Buying Used Car With Lien
 

I'm checking out a used car this week that has a lien with Honda Finance for about $5K. I've never bought a car with a lien on it so I wanted to see what's the best way for me to protect myself if I decide to purchase the car. Thanks in advance.

Best way is to not go for it, I think. Because if you buy it, won't you have to pay for the lien?

I would guess your best bet would be to talk to the bank that has the lien on it.

So... my car was purchased from a lien holder from wells fargo... it was a headache.

if your paying cash. you need to talk to his financial institute (honda financing, banks, whatever) and let them know that you will be buying the car from the current holder of the lien. Lots of paper work must happen. You will probably feel like you got screwed depending on the seller because there will be a trust issue where he won't hand over the car until he knows everything has been paid off. blah blah blah....

if you are using a financial institute, your bank or whatever will issue the remaining balance to the other persons financial bank and however rest to the seller. They will be in forms of checks and will be mailed to the seller. Not fun to deal with when playing the waiting game and not getting the car right away.

If i had to do it again... I wouldn't!

Before you buy the car you need the lein removed. The reason for the lien is because money is owed. Typically this means paying the lien holder the lien amount to have the lien removed. Buying a lien car is buying someone else's problems.

Sounds ugly buy lewis' car instead!
then I can pocket the $500 referral!

Oh man, this sounds like a headache. I hope we don't have this issue when we try to sell the wife's car when we finally move abroad...

Did some more research after reading these comments. It's risky and at a minimum, additional hassle. I hate to let a nice car pass, but I'd rather not get myself into a mess.

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/101...berlina-black/

http://t.qkme.me/3q45we.jpg

Hah, nice. I'm actually looking for a 2nd gen Honda Fit Sport so I can turn my S2k into a weekend ride. Anybody have one of those?