Overhaulin'

Can a dealer in IL sell a car when a lien is still on the vehicle?

Ok here is my situation. I went and bought a car in IL and waited for the title to be sent to me. After contacting the dealer many times there like its going to take some time because the previous owner had a lien on it. So they had to send the title to the bank with the lien. What i am wondering is it legal in IL for a dealer to sell a car when a lien is still on it by the bank? i wouldnt think they could because its not theirs yet? Any information is appreciated thanks Heres my situation. I bought a preowned car in IL. I wanted to take it back to my home state of SD. I waited over a month for the title and still hasnt showed. Finally the dealer said it had a lien on it and would take extra time. What i am wondering is, is it legal in IL to sell a car at the dealership when there is a lien from a bank on it? Dont they have to wait until the title clears and is signed off from the bank to actually put it on there lot? any help is appreciated thanks

Public Comments

1. The lien would have to be settled for them to legally sell the vehicle. Otherwise the bank still has rights to the vehicle. If you paid the dealer and they new there was a lien on it then the money from the sale should go to satisfy the bank lien.
2. I wouldn't think so. What may have happened is, a guy traded the car in and the dealer added what was owed on the trade in to the new car's loan. Then the dealer will pay off the loan and get the clear title. It has to go through a lot of government and legal red tape to finally get the title cleared off. The last time I went through this, I had a letter from Ford Credit saying that the loan was paid off, but Ford had to fax the letter to the County clerk's office and then someone had to pull the file and take the lien off. Then the clerk finally got the OK and she marked the lien released and notarized it. So now my title is clear.
3. Yes, it's legal. When the original owner trades in, they also pay the balance owed to the lienholder & sign a 'power of attny.' for the dealer to sign the title [for them] the dealer pays off the lien, usually within 10 business days. dealer then waits for the title [they now own vehicle] from bank. once the dealer receives the title, they may ask you to come back to sign it. then dealer sends it back to the state to switch it to your name. sometimes the original lender takes their sweet time getting the title to the dealer. & sometimes it takes forever for the state to send the title to you. You should tallk to the dealers "Lic. & Title Clerk" The Clerk can trace for you. If the bank has received the payoff & cashed the dealers check, & haven't sent them the title yet [happens all the time] They should be fined, but aren't. If the dealer was late in sending in the payoff, they are charged [per diem] by the bank. If the payoff's been made & the bank did send the title to the dealer, then they should have had you come back to sign it before it went to the state. If that has occurred, then you're waiting on the state. The dealer clerk can trace that too. Call the clerk to verify & trace title process.
4. no
5. Before the dealer puts the car on the lot, they need to make sure there is a free and clear title before they can sell it, it is true that if the car was a previous trade in they have ten days to pay it off but they cannot sell it until they do...