fjorkduf

I was just wondering what the process is to sell a car you still owe money on. I currently have an mcoupe I owe money on, and I think I want to sell it privately soon to get an S4. Do I get a check from the buyer, deposit it, and pay off the car before I give the buyer the car? Because when you pay off a car you need to wait a few weeks before they will send you the pink slip to the car. I was just wondering if any of you have person experience doing a transaction such as this and what the correct protocol is.

Kevin B

Yes, you are correct that you must get a check from the buyer and payoff the loan ASAP via Fedex and a bank check. You must let the buyer know that the title may take a couple weeks up front and hope they will have the patience. They cannot even think of registering the car without the title so the car should legally stay in your possession. I would work with the lienholder to get the title preocessing done ASAP. It all requires some patience. Good luck.

BarryH

Most dealers will handle the sale to a private buyer as a pass through when you're purchasing a car from them. In essence, the dealer buys your car and then sells it to your private buyer at the price they paid you. The dealer usually eats the transfer fees if there's enough money in the new purchase and as you're paying MSRP, let's just assume there is. Another advantage of this is that you get the tax credit on the sale and only have to pay tax on the difference (in most states). This is usually a request you'd make of the Sales Manager, not the Sales Person. My dealer was going to do this with my MDX when I got the V70R but the purchaser backed out at the last minute. The dealer bought the car from me at the same price anyway. Good luck.