Overhaulin'

Is it difficult to sell a car privately if it has a bank lien on it?

I purchased the car 7 months ago ,more is owed than its worth. So I would have to add cash to satisfy bank loan.Do dealers get involved buying cars like this from individuals? Thanks in advance for any help with this.

Public Comments

1. If you plan on buying a care from them they would
2. You cannot sell a car, if it has a bank lien on it.. The car must be free and clear of any money owed on it, before you can sell it..If the person buying the car, wants to pay off the rest of the loan, then you can sell it to them..
3. If your going to a Dealer to purchase a car the negative equity which is the amount you owe over what the car is worth, would be added to your next loan giving you more negative equity. If you can sell the car and can pay any extra owed, you can sell the car. The title has to be cleared before anyone else can title the car. You have to pay the loan off.
4. Yes it's difficult! Depending on the car, and the interest in it, it might not be impossible, but it can be tricky. If the car is worth close to what a private party would be willing to pay, then you can sell it to them. Most likely they'll need a bank loan to buy it. And that's how you get it done safely and securely. The buyer's bank will handle everything for you. They'll call your lender, get the payoff amount, have you sign a bill of sale, power of attorney statements allowing them to transfer the title to their customer upon payoff, and mileage statements...basically everything needed to document the sale properly and completely assure both you and your buyer that it's all done properly. And they usually don't charge you anything to do all of this--they do it to get the loan. Of course, if you still have some negative equity after the purchaser's price, you'll have to be able to come up with the cash on the spot. (Or by credit card, etc.) By involving a trusted intermediary (a bank or credit union) you have good security that it's all handled properly and your loan will be paid off promptly, etc. And in the highly unlikely event that something goes wrong you have the full paper trail showing what you agreed to. So, the mechanics of the deal aren't too tough. The difficult part is finding a buyer to pay enough to make it feasible. Alternately, yes, a dealer would often be able to get you into a new vehicle and swallow up your negative equity into the new loan. But be careful! Remember how you got where you are now? If you were to go through that again, you'd be *really* stuck, with now two vehicles' worth of instant negative equity to contend with. Good luck!