Selling a car - with outstanding car loan?

A friend of mine told me that I couldn't sell my car without first
paying off my outstanding car loan to GMAC. Is this true?

Thanks for any help,
Brian

"Brian" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>A friend of mine told me that I couldn't sell my car without first
> paying off my outstanding car loan to GMAC. Is this true?
>
> Thanks for any help,
> Brian
>
Definitely. s

In article .com>,
Brian > wrote:
>A friend of mine told me that I couldn't sell my car without first
>paying off my outstanding car loan to GMAC. Is this true?
>
>Thanks for any help,
>Brian
>

It depends on the due diligence of the potential buyer. An informed
buyer will run away when he/she realizes that GMAC will reposess their
car when you miss a payment (aren't liens fun). An uninformed buyer
will be meeting you in court after that visit from the repo men, and
could have you up on fraud charges. It may even be a crime to sell
a vehicle with an undischarged loan. If the buyer has to pay the
outstanding debt, expect to get only a small amount of money; unless,
you still owe only a small amount of money. You might be able to trade
it in for another vehicle and have the debt transferred, if the other
vehicle is also bought with a loan from GMAC.

"Brian" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> A friend of mine told me that I couldn't sell my car without first
> paying off my outstanding car loan to GMAC. Is this true?
>
> Thanks for any help,
> Brian

GMAC has the first lien...the title to the car is legally theirs until you
pay it off or
make other arrangements.

Even if you sold the car for cash and kept making the payments, the buyer
could
not get a clear title, insurance, etc until it is cleared up.

You and your buyer would be nuts to try to sidestep legalities on a deal
like this.

You can agree to sell the car but you can't transfer title unless you pay
off the loan simultaneously. If you can't pay off the loan prior to the
sale, then you can contact GMAC, tell them what you are doing and they will
tell you what to do, along with any penalties that might apply for early
repayment. Often they ask for the check to be made out to them and they
give you whatever is left over.

Unless of course you decide to embark on a life of crime and commit fraud...

Brian


"sdlomi2" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Brian" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>>A friend of mine told me that I couldn't sell my car without first
>> paying off my outstanding car loan to GMAC. Is this true?
>>
>> Thanks for any help,
>> Brian
>>
> Definitely. s
>

GMAC probably has the actual title.
The one you have probably has their name on the bottom of it as a lien
holder.
You can use that title for selling but you'll need a letter attached to it
from GMAC stating they no longer have interest in the vehicle and/or its
paid in full. Generally when you pay a car off, the loan company sends you
your title back after a while. SO, you'd have to get what your getting for
the car, pay off whats left on it to GMAC, get your letter faxed to you,
then whats left is yours. If you sell it for 4000 and you owe 1000, you'll
net 3000. If you sell it for 4000 and you still owe 5000 on it, then you
just screwed yourself out of a car and 1000 bucks, and GMAC will still want
the 5000 (ALL OF IT) and you will then be able to make a new loan for
another car for yourself.

Brian wrote:
> A friend of mine told me that I couldn't sell my car without first
> paying off my outstanding car loan to GMAC. Is this true?
>
> Thanks for any help,
> Brian

Well, actually you can sell your car to anyone, but you won't be able
to transfer title until the loan secured by the lien on the car is
paid. I have to ask. Why would you want to sell the car without
paying the loan off at the same time????

after thought....
If its an unsecured loan on the car, it wont have a lien on it.

Thanks everyone. I thoroughly understand the situation now. I'll pay
off the loan first. No problem.

"ed" > wrote in message
...
> GMAC probably has the actual title.
> The one you have probably has their name on the bottom of it as a lien
> holder.
> You can use that title for selling but you'll need a letter attached to it
> from GMAC stating they no longer have interest in the vehicle and/or its
> paid in full. Generally when you pay a car off, the loan company sends
> you
> your title back after a while. SO, you'd have to get what your getting
> for
> the car, pay off whats left on it to GMAC, get your letter faxed to you,
> then whats left is yours. If you sell it for 4000 and you owe 1000,
> you'll
> net 3000. If you sell it for 4000 and you still owe 5000 on it, then you
> just screwed yourself out of a car and 1000 bucks, and GMAC will still
> want
> the 5000 (ALL OF IT) and you will then be able to make a new loan for
> another car for yourself.
>
>
>

The scenario you presented, >If you sell it for 4000 and you still owe
5000 on it, then you
just screwed yourself out of a car and 1000 bucks< , does happen quite
often. Reason being, the owner often has credit good enough that he can owe
more than the true market value of the car; in other words, he has negative
equity; and he's often happy to pay the difference in order to get rid of
the car for whatever reasons. s