ghost.223

I want to put my 02 coupe for sale but how hard is it to sell if the bank still has the title?

Any advise? Do many of the cars that sell here have loans on them?

jol

This is very common and I sold Vettes in the past as well as other cars with a lien. The buyer goes with you to the bank and pays, also called satisfies the loan and gets a bank letter verifying it. The title with the buyers name comes in about 2 weeks with his or her name. I showed the buyer the odometer and locked the car in my garage until he had the title or he could take it and wait to register.
The buyer must be told that your price is not related to the lien, meaning if you only owe $10,000.00 but are asking 25,000 for the car, he pays the 25,000.00 All you need to do is explain this to the buyer. To make it easier, particularly in this tough market, do research and try to give the best deal possible.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Jeff
PS...if you have a definite sale, you might try and borrow the money to satisfy the lien.

corvettezman

I have bought cars with liens on them, It's very simple, if your bank is local, find out where the title is kept and payoff the car there with the buyer and get the title within 30 minutes.
If your bank is National, have the buyer write you 2 checks, one to the bank for the payoff amount and one to you for the balance. Instruct the bank to release the title ASAP even if you have to pay the overnight fees. You should have the title in a couple of days.

If the buyer is nervous about the national bank deal, authorize him to talk to the bank and get a payoff for himself, that way he can send the payoff directly. Once the payoff has reached the bank and it posts to your account, you can release the car and mail the title later.

Zap City

Another strategy- call your bank and ask them. They will walk you through it. Many states now hold titles electronically until a loan is satisfied. The bank will help you out and possibly finance the new buyer- win win.

Sonny71

FNFastZ06

This is how I bought mine. Checked out the Z06 with the seller, liked it, went to his bank. Wrote 2 checks, 1 to bank for payoff amount & 1 to him for the balance of the sale price. Went to DMV for a temporary tag (car was in a different county than where I live). Drove home and the bank had the state mail me the title in less than 5 days.

RetiredSFC 97

The only thing I would do differently is wait until I received the title to pay the difference.

I bought my FRC with a lien on it. I paid the bank, they sent the lien release, then I paid the other 5K on delivery and picked up the title at the same time. It took a week or so but it went smoothly.

If the bank is local just set an appointment at the bank, if they have the title.

But here in MO, we keep our titles so all we need is the lien release from the bank.

bearphoto

Its easy and no big deal. The problem is when the finance company (bank or whatever) is across the country but its still possible.

Those electronic titles though are a pain in the butt. My last 09 vette that I bought in AZ was financed by a bank in Ohio as i recall. There was an electronic title on the car. But in CA, we have paper titles. Once I sold the car, the bank had to send a letter (they could not get the content of the letter correct so that it was acceptable to Ca dmv). It took 3 letters before they got it right, then ca could issue me a "pink slip". Then I had to sign off the pink slip and give it to the new buyer of the vette.

Fortunately he was a friend of mine as it took about 2 months to get the paperwork done.

RetiredSFC 97

Never heard of an electronic title. That's different. But I suppose we will all be going to it eventually.

Vetteman Jack

Buyer brings the money and both of you go to the financial institution that has the title. Buyer pays the bank enough money to satisfy the loan, then pays you the difference between the loan and the selling price. Bank should be able to issue a lien release right then and the buyer can then take the endorsed title and lien release to the DMV (in whatever state he will register the car) and get a new title. At least that's how I've done it before. Only hang up is if the buyer is paying by check - then the bank most likely will want to wait until the check clears before releasing the title. This can be avoided if the buyer has the funds wire transferred to the bank with the remainder of the price paid directly to you when the sale occurs.

FYRARMS

Yep! I bought my car from a MO resident. There was a lien on the car. My bank cut 2 checks---one made out to the seller AND his bank for the lien amount, and the other for the difference made out to just the seller. I left his house with the car, the title, and a bill of sale he and I signed. To the get the car retitled in IL, his bank mailed me a "lien release" letter which I brought with me along with the MO title to my local DMV. Simple!

ghost.223

Cool, sounds simple enough. Now which one of you is going to buy my car?

Silnus

Electronic title transfer here in FL now. Make sure to do a bill of sale, as he will need this to register the vehicle. I ran into this problem myself. AAA or the internet will have these. No big deal really. I sell my cars with leins all the time.