buying a car in CA witha lien on it?...

[CoasTek240]

Ok so im looking to buy a car with a lien on it. I just moved to SD, CA. as some of you know and im not too familiar with the laws out here. The person that im trying to buy from told me that that car does not pass smog so he could not register the car until its smogs and also stated that the DMV put a lien on the vehicle and will not issue till it pass smog.
Can anyone help?

[homeslice]

A lien? did he mention why it wont pass smog?

[drift freaq]

He is either talking out his ass, or is totally clueless. DMV does not put liens on cars that don't pass smog. They just won't let you register it, till it passes smog. Also unless he paid the reg fees the fees will keep on piling up and you will have to pay those back fees if you buy the car.

[Jimmy Up]

Leins come on cars that were auctioned off and dont have a pink along with all that good stuff (which isnt that big of a deal to handle if you dont have too many back fees) but Ive NEVER heard of having a lein do to not beeing able to pass smog. I call BS on him, stay away from the car man- deals come and go but headaches hurt for a while.

[JRas]

A loan/lien is the legal right to take and hold or sell the vehicle of a debtor as security or payment for a debt. Normally, a vehicle will have a lien due to a loan or unpaid repair bill against the vehicle.

quoted from AutoCheck

[an_orange_s2k]

sounds like bs...find another car

[Inlandsilvia]

you can buy my s14/sr w/smog paper for you to register. pm for pricing.

[punxva]

Dave post pics of it, see what your trying to work with out there now broseph

[CoasTek240]

Dave post pics of it, see what your trying to work with out there now broseph

its on this website. look in the forsale section. 1000obo in escondido.
i cant find shit for good s13's out here that are reasonably priced.

[CoasTek240]

thanks to everyone who has responded. Just further backs up my confusion. I was told it wont pass smog bc of a bad egr. Totally fixable. it also has fucked up powersteering and some electrical gremlin involving no tail lights. But a shell for $700 seemed reasonable.
But the only deterant seemed to be this whole title issue.
he mentioned something about als towing having the lien, but then said the DMV had it. so i dont know.
I guess if he doesnt straighten out my confusion ill just have to steer clear and wait for another s13.
thanks for the info everyone.

[brndck]

get the vin # and then ask the dmv who holds the title/ lien. the dmv DOES NOT put liens on vehicles. they will, however, be able to provide you with the most accurate information on how to proceed in this case. if there is one on the car, you'll probably be able to contact the person/company who holds it, and proceed from there. while ur at dmv, you should also check and see how long its been since the car has been registered and how much it'll cost to renew.

[wickedjester]

ok here is the rundown

a guy got it impounded or w/e at als towing
he never paid for it so there WAS a lein on it
they auctioned it to me
all fees are paid
it is partially registered pending smog
THERE IS NO LEIN ON IT I OWN IT
ALL IT NEEDS IS SMOG
i never said the dmv put a lein on it i said i bout it on a lein sale !

I AM NOT TALKING "OUTTA MY ASS " THANK YOU I AM A LEGIT SELLER I DONT FUCK AROUND.

as far as power steering i took it out the pump bracket bolt snapped so i took it out along withe the res and pulley its in a box

the taillights the switch that controls the int/tail lights went out

i don't appreciate my name being trashed like this

[CoasTek240]

ok here is the rundown

a guy got it impounded or w/e at als towing
he never paid for it so there WAS a lein on it
they auctioned it to me
all fees are paid
it is partially registered pending smog
THERE IS NO LEIN ON IT I OWN IT
ALL IT NEEDS IS SMOG
i never said the dmv put a lein on it i said i bout it on a lein sale !

I AM NOT TALKING "OUTTA MY ASS " THANK YOU I AM A LEGIT SELLER I DONT FUCK AROUND.

as far as power steering i took it out the pump bracket bolt snapped so i took it out along withe the res and pulley its in a box

the taillights the switch that controls the int/tail lights went out

i don't appreciate my name being trashed like this
Get something straight buddy. No one trashed your name at all. No one on this thread even knew it was you until you came on here 'defending' yourself.
you bought it on a lien sale? Who has the title?
I never said you were talking out of your ass. I never said you werent a legit seller. This is zilvia some people say harsh things and assume the worst. They dont even know you. Chill. Fact is, im still interested in your car, i just want to make sure im not getting screwed.
I still need to contact the DMV and find out if there are any fees, if not, and all it needs is to be smoged then i will buy this car/shell. if you would pm me and provide me your vin# we could expedite this process.
thank you.
-dave

[sldbyuramg]

yeah that is what a lien is...but the DMV doesnt issue them

A loan/lien is the legal right to take and hold or sell the vehicle of a debtor as security or payment for a debt. Normally, a vehicle will have a lien due to a loan or unpaid repair bill against the vehicle.

quoted from AutoCheck

[sldbyuramg]

ok here is the rundown

a guy got it impounded or w/e at als towing
he never paid for it so there WAS a lein on it
they auctioned it to me
all fees are paid
it is partially registered pending smog
THERE IS NO LEIN ON IT I OWN IT
ALL IT NEEDS IS SMOG
i never said the dmv put a lein on it i said i bout it on a lein sale !

I AM NOT TALKING "OUTTA MY ASS " THANK YOU I AM A LEGIT SELLER I DONT FUCK AROUND.

as far as power steering i took it out the pump bracket bolt snapped so i took it out along withe the res and pulley its in a box

the taillights the switch that controls the int/tail lights went out

i don't appreciate my name being trashed like this

you should still have the title for him...was there a loan on it? im lost on where the title is...

are you saying when the car was towed that the towing company got the title and then you got it from them?

[sldbyuramg]

i had this happen to me...the lady i bought my hatch from said that she had a loan on the car and when i gave her the money she was gonna pay it off. (she worked with my girlfriend at the time and they were good friends) so i gave her the money and she quit her job...moved out of her apartment and changed her number... i paid 2000 dollars to her for the car...then 600 to pay off her loan so i could get it registered...then 350 dollars in DMV fees for her not doing the smog like she said...

i only blame myself for trusting her... as for this deal...who knows...it could be legit. but its your money and just know that there is a possibility that things could go wrong

[downshift_sideways]

Basically.

He got the car from an impound/auction lot.

When he bought the car, the auction should have filled out a bill of sale, from THEM to HIM. also, a paid receipt for all the fee's that the auction charged him. and gave him all the LIEN sale paper work.

Lien sale paper work is as good as a pink slip to DMV.

Now what he should have done. Is register it. then sell it to you.
Technically, after buying a car at a car auction you have up to 7 days to be able to sell the car without having to worry about registering it.
After 7 days, DMV starts to fine you $$. and asks that you register the car.

Now if he never registered the car, and he wants to sell it to you, by giving you the lien sale paper work etc.

HE can technically get away with it,(By giving you some bullshit ass excuse, then you would have to fill out a new title/transfer (pinkpaper) saying why you cannot register the car. DMV will send out a letter to that person for a written release of liability from him to you, if they get no response, you fill out the white paper at DMV, for new registered owner etc. and they place the car under your name) but that is illegal to sell a car that is not registered under your name. You can be the owner, but the register owner is only liable to sell the car.

How do I know this?

Because I am an auctioneer.

*EDIT*

I just read that your from VA.

He has to register the car under his name with a California title. In order to sell it to you.
Your DMV in VA will just tell you the exact same thing.

[sldbyuramg]

that was as bout as clear of an answer your gonna get...

Basically.

He got the car from an impound/auction lot.

When he bought the car, the auction should have filled out a bill of sale, from THEM to HIM. also, a paid receipt for all the fee's that the auction charged him. and gave him all the LIEN sale paper work.

Lien sale paper work is as good as a pink slip to DMV.

Now what he should have done. Is register it. then sell it to you.
Technically, after buying a car at a car auction you have up to 7 days to be able to sell the car without having to worry about registering it.
After 7 days, DMV starts to fine you $$. and asks that you register the car.

Now if he never registered the car, and he wants to sell it to you, by giving you the lien sale paper work etc.

HE can technically get away with it,(By giving you some bullshit ass excuse, then you would have to fill out a new title/transfer (pinkpaper) saying why you cannot register the car. DMV will send out a letter to that person for a written release of liability from him to you, if they get no response, you fill out the white paper at DMV, for new registered owner etc. and they place the car under your name) but that is illegal to sell a car that is not registered under your name. You can be the owner, but the register owner is only liable to sell the car.

How do I know this?

Because I am an auctioneer.

*EDIT*

I just read that your from VA.

He has to register the car under his name with a California title. In order to sell it to you.
Your DMV in VA will just tell you the exact same thing.

[downshift_sideways]

How much did he sell you the car for.

Hopefully he left you ALL the paper work.

Lets see how much the auction sold the car to him...and how much he sold it to you :keke:

How much is he trying to come up on?

I wouldn't bother with it man.

Buy a car that has a legit registered owner with a legit PINK SLIP.

[s14_legend]

yeah i concur....look around youll find another one. just takes patience...


How much did he sell you the car for.

Hopefully he left you ALL the paper work.

Lets see how much the auction sold the car to him...and how much he sold it to you :keke:

How much is he trying to come up on?

I wouldn't bother with it man.

Buy a car that has a legit registered owner with a legit PINK SLIP.

[wickedjester]

Basically.

He got the car from an impound/auction lot.

When he bought the car, the auction should have filled out a bill of sale, from THEM to HIM. also, a paid receipt for all the fee's that the auction charged him. and gave him all the LIEN sale paper work.

Lien sale paper work is as good as a pink slip to DMV.

Now what he should have done. Is register it. then sell it to you.
Technically, after buying a car at a car auction you have up to 7 days to be able to sell the car without having to worry about registering it.
After 7 days, DMV starts to fine you $$. and asks that you register the car.

Now if he never registered the car, and he wants to sell it to you, by giving you the lien sale paper work etc.

HE can technically get away with it,(By giving you some bullshit ass excuse, then you would have to fill out a new title/transfer (pinkpaper) saying why you cannot register the car. DMV will send out a letter to that person for a written release of liability from him to you, if they get no response, you fill out the white paper at DMV, for new registered owner etc. and they place the car under your name) but that is illegal to sell a car that is not registered under your name. You can be the owner, but the register owner is only liable to sell the car.

How do I know this?

Because I am an auctioneer.

*EDIT*

I just read that your from VA.

He has to register the car under his name with a California title. In order to sell it to you.
Your DMV in VA will just tell you the exact same thing.



i did register it that day it is just considered partial registration pending a smog cert. the dmv has the title and the plates and all it takes is a smog cert and they will hand it over or mail it to u w/e just to clarify there is no lein currently on it.

[wickedjester]

i had this happen to me...the lady i bought my hatch from said that she had a loan on the car and when i gave her the money she was gonna pay it off. (she worked with my girlfriend at the time and they were good friends) so i gave her the money and she quit her job...moved out of her apartment and changed her number... i paid 2000 dollars to her for the car...then 600 to pay off her loan so i could get it registered...then 350 dollars in DMV fees for her not doing the smog like she said...

i only blame myself for trusting her... as for this deal...who knows...it could be legit. but its your money and just know that there is a possibility that things could go wrong


i dont owe ne thing all fees are paid registration is valid

[downshift_sideways]

i did register it that day it is just considered partial registration pending a smog cert. the dmv has the title and the plates and all it takes is a smog cert and they will hand it over or mail it to u w/e just to clarify there is no lein currently on it.

Well. When the auction sold you the car. They take the plates.

So basically your in the registration process..You need to go back to DMV. Have the car pass smog, in order to get your new plates and current tags.
After that is completed you wait 2 weeks for your title in the mail.
After you have done that, then you are liable to sell the vehicle. You know that. Now if it wasn't a lien sale, and you had the actualy pink slip. You must notify the buyer of the fee's etc. and who is responsible for smog, and that would be LEGAL. All you have is a white piece of paper in your name with UNCOMPLETED registration.

However. Your saying all the fee's are paid. Are you sure they are? and not lying about it?

What year and month were the tags expired when you bought it?
YOU need to pay the DMV backfee's from the previous owner(s) however.

You always want to be a LEGIT seller when selling a car.
So much shit can come back on you. It's not even funny.

Now forsay. You can still sell the car however because you OWN it. But You should sell it to someone in CALIFORNIA.
Don't try to sell the car out of state, because it becomes a burden for the buyer. I'm sure once you get your $$ your a happy camper, but he/she has to hassle getting everything legit.

[wickedjester]

Well. When the auction sold you the car. They take the plates.

So basically your in the registration process..You need to go back to DMV. Have the car pass smog, in order to get your new plates and current tags.
After that is completed you wait 2 weeks for your title in the mail.
After you have done that, then you are liable to sell the vehicle. You know that. Now if it wasn't a lien sale, and you had the actualy pink slip. You must notify the buyer of the fee's etc. and who is responsible for smog, and that would be LEGAL. All you have is a white piece of paper in your name with UNCOMPLETED registration.

However. Your saying all the fee's are paid. Are you sure they are? and not lying about it?

What year and month were the tags expired when you bought it?
YOU need to pay the DMV backfee's from the previous owner(s) however.

You always want to be a LEGIT seller when selling a car.
So much shit can come back on you. It's not even funny.

Now forsay. You can still sell the car however because you OWN it. But You should sell it to someone in CALIFORNIA.
Don't try to sell the car out of state, because it becomes a burden for the buyer. I'm sure once you get your $$ your a happy camper, but he/she has to hassle getting everything legit.


he is in california he moved from va to san diego and the lady at the dmv said i can sell it with it pending registration and i kno its current and valid cause a cop tried to give me a ticket for no plates and he ran the registration and it came up valid. im not lying i have the recipts from the dmv of all fees paid i even already paid for them to give me the new fees it was called a "plate fee" lol whoo hoo ca

[CoasTek240]

Well. When the auction sold you the car. They take the plates.

So basically your in the registration process..You need to go back to DMV. Have the car pass smog, in order to get your new plates and current tags.
After that is completed you wait 2 weeks for your title in the mail.
After you have done that, then you are liable to sell the vehicle. You know that. Now if it wasn't a lien sale, and you had the actualy pink slip. You must notify the buyer of the fee's etc. and who is responsible for smog, and that would be LEGAL. All you have is a white piece of paper in your name with UNCOMPLETED registration.

However. Your saying all the fee's are paid. Are you sure they are? and not lying about it?

What year and month were the tags expired when you bought it?
YOU need to pay the DMV backfee's from the previous owner(s) however.

You always want to be a LEGIT seller when selling a car.
So much shit can come back on you. It's not even funny.

Now forsay. You can still sell the car however because you OWN it. But You should sell it to someone in CALIFORNIA.
Don't try to sell the car out of state, because it becomes a burden for the buyer. I'm sure once you get your $$ your a happy camper, but he/she has to hassle getting everything legit.
thanks for all your info. It was seriously informative for me bc i just moved to San Diego on April 1st.
Im taking your advice and not buying this vehicle, but mainly because i bought a 91 coupe last night. Owner had title (pink slip) in hand, along with smog cert done last month, and all his paperwork on fixes he had done in the time he owned the vehicle.

Sorry wickedjester. dont take it personally, i just found another car.
+rep to downshiftsideways.

thanks to everyone else who contributed.

[downshift_sideways]

he is in california he moved from va to san diego and the lady at the dmv said i can sell it with it pending registration and i kno its current and valid cause a cop tried to give me a ticket for no plates and he ran the registration and it came up valid. im not lying i have the recipts from the dmv of all fees paid i even already paid for them to give me the new fees it was called a "plate fee" lol whoo hoo ca

Like I said. You can still manage to sell the car, but basically your taking a shortcut and honestly fucking someone over with your burden of problems.

Why didn't you fully register the car? I'm assuming you could not pass smog correct? If you paid all the fee's etc. A smog test/check is anywhere from 50-100$ why don't you just take care of that? get your pink slip. And sell it like it should be sold. I gaurentee you any smart person would not attempt to buy your car. I know THAT car does not have plates on it either. Who would buy a car that doesn't have plates? Now if its straight out of the auction thats another thing, but to sell to a 3rd party is completely insane.

Thats when you enter your excuse, to get the money from the buyer and leave them with a burden of problems. All I'm saying is do it right, and nothing comes back on you and its a legit transaction.

Now the cop let you go, because technically YOU OWN the car, and he see's that you are in the process of registering the car aswell. I'm pretty sure you also have a temporarily sticker on the car aswell. and I can bet you its past due. right?

Keep in mind, the seller is always responsible to have a certificate of smog at the time of the sale.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/sell.htm

Read that.

Because technically. You are breaking the law.

[wickedjester]

i dont kno y u think im such a shady guy im not trying to scew ne one over thank u
ive tried to smog it twice faild both first for missing vacum line and timing

so i fix that then it fails the second time for high nox

come to find out the egr doesnt hold vacum i have another egr that i tested and hold vacum just fine

put that on and i think it will pass smog i cant afford to keep on testing it

the lady at the dmv said i can sell it w/o smoging it but iono u have a point

i appriciate ur input but i dont think u need to be so negative toward me but w/e

[drift freaq]

i dont kno y u think im such a shady guy im not trying to scew ne one over thank u
ive tried to smog it twice faild both first for missing vacum line and timing

so i fix that then it fails the second time for high nox

come to find out the egr doesnt hold vacum i have another egr that i tested and hold vacum just fine

put that on and i think it will pass smog i cant afford to keep on testing it

the lady at the dmv said i can sell it w/o smoging it but iono u have a point

i appriciate ur input but i dont think u need to be so negative toward me but w/e
California law states the smog is up to the seller. What she told you is technically wrong and you could be sued in civil court for selling a car without smogging it. Now do people sell cars without smogging them? Yes all the time. Usually people will sell the car cheaper because they cannot smog it. Though if someone wanted to stick it to the seller they could. Period.

You can sell a car with paperless title transfer and pending reg. Though what I stated above is the law period. If you reported what that DMV lady told you she could get in trouble. I buy cars people supposedly can't smog all the time. I make them pass. I just did it today. Tomorrow it goes in for the test. Its already been pretested on the dyno and it will pass. The lady I bought it from could not get it to pass. LOL Her loss my gain.
89 Fastback base model aka hardtop 5 speed. Silver blue uncracked dash. Should be up for sale on monday.

[wickedjester]

and fyi the temp thing is good till the end of the month

[downshift_sideways]

I'm not in any way being negative towards you.

I'm just being honest, and stating how buying/selling a vehicle in California works.

There are smog/repair shops. That actually specialize in your situation. They will tell you why it is failing,

and will fix the problem so you are not considered a gross polluter.

[wickedjester]

California law states the smog is up to the seller. What she told you is technically wrong and you could be sued in civil court for selling a car without smogging it. Now do people sell cars without smogging them? Yes all the time. Usually people will sell the car cheaper because they cannot smog it. Though if someone wanted to stick it to the seller they could. Period.

You can sell a car with paperless title transfer and pending reg. Though what I stated above is the law period. If you reported what that DMV lady told you she could get in trouble. I buy cars people supposedly can't smog all the time. I make them pass. I just did it today. Tomorrow it goes in for the test. Its already been pretested on the dyno and it will pass. The lady I bought it from could not get it to pass. LOL Her loss my gain.
89 Fastback base model aka hardtop 5 speed. Silver blue uncracked dash. Should be up for sale on monday.


thats a vaild point i think im gunna try to smog it b4 i sell it uhhh i apprciate all the input from evry1


btw im not talking outta my ass or clueless thank you

[wickedjester]

I'm not in any way being negative towards you.

I'm just being honest, and stating how buying/selling a vehicle in California works.

There are smog/repair shops. That actually specialize in your situation. They will tell you why it is failing,

and will fix the problem so you are not considered a gross polluter.

it sux i dont qualify for ne of the programs either but i kno what wrong its the egr as i stated before i think im gunna throw it on tomorow and have it smogged try to be legit about it i was going off of what some bitch at the dmv told me.
thank you

[downshift_sideways]

Try going to a pass or free/retest smog shop.

[wickedjester]

for shure uhhh i guess dave bought a differnt one tho so w/e thank you

[CoasTek240]

Try going to a pass or free/retest smog shop. def the way to go in this situation it seems.


for shure uhhh i guess dave bought a differnt one tho so w/e thank you

Like I said. I'd still be willing to take a look at it after it passes smog. Add the price of smog to our original price and im pretty sure ill still buy.
even though i did buy a coupe. Already smogged. and in way better condition for a couple hundred dollars more.


btw... how long are the smog tests good for? My car was smogged the 1st of March.

[projekt_s13]

A smog is good for 90 days for transfer of title.

[240XTC]

Lein usually refers to money owed on the car. In your case it seems as if the previous owner did half the work and paid for the registration but cannot get the tags due to pending of smog (not LEIN). Tittle can still be transfered to you through pinkslip. To be certain of how much u will have to pay for registration u can go here

https://mv.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorWeb/usedVehicleForm.do

this will show if there is any money owed on the car and will save u from insane amounts of registration fees if n e. Once u pay for registration under ur name it is now up to you to smog.

WELCOME TO CALI BRO...:w00t:

[johngriff]

Yeah, if you have the pink ready to go with smog, you can demand a high price for the car. As the seller it only makes financial sense. Plus add up the cost of smogs plus "cost of repairs" if its over $400, you get an automatic "pass" for this year.