crazyfool

I'm looking to lease a C230K, but I'm currently upside down on my trade. I owe about 27,000, but the dealer will give me only 25,000 for it. If I choose to sell it privately, it will probably be for less than what I owe, but will still be significantly more than what the dealer will give me. My question is if I sold it for less than what I owe, and cover the difference myself, how would I process this transaction with regards to the bank? Would they take the money from him, plus my part, then issue the title? Thanks for your help.

Bud

The bank doesn't care where the comey comes from, as long as they get their payoff amount (in certified checks) then they'll give you the title.

BTW, your tag line doesn't list your location. In some states, the sales tax is calculated on the sale price of the car minus your trade, so if the car is 30k and your trade is in 25k, you may have to pay sales tax only on 5k, which at 6% is $1500 less tax that you'd have to pay. Thus, you could take a trade in that $1,500 less than you'd sell it for privately and be in exactly the same place financially.

Fuzzo

I did wonder about the process i would have to go through to sell my car... normally how long will the buyer have to wait till they can get the title... I suppose it will take a few days... so till then does the car stay with me or do I take his money and let the person take my car...

just wondering.. any advice will be appreciated

young

when i sold my car, i took cash... we drove to a local AAA that handled the title transfer. after that, it was good luck and bye bye.

most of the onus was on the buyer. proof of insurance, licence, fees, taxes, etc. of course, all that was made clear before so no suprises.

it was under $10k. if it was more, i'd have taken a bank check/cashier's check.

in philly. actually, for leases, you pay more tax - 9% vs 6% sales tax.

crazyfool

I live in New Orleans, LA and was given the same info by the local MB Dealer. Does this tax credit apply to leased cars as well, since the tax in this state is calculated on the payment only, or would I have to purchase the car to get the tax credit?

revstriker

One option would be to have the difference rolled into the finance/lease of the new car. You could then make a larger down payment using the difference in cash if you have it. There's only a 2K difference from what you can get in a trade, and what you owe. If you sell it privately, what would the difference be? Also, you would not have the option of rolling the difference into the new car. No guarantee how long it will take to sell it either.

Flashman

It's pretty easy, basically the same process a dealer uses. I've done it myself several times. You sell the car and take a certified check from the buyer for the amount of the sale. Sign over the registration that has the bank on it. Indicate to him that the bank released title will arrive within a couple weeks. Give him an invoice (Microsoft Word has some templates included) as a receipt. He has both registration signed over and invoice, for his own legal protection and his own bank (if he's financing).

Then you deposit his check and mail your bank a check for payoff amount. Or if you want, write a check for the difference and sign-over the certified check to your bank. Either way works. The bank will mail you the title, which you can forward to the buyer. Or, if you want, bank will mail title to the new buyer/bank. Again, they are usually cool with it either way.

If the buyer as so-so credit, their bank may ask to write a check directly to your bank, so they get the title directly (meaning they don't trust their own customer). That's ok, just make sure they are aware that the sale will NOT be completed (you won't give the car away) until the payment arrives at your bank. Then you can pay off the difference yourself.