and use the check to pay off my credit card portion of the car?

Sorry...just rambling thoughts...but, please keep other way's ya'll have done viper transactions coming....all good ideas!!

Cayenne

 

[LIVIPER]

Some State do have a suggested Bill of Sale form. Your bill of sale should contain the VIN# of the vehicle, identify the Buyer and Seller by full name and address, contain the sales price and state that the car is sold in "AS IS" condition. I also include "seller transfers all warranties from the car and components, to the extent the same exist and are transferable"

It is a good idea to review all forms you will need to register in YOUR and the SELLER's state. Get everything signed at one time!! Keep in mind, for example, if you buy a car in a state where the title signature is to be notarized, you may not be able to register an un-notarized title in YOUR state even though they do not typically require a notarized signature. I've seen that twice now.

Below is a link that contains a reference to all the forms for each state's DMV.
http://www.dmv.org/forms.php

 

[ndvipergtsr]

Just a thought, Maybe you could get a power of attorney form as i know the car dealers use these forms in instances where the title is not present.

 

[LIVIPER]

Just a thought, Maybe you could get a power of attorney form as i know the car dealers use these forms in instances where the title is not present.

That's a great idea. If anyone works at a dealer and can post the language of the form I'm sure it will be used!!

 

[grayman]

First of all, the "pink slip" IS NOT the title. It is a registration certificate. The TITLE in California I believe is held by the lienholder. You should request the title be sent to a local branch where you can pay the lien off with one cashiers check and pay the balance to the seller in whatever format he desires. The bank should release the title once they receive payoff. Make sure you get it. Some banks are starting to hold on to the title for a week or so EVEN when receiving cashier's checks due to phony ones being passed off in the past. If this is the case, have a written letter of request signed by both seller and buyer to the bank expressly telling them to mail title to the buyer. Remember, the seller will still have to sign the title. You may get this done at the bank during payoff so you dont have to track the seller down later. None of this matters much of diddly if someone is trying to rip you off. Remember, possession is 9/10s of the law. You will have the car and the bill of sale. And a cancelled cashiers check showing payoff. I wouldnt worry too much.