Overhaulin'

in illinois is a bill of sell enforceable when the car has lien?

I am purchasing a used car with a lien.Once the payment is made to the finance company, the title will be delivered. would be the proper route to take in this matter? Thank you.

Public Comments

1. NO NO NO NO Go with the seller to the bank where he has the loan. Pay the bank directly for the car, and get the bill of sale and title directly from the bank. Often, the bank will not have the title at the branch office. Most of the time they are kept at the headquarters or a central location. So dont be alamred if they have to send you the title, you will still have all the necessary paperwork to show ownership of the car. If there is a shortage, lets say you are buying it for $15K but the seller owes $18K, he has to pay that shortage at the time of the transaction. If he can't or doesn't pay that shortfall, no deal. the lien is nto satisfied and you cannot take the car. Do NOT fall prey to people who say "you pay me, I will go pay the bank and get the title". There are a lot of people who have fallen on hard times, and will not pay that car off. You will be out the money, and the repo man will come get the car you don't legally own. ONLY buy the car if you can do the transaction as I described. Any other way and you can be setting yourself up for a lot of heartache.
2. To be 100% protected, go with the seller to the lender and get the title when you pay for the car. The only other way involves multiple power of attorneys (from you and the seller) and the cooperation of the lender. What you don't want to do is to be stuck at the mercy of the seller for any reason. Ive read stories where the seller spent the money on drugs rather than paying off the car as well as the seller trying to blackmail the buyer into giving them more money to get the title when it comes in. In either event, your only recourse is a lawsuit and even then, you may not collect. If his lender is not local, ask them specifically what you & him need such that when you pay them, they will send the title to you. (At the very least they will need a power of attorney from him saying its ok to mail the title to you) And then when you get the title, you need him to sign it. But, with a power of attorney giving your wife or brother the power to sign on his behalf then you wont have to track the seller down for his signature. Bottom line is you can usually trust the lender but the lender is going to want to cover his own butt legally which means they wont send it to you without a power of attorney from him. As well as making the check payable to the lender. In other words, its complicated to be 100% protected. The worst case scenario is you pay him, he doesn't pay the lender and the lender later repos the car from you. Or the lender sends you the title and you cant find the seller to sign it. Multiple power of attorneys is the only way to avoid that. That means both you & him have to sign the correct forms in front of a notary. And you both need proper ID. (A bill of sale is enforceable in court assuming the lender is paid off, if not, its the lenders car if they decide to repo it)