How do I purchase vehicle with a lien from a private party?
I’m considering buying a Virginia registered vehicle from a private seller. The seller says it is financed through a Texas credit company, and he owes $6K more than the selling price. He intends to pay off the entire loan amount when he sells the car.
He will give me a bill of sale, and says I can send the check directly to the credit company. The credit company provided him a loan payoff statement, but the statement does not show a VIIN (for seller’s safety supposedly).
Is there a way to eliminate or reduce the risk associated with buying a car when it has an existing lien in excess of the vehicle sale price?
Re: How do I purchase vehicle with a lien from a private party?
The red flags should be aflutter in front of your
face on this one. A bill of sale is not a title.
This type of proposed transaction appears as the basis for questions in this forum from time to time. I always advise the person posing this type of question to avoid this type of sale at all costs. (Invariably, the would-be buyer remains just that: a wannabe for a particular vehicle which somehow he or she can never quite get clear title to.)
Michael E. Hendrickson
Attorney & Counsellor at Law
211 North Union Street Suite 100
Alexandria, 22314