Hey all, for my first post I have a general question…

I have a Malibu I want to sell but I have never done this as a private seller before.

I owe money on the car so the bank has the title but I have equity in it.

Basically what I am doing is selling the car to get more cash to put down on a new purchase.


Is it as simple as me just selling the car for a certain price and paying off the bank then giving the title to the new owner and I keep the difference in cash/equity?


Thanks for any help and sorry if this is a stupid question…

It should be that simple and just transfering the title to the new owner when its mailed to you. The only thing is waiting for it to come in, that may slow you down.

crap, I hadnt thought of that...

Last time I paid off my car it took about 2 weeks for the bank to sent it to me,

That may require a legal contract to be written up on my part. I am going to talk to my sis on that one, shes an attorney. I dont know where the liability would fall if someone took ownership of a car before title in hand.

you will have to do a bill of sale anyways..

You should always have some sort of contract when selling a car. A simple I sold this car.. vin.. to.. for...

date it and the seller and buyer sign it. You may want to note that the title will be sent as soon as received.

Make you have a copy of it and the buyer has a copy and both are signed and you should be ok.

You don't need a full blown written contract for a private sale but you do need some documentation and it's always best it's signed.

The buyer is going to be concerned if you don't have the title to give him since he can't register the car until he has the title in hand. I would take the buyer to the bank with me and let him witness the loan being paid off with him getting a copy of the paperwork. His biggest worry is that you never send the title to him and he gets stuck with a car he cannot register. You should also talk to your State's DMV and see how they would handle this issue. In NY the owner gets a title that shows a lien against the car which can be signed over to a new owner. The bank never gets the title.

Bill

Okay, well I will look into this further.

For me its a no brainer. If I trade the vehicle I get around 15-16

If I sell it privately I get around 17-18


Although I should probably get an opinion here. What are 2008 LTZ loaded going for with 48k miles..?

I think my numbers are close.



A local BMW dealer was going to give me 14500 which I thought was pretty low.

get a hold of a dealers black book, or even a Kelly blue book value they will give you a close estimate. but dont get hurt if u arent close.