Can I sell my financed car before I finish making all my payments? If so, how?

Answer 1

Sure. You can sell it. However, you'll need to do a few things:

1. Find the payoff amount for the car. Contact the bank to get this number.

2. Get the Kelly bluebook value for the car. Not sure where on the net you can get this, but you can get this information from a dealer as well.

3. When you DO sell, you will want to make the difference between the payoff amount of the loan and the bluebook value and small as possible. This will be the amount you lose in the deal. Most cars do lose value and are "upside down" with the value vs. outstanding loan amount.

4. Sometimes someone will take over payments. You'd need to have that person re-finance the car in their name and you'll need to transfer title to do this. (You'd transfer title anyway when you'd sell it.) Not a lot of people from my experience wnat to do this because they will do their own research and value the car accordingly.

Good luck!

Answer 2

In any case, this can be a bit of a problem, because either the finance company physically holds the car's title certificate, which they won't release until the loan is paid, or you physically have the title, but the loan is still registered on the title and won't be removed until the loan is paid.

Since the title is needed to transfer ownership and most strangers will not hand you a large amount of cash without receiving a title that is not encumbered (free of any liens), you end up in a "catch 22" - you can't pay off the loan until you sell the car, but you can't sell the car until you pay off the loan.

Here are some options:

1) If you know the person who is buying your car, they may trust you enough to give you the money on the understanding that you'll pay off the loan, and that you'll sign over the title to them when the finance company sends it to you with a letter stating that the loan is satisfied.
As long as there are no other liens on the car, and you follow through, you're fine.

2) If you have a buyer for the car who is unwilling to give you the money up front, then perhaps you can borrow the money to pay off the loan from a friend or relative, with the understanding that you'll give that money back to the friend or relative once you receive the payment from the buyer.

3) Contact your state's department of motor vehicles and/or the finance company to see if they have any procedures on how to sell a car with a lien on it (with the understanding that you pay off the car loan with the proceeds from the sale).

Answer 3

I just did the very same thing a few weeks ago. You can't sell a vehicle without being able to hand the title to the person buying to the vehicle. The finance company holds the title. The wisest thing is to make arrangements with your current financier. That way the finance company can release the title to the person buying your old car. I owed about $700 on my truck and to buy a new car I had to have about a $700 down payment to finance it. So I sold my truck for $1500, paid off the truck and put the rest on the down payment for the new vehicle. It involves a lot of paperwork. It's not always the smartest thing to do, but it's possible.

Answer 4

Easy. Just go to a dealer and tell him you want to trade your car in for a new one. Believe me, he will give you an offer you can't refuse. They will pay off your car no matter how much you owe. Go to a large dealership, preferably Ford because they know how to help you. I have a Ford Focus and it is the best car I have ever owned. Don't call the dealer...he will think you are not serious. Go in with your most recent finance statement showing exactly how much you owe on the old car and decide on which new car you want. Test drive it...or they will think you are not serious. Say: I will buy this car if you can work the numbers to allow me to do so. You will then see some magic you never thought was possible. Don't listen to others who say you can't do this. You can!

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can I sell my financed car before I finish making all my payments? If so, how?

Answer 6

First, find out what your car is worth. You may owe more than it's worth. Some dealers run promotions where they will buy off your car (no matter what you owe). Carmax will buy your car even if you are not buying from them. Dealers do this all the time, and will handle all the paperwork (although you should take the transfer of title pprwk to the DMV yourself). To figure out what its worth you can use kbb.com

If you already know what you are looking to buy, take your car to a dealership and see if they'll give you a decent payoff. The goal is to at least get what you owe on the car. If you are looking to make more money on it, you can sell it on your own via autotrader.com To sell it, you can do two things; either have the person buying it take over your loan ( you can call in, do the transfer pprwk) or you can have them buy off the remainder of the loan, and as soon as it comes in give them the pink slip. Go with them to the DMV and fill out the transfer pprwk (don't worry, its not as complicated as it sounds).

Hope that helps!

Answer 7

Yes. The best thing to do is to check with your loan company, bank, credit union, or wherever you got the car loan, and ask them for their preferred way to do this.

If you can't or don't do that, have your buyer either pay cash, or with a check that cannot be cancelled. This is either a cashier's check or a certified check, I'm not sure which. Have them meet you at the bank. YOU MUST BRING THE TITLE WITH YOU. Use the check to pay the balance of the loan, and have the bank mark the loan as paid in full, and endorse the title to show that they are no longer leinholders. Sign the title over to the buyer. If you need this transaction notarized, the bank should be able to handle that without a problem as well.

Be sure to get your plate and registration off the car, as it is no longer valid when someone else owns the vehicle.

Answer 8

Sure, one of two ways. Pay it off. Then it becomes yours to do with as you please.

Alternately, since you don't own the car yet, ask the bank or finance company for permission, then if they say yes the person purchasing your vehicle will have to pay off the balance and get a lien release, which you take to the DMV and get the title cleared and switched into the purchasers name. Most people won't do that, they want to buy a car, not have to make trips and wait.

Answer 9

Dear, you can not proceed with sale deed unless you are through with the payments to the financing institution. The car is mortgaged with the financier. However mutual understanding with the buyer could be the solution but you can not transfer the registration papers without sale deed. This also involves risk that If there is any accident at the hands of the buyer, the responsibility will be yours as the car registration will still remain in your name.

Answer 10

I would think so. Make sure you get at least enough money for the car. Most loans would have a lean on the title, so tell the buyer that you need the cash to pay off the lean. Maybe have them go to the bank with you (if you financed it that way). If you have questions, call the finance company.