Selling a car thats not paid off?

[D-REW]

Ok i bought my car in May '08. Its a '08 TW FA5 with about 6,900 miles on it. I got it at first because my parents said they'll help me pay for it since im going to college and i was getting paid well enough at my job. so pretty much im splitting the car payment with my parents.

however, my family is going through some financial problems and I really dont care about a car right now. I would rather use the $479/month in some investments or help out my parents with bills.

so in my head im thinking I should probably sell my car and just get some daily driver beater thats good enough for at least 5-6 years til i graduate from college and get a better paying job.

but, how do I sell a car that im still paying for?? can someone please explain the process for doing this. especially with california laws?



and i know im stupid for buying the car in the first place. I was still in high school when I got it, and my mind was in some other place. Now that i matured and see more important stuff in life, I really dont need a brand new car right now. thanks for all the help.

[xxdynhamikxx]

I think you can work it all out with the dealership. Just try to get enough where you're not upsidedown on it(owe more than you sold it for). Good luck

[ImTheVoiceOfGod]

Originally Posted by xxdynhamikxx

I think you can work it all out with the dealership. Just try to get enough where you're not upsidedown on it(owe more than you sold it for). Good luck

You will get totally screwed on price. But theres not much else you can do.

[webby]

you can call honda finance / or what ever company holds the title/loan on the car. Find out what your balance is.

worst option is probably taking the car to honda and seeing what they'd give you to buy it back / but is probably the fastest solution to selling it.

Lookup the values on kelly blue book New Car Prices, Used Car Prices, Blue Book Value, Car Reviews - Official Kelley Blue Book Site to see what they say it's worth to give you an idea on dealer buyback, vs. selling it privately.

You could also work something out for a person to take over your payments depending on your monthly payments / interest rates.

Basically you just want to avoid being upside down - meaning the loan amount you owe on the car is higher than what kelly blue book, or what a dealership is wanting to pay you for the car.

You could post the car here for sale, post it on autotrader, ebay, craigslist, to see what kind of interest is out there. Craigslist and this site are free to post the car for sale.

Hope that helps

[KraziAzn]

lol welcome to my world

you CAN sell the car...

3rd party...try to sell it the amount you owe...

let me break it down for you.

1. Sell the car 3rd party who is willing to pay FULL AMOUNT all at once
2. use the money you earned to pay off the car
3. once the bank mail you the title sign it off to the new owner
4. Start helping ur family?

the HARDEST part is finding someone who is willing to buy you car for what you owe...

OR

You can extend your contact for another year or 2 for a lower monthly payment

[investingdad]

The first thing you need to do is not take advice from people on internet forums who may not have done it before. It's a good way to get yourself in a potential legal or financial mess.

Liz on MSN Money offers some good advice on how to deal with this at a high level:

How to sell a car you don't own - MSN Money

Read the whole article, Page 2 has specifics on the procedure if you decide to go forward on the sell. You'll need to have some bridge financing set up unless your lien holder happens to have a local branch you can do the transaction at. In other words, you need to make some calls and do some due dilligence BEFORE you start listing your car for sale.

Bottom line, you're going to get burned on this. Based on what you said your car payment is for, I'm 100% certain you're going to be upside down, which if you don't know by now means you'll owe more than you can sell for. Also, the chances are good that you'll incur additional cost because you won't have the title (see the article I linked to above).

Unfortunately, parents don't realize they often do more harm than good by helping their kids with something they should let the kids undertake on their own. The silver lining is that you're learning from your mistakes early. A lot of adults got themselves into very similar messes over the last few years on home mortgages because they chose to follow home lenders as if they were the Pied Piper and ignore finanical reality, which is why the whole country is in the mess we're in right now. Too much debt, too much borrowing, too little forward thinking.

Good luck. And carry this lesson with you.

[volvo9]

Originally Posted by KraziAzn

lol welcome to my world

the HARDEST part is finding someone who is willing to buy you car for what you owe...

Yep. Seeing as you owe over $400 a month I'm going to assume your loan at the time you purchased the car was more than the purchase price, so no matter what if you do owe extra you are going to have to come up with the difference.

I thought about selling my Si before I just traded it in on a cheaper car but decided it would have been a pain in the ass. To sell a car with a bank lein on it you have to pay off the loan first before you get the title (can't transfer ownership without a title), or work out with the bank plans to sign the car over to a new owner. Something as a buyer I would never want to bother with or wait for so I decided against it.

If you've paid down the loan a good ammount since you've bought it you can try refinancing it, or do what I did and buy a much cheaper car and put a large down payment on it to pay off any negative equity.

Good luck, I was in your shoes too, it sucks wanting to get rid of a car like that.

[Brandon Park]

Originally Posted by D-REW

Ok i bought my car in May '08. Its a '08 TW FA5 with about 6,900 miles on it. I got it at first because my parents said they'll help me pay for it since im going to college and i was getting paid well enough at my job. so pretty much im splitting the car payment with my parents.

however, my family is going through some financial problems and I really dont care about a car right now. I would rather use the $479/month in some investments or help out my parents with bills.

so in my head im thinking I should probably sell my car and just get some daily driver beater thats good enough for at least 5-6 years til i graduate from college and get a better paying job.

but, how do I sell a car that im still paying for?? can someone please explain the process for doing this. especially with california laws?



and i know im stupid for buying the car in the first place. I was still in high school when I got it, and my mind was in some other place. Now that i matured and see more important stuff in life, I really dont need a brand new car right now. thanks for all the help.

You could try CARMAX i heard that they payout better than KBB.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by D-REW

Ok i bought my car in May '08. Its a '08 TW FA5 with about 6,900 miles on it. I got it at first because my parents said they'll help me pay for it since im going to college and i was getting paid well enough at my job. so pretty much im splitting the car payment with my parents.

however, my family is going through some financial problems and I really dont care about a car right now. I would rather use the $479/month in some investments or help out my parents with bills.

so in my head im thinking I should probably sell my car and just get some daily driver beater thats good enough for at least 5-6 years til i graduate from college and get a better paying job.

but, how do I sell a car that im still paying for?? can someone please explain the process for doing this. especially with california laws?



and i know im stupid for buying the car in the first place. I was still in high school when I got it, and my mind was in some other place. Now that i matured and see more important stuff in life, I really dont need a brand new car right now. thanks for all the help.

First off, your not stupid for buying the car... and I have zero knowledge of CA laws, just PA.

Second, whomever you financed the car through hold the title to the car. As mentioned prior, You can call them and get a payoff. Most financial institutions will give you a ten day payoff with a per diem amount. This is just like it sounds, if the car is payed off in ten days, this is the total amount you will owe. Keep in mind, it may take a few days for paperwork to clear, thus the wiggle room.

Third, You can sell the car privately, to an auto store ( dealership ), or use it as a trade-in. Just keep in mind, you owe your current lender then ten day payoff. I second the use of on-line services to give you an estimate of how much you car is worth privately, or trade..... But this leads to how strong your negotiation skills are. Selling it privately ( IN PA ) means collecting the money from the buyer, taking a short trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles and filling out a short form, and then paying off the loan...

....Here is a bit of a curve. IF you have found a car at a dealership, at a price you are more comfortable paying, but do not care for the amount they offer you for your current car, you can sell your current car to a private party and ask the dealership to do a COURTESY TRADE. Meaning, you pruchase the car from the dealership and the dealership handles the paperwork for you to sell your current car to the private party. There may be a small fee, but saves you the trip to the DMV and concerns over the private party's funds...

I beleve this is what you wanted to know.....

Other info you may be interest in....

What were the conditions of your loan? Did you put any money down? What term ( months ) is your loan. Can not exactly determine your situation without this info.

What I mean by this is IF you put money down and financed for a shorter term ( 36 months ), there is a better chance you will have equity in the car. IF not, you may owe more on the car than it is worth.

Without knowing your target budget, keep in mind a basic rule -- every 10k financed equates to approximately $200/month. This is a very basic rule and varies based on your credit ( which will influence the loan rate ).

SO, IF you find a car at 10k and have to roll in 3k of negative equity, your looking at a 13k car... At which your payment would be ~$260.

my $.02

[booYA]

$500/mo for a civic?

wow

[investingdad]

Originally Posted by booYA

$500/mo for a civic?

wow

Depends on what he's doing.

Case 1: 24K financed, 60 months at 7% = $475 per month
Case 2: 15.5K financed, 36 months at 7% = $478 per month

Monthly payments are wonderfully mind numbing...for the dealership.

Flash a low payment in front of a consumer that doesn't do the math and they think they're getting a good deal.

I presumed based on the the tone of what the OP wrote that he fell into a Case 1 and not a Case 2 scenario.

[White Knight]

i am so upside down on my civic its insane.

most of the info here, i knew already but there was some i didnt know. thanks

[D-REW]

thanks for the replies.

on my car im paying 479/month for 60 months with a 0.9% interest rate. the reason why its so expensive is because of lojack and that stupid ass extended warranty.

[ebdiam]

Originally Posted by Brandon Park

You could try CARMAX i heard that they payout better than KBB.

Carmax does pay out well from my experience. Would they buy a car from you even if you do not have the title?

[jammies]

Originally Posted by D-REW

thanks for the replies.

on my car im paying 479/month for 60 months with a 0.9% interest rate. the reason why its so expensive is because of lojack and that stupid ass extended warranty.

If my calculations are correct, you financed close to $28,000? This is based on the 28,000 for 60 months at .9%... I am guessing you have made 7 payments so far.... Your payoff is close to $24,800.

Doesn't sound good. IF your numbers are correct, your likely looking at rolling in 5k of negative equity which will jack up your payments another $100/month... That is IF the finance company will do 150% above retail on a 10k car. Some will, some will not. And I doubt you will get .9% on a 10k pre-owned.

So instead of a new car with a $479/ month, you end up with a beater for around $300/month.

my $.02

[lovecheese]

Originally Posted by White Knight

i am so upside down on my civic its insane.

most of the info here, i knew already but there was some i didnt know. thanks

betcha I'm more upside down :P

go gap insurance!

[D-REW]

damn i hate how they dont show the whole price on the lojack and extended warranty. shit is stupid.

ok is there any way i can cancel my extended warranty first??

[forcefanajd]

first off....if you have a 60 month loan and you have lo jack then its only $10/mo to keep it which you save on your insurance for having a theft recovery device anyways. so that is a smart investment.

second (as far as i know) the extended warranty is only $1000 which is roughly 14-16/mo on a 60 month loan and through my dealership if you get the extended warranty you get the $1000 back if i dont use the warranty....no brainer here to.

[investingdad]

Originally Posted by D-REW

damn i hate how they dont show the whole price on the lojack and extended warranty. shit is stupid.

ok is there any way i can cancel my extended warranty first??

I'd be very surprised if the bill of sale did not show both items and their full cost.

And second...18 and driving a 28K car? Seriously? Dear Lord...

[civicracer32]

you can't afford to sell it. You're going to have to cough up $5-7k just to pay off the balance after you sell it for $19k or so. Not a bad car to be stuck with though. Enjoy it =)