If I buy a lien sale car from a tow yard ,is it a big hassle to get a title in my name?

regerugged

The tow service is supposed to apply for an abandoned vehicle title before they do anything with a towed vehicle. you would be buying too much trouble.

curmudgeon55

Depends on state laws, kind of lien- Mechanics lien, storage lien? Or a leftover financial to buy vehicle lien? Mechanics liens take precedence in many states- but the finance company will still have a secondary lien against vehicle and can cause problems since they originally had a 'secured' lien with vehicle as part of security. Locally that means the person buying with mechanics lien gets license plates, registration to drive but get bill collector calls for a year or so unless local court orders stop or DOT asks for form filled out - Finance lien holder get first bid on mechanics liens after owner--and if they don't pay mechanic, they become 'unsecured' creditor but can hassle with title awhile. No finance lien recorded, mechanics lien/storage lien paperwork in order and police or DOT inspection for road worthy- about a hour extra at counter and some title search fees, new title fees- maybe $30.00 to $50.00 more than clean title to start with. Know a tow yard that will be cleaning about 20 cars from lot end of February- towed from street under police order after drunk driver arrested, 1/2 had title dropped off to clear tow bill and to show no car or truck in court.

not

A lien sale clears the title of any previous ownership and it legally becomes the possession of the tow yard. It is easy to get title after a lien sale. The owner is clearly and solely the person on the lien paperwork. All parties claiming ownership are notified and told to claim the car during the sale if the wish to claim it. Years ago a lien cleared any debts owed to the motor vehicle department in my state, but now it retains it's debt. You need to know if it owes previous registration or such to the DMV. You don't want to find out the car owes a grand after it becomes yours.

Johnnie

It can be.

Robert S

Plan on going to the DMV at least three times.

Anonymous

AVOID cars with lien. The lien company might be bankrupt and now you are SOL. The DMV does not hear excuses. They just want the lien cleared.

nt

Probably to maybe not depending on where you life. Around here 99%+ are sold to salvage yards to the tow yards do not bother with any of the paperwork. call your DMV and ask before you buy.

JetDoc

Yes, it is.

arther

Ask the tow yard to clear its debts before you buy it? Can they actually sell something that isn't their property would be the question. Run away it will give you headaches you don't need. If someone cant pay the repair bill of finance do think the car will have ever been serviced?

Anonymous

Without more info - such as WHERE - it is difficult to say. A bigger problem might be insurance. You cannot insure property in which you don't own an interest.

rick29148

there are too many variables involved to say ...............................