Buying Used From Private Seller - They Still Have Loan On It

[kangarooelaine]

We are going to look at buying an RV from a private seller. But I think they haven't paid off their loan yet. Obviously we will talk to them about this but I thought I might get some help here too. I know some people try to sell vehicles and get the buyer to 'take over payments' but that's illegal.

Do you contact their leinholder and talk it through with the bank? Anyone know how to do this type of sale? I have bought cars from private sellers but only when they have the title.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

You need to work through their lien holder to coordinate payment and getting clear title. Whatever you do, don't pay the seller directly, even if they promise to pay off the lien holder with the proceeds. Too many things can go crosswise and none of them will be to your advantage.

TJ

 

[sheridany]

I just sold my coach’s week and I had a lien on it. The buyer and I agreed upon a price and their bank wired funds to the bank with the lien and the remainder was wired to me. I would throughly research the seller and if you have any hesitation you can go through an escrow company like escrow.com. The cost is priced as a percent of the deal. I was going to ask buyer to pay 1/2 of escrow but we agreed to do it as I outlined above as I confirmed they had funds available with their bank. Proceed carefully and diligently.

 

[skychs]

We just bought our DP from a private seller. All we did was put our bank in touch with their bank. They did all the work and there were no issues. If there is a lean on the title it may take a little extra time but it shouldn't be an issue. The biggest hassle has been getting an appointment at DMW to get a local title and registration. The earliest we could get was late October.

 

[kangarooelaine]

Yes the DMV is another issue. Registration can happen through a dealer without needing an appointment or anything. But private sale requires an appointment. Here there are NO appointments available at all. I have read that if you check regularly you can find appointments. But it seems like a big hassle. It's worth factoring into our decision because if we can't get it registered quickly then that limits our use dramatically.

 

[skychs]

In our case the PO had already registered the RV until the end of the year. They gave us permission to use the coach under their registration (tag) as long as we had the title, Bill of Sale and insurance.

 

[DKRITTER]

? Is the current owner upside down on the loan? That is a whole other can of worms.

If you have a relationship with a bank have them help you out with taking care of the lein and any equity the current owners might have.

 

[kangarooelaine]

Thanks all for chiming in. We decided to buy from a dealer. Bought our motorhome today!!!

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Thanks all for chiming in. We decided to buy from a dealer. Bought our motorhome today!!!

And??? What did you get? You can't just leave us hanging like that.

TJ

 

[kangarooelaine]

And??? Why did you get? You can't just leave us hanging like that.

TJ

haha, the suspense is fun...

We got a Minnie Winnie 22R. It was previously a rental unit. We chose it because the dinette was a bit longer than many of the other options we considered in the same price range and length.

I'm still very nervous about traveling with someone unrestrained, without airbags etc. So when we can we may take two vehicles in order to keep everyone in a safer situation with shoulder belts and airbags. But mostly we just plan to drive carefully, only drive at day, go slow and drive defensively.