Overhaulin'

How can I sell my car if I don't own it?

I keep hearing people say "Sell your car privately, then pay the balance with your lender." How can i sell the car if the new owner won't have the title? I owe $6,000 but car is probably worth $2,500. I can't image somone buying a car from me (cash) without possession of the title.

Public Comments

1. dont do tht. thats just gonna screw everything up for you.
2. You're right, they wont buy it. You can't legally sell a car without a title. Edit: At least not for anything other than parts.
3. If the car is worth less than you owe, you are "upside down" which means that you don't own the car. In fact, you are behind, in your case, by $3500. You would have to come up with $3500 after you sell the car for $2500 to get the title to give to the buyer. Here is an article with more details: http://www.firstcarguide.com/faqs/how-do-i-sell-my-car-if-i-still-owe-money-on-it.html .
4. in the car business, you're considered "upside down"....you owe more on the car than it's worth. same thing happens to a lot of people that bought overinflated homes in the last year or two. there's nothing you can do EXCEPT take the $2500 AND take out a loan for $3500 to pay it off. personally, i wouldn't recommend that.
5. You have a problem. If your car is only worth $2500 and you owe $6000, do you have the additional $3500 cash to pay the loan off? If not, you can't sell the car until you can pay off the balance of the loan.