Unfortunately I have NO idea of how to go about transferring ownership of the car (I’ve never done this before).
The car Title has a lien on it by our finance company (this is how the financing was done…we didn’t do anything bad). The buyer will give us two checks. One made out to our finance company for the buyout price on the loan and the second check made out to me for the little bit of extra money we will make on the deal.
My question is (are):
Can I transfer a title legally with a lien on it?
Technically, the finance company considers myself as the owner of the car till they are paid off (no matter who I sell the car to). If the new owner drives off with my car and promptly gets into an accident can they stop payment and say they’re not buying it?
This feeds off of question 2…Am I legally responsible for anything (beyond paying off my loan) till the title is officially transferred?
If I tell the new buyer to hand over the money but not take possession of the car till the title is clear they will definitely back out. Still…is this the prudent move? Something I should worry about?
This is gonna sound really stupid but what the hell does the title look like anyway? I have a ton of papers from buying the car but nothing obvious presents itself as the title. Did my finance company hang onto this and they will forward it when the loan is paid?
In all likelihood, yes, the finance company has the actual title in their possession. This will make your whole post rather meaningless, since the buyer should not be willing to give you anything unless you give him the title.
Therefore: ask these questions to the finance company, not to us.
I have asked the Finance company. They don’t give a rat’s ass what we do with the car. I am responsible for the car till the loan is paid off. Period. If I want to hack it apart that’s my own lookout…just keep paying the loan off.
The buyer knows that the finance company has a lien on the car. That’s why her finance company insisted on writing a check payable only to my finance company.
We do have a simple contract we got off the Internet that basically says the car was purchased as is for X amount. So, FWIW, the new owner will have a document saying she owns the car even if she does not possess the title just yet.
Again, however, my question stands. Till the title is officially transferred am I legally responsible for any screw-ups of the new owner?
Some states give out titles with the lienholder information on them. Then, the title is not valid at the DMV/SecState/WhereEver without a “release of lien” statement from your bank/financier.
What state are you in? I know that when I was in Georgia and bought a car, I did NOT receive such a title. But in Texas I did. And in Michigan, you always do.
The title in all THREE of the aforementioned states came from the respective equivilents of the “DMV.” It’s a printed certificate. The one in Michigan is fairly fancy.