RoadLoans requires seller to send original title

[stray]

I'm trying to purchase a car from a private seller and was approved by RoadLoans. It's a bit of a process and I understand why. So far the seller seems to be okay with us and this process. I noticed in my emailed instructions this note:

"In order to complete this loan process the Seller must include the Original Title with the paperwork sent into VINtek (title processing company). In the event the loan is not completed, the title will be send back to the Seller by Federal Express."

This is the last step and all should be in order by this time, but he won't get paid before he gives up his title. (He'll have our $500 deposit). Has anyone had to do this and was the seller okay with it?

[AngelinaCat]

Hi Stray. I showed this to 'Hub to answer. He should be with you in a few minutes.

[AngelinaCatHub]

This is not abnormal. The lender wants this Title and will refile it as a new Title with them as a lien holder.

The Title after they send it to that state's tax collector, will be sent back to the lender as a new Title with the lien upon it. The lender holds this Title until the loan is paid for, then will send it to you with a signatory of Lien lifted.

You do not have to do anything else with this clear Title until you sell the car. Standard operating procedure, and dealers do this all the time and actually every time.

There is nothing to worry about and the loan company will be the one that gets your paper work up to tag the car. Hope this dispels any fear in that transaction. 'Hub


One other thought. IF you purchased cash clear, the Title and tag would be on you. Very simple but you are financing and as I said, S.O.P. for lenders.

[stray]

Okay, thanks so much hub. I just didn't want to think I was asking for something weird/unusual from this guy. Last time I bought a car it was in 2001 from the dealer and financed there, so this is different for me. It's a really good price on this car and we'll have to drive about 100 mi to see it, so I just want to be sure to have my ducks in a row.

I was trying to wait and save more, but the ol' PT isn't cooperating and DH can't fix this one. Yea, guess the oil spots underneath was why the trustee let me keep it last year.

[despritfreya]

Is the seller a private party? If so, does he/she know you are financing? Before driving that 100 miles, maybe contact the seller to let him/her know how the lender wants to proceed. Seller may already know the process or seller may be reluctant to turnover a signed title to you. If reluctant, seller probably needs to be in direct contact with the lender to smooth over any issues he/she may have.

Edt to add. . . seller may want to keep possession until lender releases funds to him/her.

Des.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Is the seller a private party? If so, does he/she know you are financing? Before driving that 100 miles, maybe contact the seller to let him/her know how the lender wants to proceed. Seller may already know the process or seller may be reluctant to turnover a signed title to you. If reluctant, seller probably needs to be in direct contact with the lender to smooth over any issues he/she may have.

Edt to add. . . seller may want to keep possession until lender releases funds to him/her.

Des.

Good point Des. Most of the time that I have seen, the seller likes immediate payment at the time of transfer. Not knowing the whole price, $5oo is a pretty hefty "earnest money", but our OP needs to be patient if the seller wishes to wait. Also it is traditional for the lender to send a check for the amount financed to the seller directly. The check usually is in both names, so the seller does need to be in this loop. Both parties have to endorse this check to cash it. 'Hub

[stray]

Thanks everyone. Yes, it's a private seller. We told him the process -- there's an inspection too. I didn't notice the part about him turning over the title until after we talked to him, though. He will be in direct contact with the bank from the beginning and he will send the title to the title company directly. The seller has already said he wanted to hold onto the car until the lender's check clears. I think he just means until he cashes it -- we'll clarify that when we see him. He said he had a cashier's check one time that turned out to be fake. He's a local business owner and his business has a good reputation, so we're okay with that.

RoadLoans said the check would come to me in the seller's name, so I just have to hand it over to him. I talked to them again today and they said I don't have to give the seller the deposit until after the inspection if I want. I'm used to giving someone a little cash to hold the car, so I don't know if he'll want to go through all of this with no deposit. But it is reasonable to want an inspection. The total price of the car is $9,995, about $1,000 under blue book, FYI. He's at the coast in a small town, windy roads to get there. I think since he's a little hard to get to, he hasn't sold it yet. We're hoping to go out there and look at it today.

[stray]

Well, the guy doesn't want to deal with us on the car, so that's that. He said to DH, "don't you have someone who will give you $10,000 cash?" People are hilarious.

Just in case anyone wants to attempt to purchase from a private seller with RoadLoans, here are the requirements for the seller:

Instructions to the Seller from Santander Consumer USA Bank (RoadLoans)

1. Call us at xxx-xxx-xxxx to confirm selling price.
2. Email these documents to [email protected] (please reference Buyer application #)
• Copy of the title and current registration
• Copy of current Drivers License for all parties on title.
• If there is a lien on your title, we will need your lien holder information (account #, contact info) The account must be current in order to proceed.

Attention Seller: In order to complete this loan process the Seller must include the Original Title with the paperwork sent into VINtek (title processing company). In the event the loan is not completed, the title will be send back to the Seller by Federal Express. Once we receive all information above from the Buyer and the Seller, we will submit your paperwork to VINtek to complete the process. VINtek will send all loan agreements and paperwork needed to process this loan and complete the title work. In most cases, VINtek will email the package out to the Buyer and Seller. There may be other documents that VINtek will send by Federal Express.

If the Buyer and Seller are in agreement of the pricing and vehicle, the vehicle will require an inspection. The cost on inspection is $179.00 and must be paid by the Seller or Buyer. We will need a copy of the inspection prior to submitting the paperwork to VinTek for processing.

[AngelinaCat]

Geez. I wonder where he thinks people DO get their money from? Like someone just happens to have $10,000 just laying around somewhere? No one that I know does.

I'm sorry it didn't work out, but things happen for a reason. Perhaps you were being 'protected' from some problem with the car that no one knows about. The 'right' car will come along.

[stray]

Thanks Cat! Yes, I think it happened that way for a reason too. The seller guy was chatty with DH. He told him one time he was buying an apartment building and didn't want to wait around for the loan, so his friend gave him the $134,000 cash. DH said, yea, I don't have those kind of friends.

Like I said, he's in a small town tricky to get to, so if he gets tired of waiting there's a small chance he may call us back. I put together a package with an overview and history of the bank and the procedures clearly detailed so he has everything in front of him.

For now, I'm putting cardboard under the PT, crossing my fingers the Stop Leak helps, and concentrating on work and saving. I have interest from a possible new client that would be mean (finally!!) some good money. So if I get that interview, I'll just park the car a couple of blocks away and walk.

[AngelinaCat]

Stop Leak worked on the USS Nautilus...... You would be in good hands....

[stray]

Wow, I had to look that one up. Gave me goosebumps.

[mijd]

Stray, I'd like to add to this one. I do title work for a dealership and just had my first 2 experiences with Roadloans. I don't know how they work with private sellers but with dealers just having the initial approval of the loan does not mean the loan will go through. There are a ton of stips both the buyer and seller must go through such as verifiing income...etc. Personally If I were selling my car, I would have a hard time handing over a reassigned title to any lender let alone Roadloans without immediate payment. Of the two Roadloans that we did have only one went through. We were promised funding within 3 days, it took 10 days and our dealership was out $42k for that period of time. Imagine a private seller handing over a title and having to wait that long to receive a check from some subprime lender. There isn't anyone who would sell a car, give up the title and then wait even 3 days for a bank check. What is his guarantee that the seller would return the car if the loan was funded?
The second car was delivered with a $500 deposit and a preapproved Roadloans draft. The guy couldn't prove his income and we had to physically get the car back from him. He was burning gas for over 5 days before Roadloans pulled the plug on him and another 5 days to pick up the car. Meanwhile wear and tear on the car plus any missed opportunities to sell the car to another customer. This guy was cooperative... I hate to think of what would happen if he wasn't.
I'm sorry this deal didn't go through for you. I wish you the best of luck in the future with buying your next car.