[Blk07335i]

Does anyone know the procedure for a private car sale in NJ. I know once I get the title from the lien holder I sign it over to the new owner but what happens while we wait for the title to be received. Is it legal for the new owner to drive the car? I saw the procedure on the NJ DMV web site but when you have a lien to pay off it's not clear.

[Bimmer335i07]

I wouldn't let the person drive the car until the title arrives. First, without the title he will not be able to register it. And right now, even if you sold the car to that person, it's still registered under your name. If anything happened, it will be on you.

I just sold my old car a couple of months ago. I had the guy get the insurance, take the title to the DMV to register it and then had him pick up the car with his plates, that way I won't be liable for anything.

Hope this helps.

You're selling your 335 already?

[rooster3.0]

You can just have the buyer contact the lien holder.

[BimmerJared]

You could contact the leinholder, but all that will do is maybe speed up their sending the title to you. Always wait until you have it on paper and registration in hand.

[Blk07335i]

Thanks for replies! No way I'm selling the 335i. It's an S4 Avant that my wife used to drive.

[wrickem]

I just went throught this when I sold my '04 M3 last month. The finance company issued the title in the buyers name because we weren't sure if we'd have to both pay NJ sales tax on the vehicle since the tax had to be paid with the lien (and NJ sucks with sales tax for used cars, they want their $ as many times as they can get it). The title took forever to get here so I just let him have the car while we both covered it by insurance for a few days, I figured SOMEBODY would cover it if anything happened. The guy seemed really trustworthy. He just came back from 2 tours of duty in Iraq and had no car to get around it and I just had it sitting anyway. It worked out fine, since he paid it off, I figured he didn't want to wreck it. It worked out fine in the end.

If YOU're paying the lien off, I wouldn't let anybody else take it. You'd have everything to lose that way, they could just walk away

[Blk07335i]

I figured the buyer would wire the sale price $$ to my account and then I would pay off the lien and have the title sent to me. Once I receive the title I would then sign it over to the new owner and we would go to the DMV together so I could turn in the old plates and they could register and pay the sales tax.

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by Blk07335i

I figured the buyer would wire the sale price $$ to my account and then I would pay off the lien and have the title sent to me. Once I receive the title I would then sign it over to the new owner and we would go to the DMV together so I could turn in the old plates and they could register and pay the sales tax.

That would work too as long as your finance co didn't require that state tax be paid in full to them to pay off the lien (Chase required that) because then the buyer would also have to pay state tax when they registered the vehicle. I hope all goes smoothly for you!