Buying a private party car with a lien questions and process

Hey everyone I could use some help with this.

On Saturday I will be driving to Houston to look at and hopefully buy an s2000.

The owner has a lien on it with Honda. The sales price of the car is greater than the pay off, and he needs the money from the sale to pay off the lien.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what is the best way to purchase the car while hopefully only having to make one trip to Houston on Saturday to get it.

So far my understanding has come up with this.

On Saturday morning here, goto my bank get two cashiers checks made out.

The first check is to Honda for the pay off amount.
The second is for the remaining amount to go to the seller.

Goto Houston look at car etc... Fill out bill of sale

However, at this point I am confused. What documentation do I need to file, and how can I get some guarantee that the seller will mail me the title or is there a way to have Honda send me the title etc..

Any help anyone can provide will be very much appreciated.

Thanks

sounds like a good strategy. i would call honda finance group and see if you can work with someone directly there. the biggest flag i see is that i would not attempt this on a saturday.

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Originally Posted by 762

However, at this point I am confused. What documentation do I need to file, and how can I get some guarantee that the seller will mail me the title or is there a way to have Honda send me the title etc..

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Since there's a lien, Honda still holds the title. You should be able to set it up with Honda to mail the title to you...I'm sure there are correct TX DOT forms to file, but I don't know what they are. Don't let them send it to the seller you're dealing with.

Best to do this at a bank or credit union. You should be able to arrange the payoff with Honda in-advance, and you might even be able to have the transaction handled at a Honda dealer, since they are agents for Honda finance. Either way, you probably won't be getting the title immediately, so plan to have proper paperwork signed and notarized to avoid paying for a car you never own.

There are brokers who do this stuff a lot, and it might be worth paying someone to handle it. At the very least, see if your CU has an affiliate in Houston that can help, or have your CU deal directly with Honda.

Either way, the Saturday thing is likely going to screw you up unless you process all the paperwork on friday and simply go to pick-up the car and give the guy the difference on Saturday.
Its a 5-figure investment; take a day off.

I sold my Acura for more than the lease pay-off. I just had the guy write one check to the leasing company and one check to me. They sent the title directly to him.

The other option is that the seller works for a Honda dealership and their rate to do an in and out is 1,000 dollars.

Would it be worth it to pay the extra 1000 to have the dealership handle it?

The Saturday thing is only being caused by the fact that my dad needs to go with me to the bank to get the checks, and he is out of the country until Friday night.

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Originally Posted by 762

The other option is that the seller works for a Honda dealership and their rate to do an in and out is 1,000 dollars.

Would it be worth it to pay the extra 1000 to have the dealership handle it?

The Saturday thing is only being caused by the fact that my dad needs to go with me to the bank to get the checks, and he is out of the country until Friday night.

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WTF !!!! $1,000!!! Tell them to F**K themselves. An in and out is usually thrown into the deal. He would be a a hero if he got that $1K. Are you trading in the VW? The most an in/out should cost is $250.

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Originally Posted by 762

The other option is that the seller works for a Honda dealership and their rate to do an in and out is 1,000 dollars.

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Tell him to choke on his StooK and see how quick that changes.

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Originally Posted by sammm

Tell him to choke on his StooK and see how quick that changes.

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Did you find this car on Craigslist and was it once owned by the late son of a Ugandan Government official??

$1,000.00 please.... Seems Fishy.

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Originally Posted by 762

The other option is that the seller works for a Honda dealership and their rate to do an in and out is 1,000 dollars.

Would it be worth it to pay the extra 1000 to have the dealership handle it?

The Saturday thing is only being caused by the fact that my dad needs to go with me to the bank to get the checks, and he is out of the country until Friday night.

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That's ridiculous.

Get Scotty P to talk to him for you.

That should include a scrub, rub and jerk at the very least for $1000. He's trying to milk you.

Yeah lol I knew the 1000 was high so I was just gonna stick to private party. The VW will be getting sold to autobahn in fort worth.

I am going to call Honda financing to see if I pay his pay off if they can then send the title to me.

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Originally Posted by 762

their rate to do an in and out is 1,000 dollars.

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Absurd. Seeing as how the seller happens to work at the dealership he is trying to make some extra money. I'd be extra cautious.

I agree with everyone else in not doing this deal on a Saturday. Do it on a Monday. Even a Friday may turn up some issue which can't be resolved immediately and banks don't work on weekends.

NEVER show up to make such a purchase with your mind completely made up. You hold all the power in the deal in that you can always choose to walk away. It's not like an S2000 is rare.

My mind is not completely made up. If the third party inspection turns anything up or if something is wrong with it when I get there then I will not buy it. There are certainly other s2000s.

I spoke with Honda financial and they send they could send the title to me, but they would need written authorization from the owner first.

Another idea that seems pretty good is for me to go down look at the car then mail the pay off check to Honda. I then drive the car back up here to fort worth. Before driving back up I could make him sign a statement saying upon his receipt of the title from Honda he will then overnight the title to me at which point upon my receipt of the title I would pay him the remaining funds.

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Originally Posted by 762

There are certainly other s2000s not in Houston.

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Fixed.

Well, an S2K will help you reduce the margin of defeat you suffer at the hands of the Miatas...

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Originally Posted by OZMDD

Well, an S2K will help you reduce the margin of defeat you suffer at the hands of the Miatas...

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That is the plan haha

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Originally Posted by 762

The other option is that the seller works for a Honda dealership and their rate to do an in and out is 1,000 dollars.

Would it be worth it to pay the extra 1000 to have the dealership handle it?

The Saturday thing is only being caused by the fact that my dad needs to go with me to the bank to get the checks, and he is out of the country until Friday night.

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Agreed, he's trying to make some extra $ on the side. This is a sticky situation. I've bought plenty of cars before but never one that still had a lien on it.

I dunno, the question is if even having him just make some extra on the side is worth it just to avoid any possible future title issues.

Even at 1000 more the car is still at a very good price. I will see maybe if he would like to split the in and out fee.

Are you going to trade in your VW to the dealership with the S2000?

Well I could but based on the offers I got for the car I feel like I should take the autobahn offer because it was so good. If I drive the VW to Houston and they give me what carmax was gonna give me then the s2k would cost several thousand more. Not worth the tax break of the trade in.

He should never receive the title, it will go straight to you or the bank you get a loan from. After you pay off his loan, Honda will know it wasn't him and the title goes to you.

Why not ask Autobahn to handle the in/out, since they're buying your car? Offer to pay the guy a couple hundred to drive it up, buy him a plane ticket home, and you'll still come out ahead on the taxes saved since you can apply your "trade-in" to the taxable value AND let the dealer handle the title stuff. If he wants to sell the car, that should be a pretty reasonable request. He is the one trying to sell it, after all.

When I bought my daughter's Escape earlier this year, the owner and I went to his bank together and paid off the note at which point the title was signed over to me. He actually dropped his price and paid the difference from his savings account to compensate for the inconvenience to me, the buyer. Cannot see how this should be any different.

Well it looks like a process has been set up if we decide to do it pvt party and not the in and out. Let me know what ya'll think of this.

1. Inspect-test drive car etc...
2. Goto bank and get two certified checks. One for American Honda Finance one for the seller.
3. Sign Bill of Sale
4. Both parties sign a letter for honda finance authorizing them to directly send title to me upon payoff using the enclosed certified check for the pay off amount.
5. Give seller the check for the difference between sale price and pay off amount.

I am still trying to figure out which TxDot paper needs to be filled out. I think because I have not bought a car all the options are giving me trouble.

Sounds like a fine plan to me.

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Originally Posted by OZMDD

Why not ask Autobahn to handle the in/out, since they're buying your car? Offer to pay the guy a couple hundred to drive it up, buy him a plane ticket home, and you'll still come out ahead on the taxes saved since you can apply your "trade-in" to the taxable value AND let the dealer handle the title stuff. If he wants to sell the car, that should be a pretty reasonable request. He is the one trying to sell it, after all.

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Sounds like a solid plan. Should have to pay very little sales tax this way on the S2K.

Autobahn won't do the in and out so I will just have to drive down there

Good luck.