Overhaulin'

How do I sell my car with a lien on it?

I have a 2001 Ford Escort ZX2 in which I owe about $1,600 on it still. We don't need the car, so what would I need to do in order to sell this car?

Public Comments

1. Sell it like normal, you will just have to pay off the balance and the bank will give you the title.
2. just try to sell it and pay it off immediately, but you may need to check first to make sure it's legal
3. You have to disclose the lien to the buyer and either settle the lien when you sell, or have the buyer accept the lien with the title.
4. Depends on the lien. If you bought it from a dealership financing, or with the help from another bank, then you would have to talk to them to see how they would like you to go about it. If the lien is from another source, then I have no clue.
5. I looked this up for you, and here is what I found: If you sell it for the amount owed, it's little trouble. Just send in the payoff amount and a letter requesting release of lien status and the title. Once the financial intitution has finished its paperwork, you'll get title in the mail (you can request it be sent express, but you'll have to pay for shipping). Then just sign it over to the new owner. If you sell it for LESS than you owe, you'll have to pay off the difference. The buyer doesn't want a car with a lien on it. It doesn't mean you have to pay it off out of pocket; you could use another form of credit (credit card, personal loan from the same bank, home equity loan, etc.). The bottom line is you have to pay off the loan to get the title, and you have to have the title to complete the sale.
6. There are two ways to sell your car that you owe money on. You can either have the buyer pay the lender the full amount of the purchase. The lender will then send you a check for the difference from the amount that you owe and send the title to the new buyer. This is the way that I sold my truck. The buyer does not know how much you owe and it makes the process much smoother. You can also have the buyer cut two checks, one to the lender for the balance and one to you for the difference. This would be done if you need the money right away. The DMV will have all the necessary forms for a buyer to buyer purchase. You can print them from their website.
7. you need to contact the lien holder to get payoff info,the final balance may be diff with interest or early payoff,You would need to pay off the balance before they would release the title to you..check with the dmv about transfer option and temp tags..
8. No problem, just sell it while satisfying the lien.