Legal Question in Consumer Law in Virginia

How do I purchase vehicle with a lien from a private party?

I'm considering buying a Virginia registered vehicle from a private seller. The seller says it is financed through a Texas credit company, and he owes $6K more than the selling price. He intends to pay off the entire loan amount when he sells the car.

He will give me a bill of sale, and says I can send the check directly to the credit company. The credit company provided him a loan payoff statement, but the statement does not show a VIIN (for seller's safety supposedly).

Is there a way to eliminate or reduce the risk associated with buying a car when it has an existing lien in excess of the vehicle sale price?


Asked on 9/12/06, 5:02 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: How do I purchase vehicle with a lien from a private party?

The red flags should be aflutter in front of your

face on this one. A bill of sale is not a title.

This type of proposed transaction appears as the basis for questions in this forum from time to time. I always advise the person posing this type of question to avoid this type of sale at all costs. (Invariably, the would-be buyer remains just that: a wannabe for a particular vehicle which somehow he or she can never quite get clear title to.)

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Answered on 9/14/06, 5:12 pm


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