May purchase a vette this weekend in a town about 100 miles away in same state. Current owner has another year of payments on it.

How do I get the car "free and clear' after I give him a bank check and have him sign a receipt? My concern is that I never receive the title for the car or he doesn't pay-off the lien holder

Any thoughts would be appreciated

 

You make the check payable to the seller AND the lien holder..make certain that the amount you are paying is enough to cover the lien..He may be selling it for less than he owes on it...that would not be good...

 

I've bought over 300 vehicles and when someone owes money on that vehicle I deal with that person face to face and walk then down to the bank, credit union, ect and deal with it there. That way the finance folks get their money ( from you and or the seller if he has negetative equity) and the title will be sent to you by the finance company.

Or( if i can be face to face ) I call the car seller and the bank and make arrangements with them to transfer the purchase price to the bank , they take whats owed to them , tranfer the rest to the seller and the bank sends you the title.

Always get the finance company involved with the money, that way you don't have to trust the seller. Always works for me.

 

Why don't you have your bank representative contact his lien holder? Then handle it all by wire transfer, with no check or cash involved.
You're much safer if it's all handled electronically.

 

Done this a few times.
Try to go to the bank if it's local, if it's a big name finance bank like Capitol One that makes it harder, but you can still cut the check to for instance Capitol One and the rest to Him if he's is charging more then he owes

A) Your bank check gets cut to bank for any amount he owes, if your paying more then he owes the rest goes to him, having your bank cut 2 checks is easy. And if he owes more then your paying you will know right away that he's paying it off as well.

B) Banks can't always get you the title but they will give him and you a copy of the Lien removed and who payed it along with notarized bill of sale, use a notary at the bank he has.

Get a NOTARIZED Bill of Sale x2, Lawyer always wants original copies if you have them.

If he's not able to get you the title that day, he should allow you to keep the plates and HE should continue to insure the car until you get the title (you should insure it as well, but some insurance companies won't insure a car that's not 100% in your name yet)

I'll think of more to edit this post with.

Wire transfers are awesome sadly my home town bank doesn't do them cheap so I prefer bank checks as well. But as the above have said always get your finance company and his talking on the phone if possible.

 

This isn't complex.

If you are that uncomfortable about making a transaction, do it at his bank where he financed for the car.

Typically as long as a Bill of Sale is signed for the amount you are willing to purchase and you pay with a certfied bank check. You are free to drive off with the car.

It is the sellers responsibility to pay the amount off the lien. Eventually the bank will send you the cleaned title and you would have to get it register/transfered at your DMV. You will never get the title from the bank the same day especially if there is a lien.

I never make monetary transfer unless I drive off with the car and bill of sale in hand. Title is not required.

Good luck!

 

That would protect you and the Lien holder too!

 

Take the advice of those above.

 

I did this once, Don't give the guy a check, Do it at the bank and make sure all the paperwork is transfered to your name so you will get the title.

 

 

 

I bought a car with a lien on it with a Sight Draft made out to him and the lien holder. He takes it and the title to the bank. They clear the title, send the title and the release to my bank for funding.

 

Last time I did this, I got my bank to talk to his bank. The price was less than he owed so my bank transferred the remaining balance of his lein to the other bank. They sent the difference I owed to the seller in the form of a bank check made out to the seller to MY address. That way I could give him the remaining money when I picked up the car.

If there was any issues with the other amount, it would be taken up between the banks.

It took a few days longer than it should have because the seller had BofA, and they suck the big one.

 

Nothing but good advice here.