Selling cars you do not own

[bankworking]

Among other things, I do auto loans, which can get mildly complicated from time to time.

One possible problem? Well, the seller might not actually OWN the vehicle.

Does anyone know what it means to lease a vehicle? It's in your name, sure, but not really. You don't actually own the vehicle. You are, in a complicated manner, simply borrowing it. There may well be a option to buy included in your lease, but until you take that option, you don't actually own it.

YOU CANNOT SELL A CAR THAT YOU DO NOT OWN.

I understand. Really I do. Your lease has a really great price on its option to buy. FOR YOU. My customer cannot buy the car from the leasing company for that discounted price, however much I would love to be able to do the loan for them. If they try to buy the car from the leasing company (once your lease is over), it will go at whatever price they can negotiate, NOT for the discounted price available to the current lease-holder alone.

So, if you want to buy the car, YOU will have to buy it (and pay sales tax) and then, when you actually own the car, you may turn around and sell it to someone else (who must pay sales tax AGAIN). It sucks, but that's the way it is. Talk to the leasing company. If they will sign the car directly over to our customer, we will do the loan for it. But YOU do not have the legal right to sell that car until YOU get it in your own name.

Understand?

[Dips]

Someone actually thought that would work?

It sounds you've encountered that special brand of idiot who thinks he's a genius.

[BowserKoopa1]

My best friend told me a story about how 2 best friends quickly became bitter enemies because 1 of them was desperate for money, so he stole his best friend's car and sold it within a couple of hours.
Isn't the new owner of the car supposed to get a pink slip or something when they buy the car? And if the seller claims to not have the pink slip (or whatever it is) is that not a reason to suspect something may be up?

[Kristev]

A bill of sale is also important.

[EvilEmpryss]

Because some people want to sell a car they *bought* but are still making payments on, signing over the registration and providing a bill of sale is usually enough to transfer the title. If the person has paid the car off, then they have the title and it should be signed over.

Some people are dumb enough to think that the registration and a bill of sale is a binding... they don't realize that if the title isn't in hand, the sale is by no means certain. The following stories are true:

1) The seller is paid, but chooses to keep the money rather than pay off the bank loan. At best the buyer discovers the problem when DMV won't change the registration on the vehicle, at worst the car then gets reported stolen and the buyer gets arrested.

2) The owner pays the bank loan off and (for whatever reason) doesn't send the title to the new owner. Same difficulties as #1.

3) The buyer pays for the car then, before the bank gets the payment and sends the title for transfer, the buyer totals the car and then abandons it. Previous owner is on the hook for the disposal of the vehicle and sometimes for any damages from the accident!

These are just a few of the ones that have happened to people I know. Buyer beware, indeed!

[RetailDemon]

I had a guy come in today to price umbrella. One of my customers saw one that belongs to another customer and tried to convince me to sell it. Sort of along the same lines.

[workerbee222]

Yikes, Empryss, glad I didn't know all that before I bought my last car!

When I called the DMV to ask about purchasing a car when the seller still had a loan to pay, the woman at the DMV said, "You can't do that."

Well, you can do it, but you'd better be sure your seller is on the up-and-up.

Luckily, mine was honest, and organized, too. He looked a little sheepish as he signed the papers and said, "My friends told me to write 'as is' on the bill of sale."

I said, "Yeah, mine told me to write 'paid in full' so I guess we're all set."

He left the car with a full tank of gas, too.

[EvilEmpryss]

Just as most customers aren't sucky, neither are most private car sellers. It's those loonies you have to watch out for, though, because they come disguised as normal Joes. CYA, my friend. CYA.