MBA-Sailor

Sooo....
I am buying a 996 in Minnesota (I am in Florida) from a private seller. The plan was:
1. I receive the title in the mail.
2. Car shipper picks up the car, and at same time I wire the funds to seller.

I have received the title, but now see there is a lien holder on the title (this was never disclosed by the seller). If I transfer the funds to seller, what guarantee do I have that he will pay off the lien? Any advice?

DTMiller

Contact lien holder and ask if it has been released.

MBA-Sailor

Lien holder refuses to even state if there IS a lien to anyone other than the lien holder.

5CHN3LL

Have you confirmed with the seller that the lien still exists? Until the lien is paid, the car isn't the sellers to sell.

If the loan has been repaid, even if the title hasn't been updated, the seller should have the notification from the lender that the loan has been fulfulled. Seller can also call lender and authorize you to discuss the account with the lender, at which point you can call the lender and ask about the status of that account number.

5CHN3LL

Seller can contact lien holder and add you as an account contact - but it sounds like you haven't yet consulted the seller? Do that first.

5CHN3LL

Not all states require the lender to provide the borrower with a new title at the end of the loan period. This may just be a case of the seller being too cheap/lazy/busy to go to DMV and request an updated title.

MBA-Sailor

The seller states the lien is still not paid.
Seller planned on using the funds I transferred to him to pay off the lien - but what guarantee do I have of that?

DTMiller

I think you can figure out what to do from here.

5CHN3LL

*hint* I wouldn't send money to someone to buy a car they don't own. What happens if he wrecks the car on the way to the credit union? Or there's a special on hookers & blow?

MBA-Sailor

Well that is my dilemma. Any solutions?
Fly up there, take and we drive the car together to the bank, and I pay off the lien in person with the seller? I'd say that failing to disclose a lien is a MAJOR failure to disclose a pertinent fact.

gnat

You run some serious risk if you move forward as is. At least in my state what you have is a worthless piece of paper. Even being potentially ripped off aside, it is probably going to be a pain for you to get a clear title from the originating state when you can't be there in person. It will take time to clear up and until it's done you might not be able to register the car in your state.

I'd send this title back and tell him you'd still be happy to continue the transaction when he can provide a clean title.

pontifex4

Can you trust anything else he said? I would send back the title after receiving back any deposit I'd made.

u7t2p7

Here are the questions I would ask:

1. How much do you trust the seller given that he didn't disclose the lien prior.

2. How much is the lien amount. If it is insignificant you can pay the lien holder directly and prearrange with the seller that the release goes to you.

3. You can request that the car be held by a 3rd party during this transaction period; possibly the shop that did the PPI and that there is a mutal agreement that the car will be released to you once the funds are sent.

4. Reference. Does the shop owner know the seller; long time customer? Try and conduct some due diligence prior to sending funds; FB, LinkedIn.

5. If in the end you feel uncomfortable, walk away from the deal.

MBA-Sailor

That's a good point. What if the seller takes forever to get a new title sent to me? And, he is moving out of Minnesota to Arizona now for a job transfer... so he may not even be in Minnesota in person.

phlporsche

This shouldn't be that hard. He should be able to just pay off the Lein with personal funds and get a clean title to allow you to move forward. You could alternatively meet at a dealership and pay them a few dollars to pass it trough them and let them deal with the paperwork. Another alternative is to have him contact the bank and see where the title is stored and how long it will take post payoff to get the title. If same day just deal with everything when you go get the car.