korpse88

Good Morning trusty 5sf members,

Unfortunately that day has come that I can no longer afford my 2007 530i. I will have to be getting rid of my pride and joy and it truly makes me want to cry. But I have to look our for the best interests of my family before a beautiful car.

The question I'd like to ask is as follows:

Will I be able to sell a car that I am still paying the financing on? I owe less than the car is valued at from KBB, however I have never been in this situation before and online research is not really giving me the information I am looking for.

Has anyone ever sold a vehicle they still owe the financing on? If so, please share your experience and the best way to go about it. Did you use Craigslist, Ebay, a dealership?

Thanks for all your help in advance, I will be checking the thread meticulously.

phlfly

Easy way is Carmax. But other way around is to agree buyer to wait for title, but you are still responsible for plates and insurance, which can a problem, because you need a title for registration.

looney53

Go to your Financing Co. and tell them thge situation. They will send you the forms to go about it. The Check (Payment for the Car if you found a buyer) will be named (You and The Financing Co.) You will send the check to the Financing Co and they takeout what you owe, the rest is refunded to you. When everything clears they will send the Pinkslip to the Buyers Agent or address.. Good Luck..also if your a member of TRIPle A they can help you out too..

atl530i

Yes of course you can sell your car. I bought my 07 530i from a guy that actually owed more than I paid him for the car. That is a little trickier situation but I trusted the guy (to pay the difference to get the lien lifted) and it worked out fine. Basically if the buyer is getting it financed as well his bank will pay your bank directly (since they hold the title) and send him the title directly. You will have to sign it over to him so he can get it registered then he sends it to his bank if he owes on it. It is somewhat awkward so get as much documentation at each step, and as much communication (with the buyer and both banks) as possible. Do not hand over the keys until his bank has verified that they released payment. I bought my car through auto trader. I recommend listing there as well as Craigslist but be extremely weary on Craigslist. There are lots of bad and dishonest people out there that are quite content on living off your misfortune and hard work. Just ask if you need me to clairfy anything. I just went through it my first time and it was definitely a learning experience. I have no problem explaining each detail but your bank will be more than happy (or they should be) to help you and walk you through each step so your security is maintained. I leaned on my bank for advise and questions heavily. I have USAA and they are nothing short of amazing.

korpse88

Awesome responses guys, truly a blessing to have such speedy and informative answers.

I financed the car through BMW, so should I approach them first or try and get in contact with their financial institution directly.

And by first I mean... Should I contact and get the details from BMW/bank before wandering over to Craigslist or Autotrader and listing the car on there?

korpse88

@phfly

Interesting you suggest Carmax, do you have any experience dealing with those guys? If so, please share. I submitted a quote inquiry to Autotrader.com and some clown from a dealership called me yesterday and offered me $10,500. I told him to screw off

Here's my current specs on the car:

2007 530i
98xxx
Sports Package
Premium Package
Non Nav
Xenon Headlights
Black on Black
Grey Anthracite trim on the inside which is beautiful and in my opinion the best for the black on black color combo.

Other than that it's pretty much stock, from KBB I saw $17,700 for Pristine condition and as low as $16,000 for fair condition. I'm planning to clay bar it and get it detailed inside and out and ready to sell as I assume I can get more value if it looks very nice and clean.

Back to the original question Phfly, any experience dealing with Carmax? What attracts me there is the ease of using them because I've heard it's no BS there

atl530i

I would worry about getting a buyer at the price you want first. The bank will walk you through everything. My biggest advise is documentation and communication through the whole process with all parties and do not do anything leaving you vulnerable to jerks. Do not let people speed you up to an uncomfortable pace in the process. Do not get excited in the process. It is a business deal, treat it as such. There's always someone else that wants the car. You could easily not sell it to the first three people that promise they have financing. Thats three test drives with people of whom you have no idea of their driving record (this is part of the risk for the increased $$ from private party)

Carmax is all fine and dandy but will not give you as much as a private party. With that said there is some value to walking in and getting a check within an hour without the tire kickers, jerks, low ballers, etc etc. Do you want to do it yourself and take a little risk for more money or do you want to sell your car after work and drive off the lot with another one same day?

korpse88

@atl530i

Honestly if the $$ difference was with $500-1500 dollars Carmax vs Private Party, i would do Carmax for the easiness. However, I have no idea what Carmax pays for cars. Maybe I should take it down to one and see and I guess that means I need to do the clay bar/wax/detail before I do so as I imagine that would raise the value of it when they see it.

That aside, thank you for the info and advice on the sales process. It's good to know that people will still be interested even though I still owe on the car. I was worried that a lot of people would shy away from that, which would stink because I don't personally think it's a big deal.

In reality, how quickly do you think the whole process would take. Say I get a Private Party to get a check from their bank for a loan. I take that check and submit it to my financial institution where I got my loan. Is this a process that could take a day?

Cricketts

The following has worked well for me and is by far the safest route. Safest means that prospects will want to demo the car and maybe not come back.

The second problem is that licensing and registration must be done at the time of sale. If it is not and the buyer drives off and gets in a major accident, you could be held responsible.

Go the your BMW dealer and talk to the finance dept. in regard to handling the transaction and documentation (it might be something like $300.00.

Consider establishing a value that you can live with, negotiate with the used car dept. in regard to selling the car on consignment and giving you no less that the agreed value resulting in not having to deal with people who want to "Joy ride, abuse or steal the car. Cynical, yes, but realistic.

The above is from a guy who was a Commercial Truck Sales Mgr for 15 years.

korpse88

Crickett's do they usually give the owner a break if he wants to pay off the entire car at once? Like as far as the interest, would they still try and charge me for that if I want to pay it all off at once?