What is the best way to sell a car that you own but still owe significant money to the financing company?

Colin C: What is the best way to sell a car that you own but still owe significant money to the financing company?
I have a car that I just don’t need anymore after owning it just under a year. I have a 5 year term, and the way I figure it I will just be breaking even. I will owe about 24,000 still in a couple of months and the car is worth about that on blue book and other sites. I don’t care about making money on it, but I also don’t want to get killed. I know it’s easier to sell something to a dealership, but I’ve only done that with a trade on. Should I sell it on my own? I don’t know how to go about doing that. Plus how does it work with the money I still owe on the car? Would someone or the dealership assume payments? I know how that works with the dealership but how would it work if I sold it to a random person? Sorry about the rambling, I’m just in dire need of some help. Thanks!

Answers and Views:

Answer by smartarse
its illegal

Answer by jennjn1331
Dealerships won’t give you a fair deal most of the time. Put an ad in the paper & try to sell it to a private buyer. They will probably have to get it financed & their bank or whoever will send the check to your financer & to you if there is any left over. We just bought a car from a private seller that way.

Answer by jimi_magic_2
If you want to get good value for it, clean it up, take good pictures of it and post it on e-bay motors with a high reserve price that is enough to cover what you owe. Trust me, it works, especially with low mileage cars. I had a friend sell a Scion for nearly its sticker price and it had a dent, 20,000 miles, and nothing special.

Good luck.

**late addition – it is not illegal to sell a car, but you will have to pay off what you owe.

Answer by chiiky25
try the www.carsales.com website.
It should have a rough idea of how much cars like yours are selling for. If it’s less than what you were after then try another website that sells cars. Also you should bump up the price a lil, coz if u get any offers they will always want the car for cheaper. That way you still get the money you were after & they think that they’re gettin a bargain!

Answer by littlebit17
I have seen it listed before for cars where people list, “assume payment”, not sure how that could work if someone has given you a loan? Also, get a loan from your bank and pay it off. Then, sell it.

Answer by israelmoya20
if you have a new car, and can’t make no more payments, or just don’t want it, then you can let someone else take over payments, even though is on your name, the credit….i bought a car from a lady that had it parked, on her home, but she offer me to take over payments, until i pay it all, she will give me the title of the car, last week, i just pay it all, so she trusted me and now she and we don’t owe money to the dealer nor to her….what kind of car is that you have….

Answer by k
I had the same situation. Basically, you need to pay off the car and have the title in your hands before you can sell it yourself. You could try to get a loan from your bank or credit union. Once you pay it off it still takes a couple of weeks for the title to be processed to make the car officially yours. Then you could try posting it on ebay motors, autotrader, local paper, etc. Your local DMV can help you with the paperwork you will need for the transaction. Remember, do not sign over the title until you have the buyer’s money in the bank. Once you sell it, then just pay off the loan. The interest that you pay should be minimal. It is kind of a hassel, but I do not think there is an easier way. If you use a dealer/broker, you will not get the blue book value or will have to pay a commission fee. Doing it yourself, you will come closer to breaking even, but it requires a lot more work on your part. Best of luck!