I want to buy a bike

[joedit]

But the current owner still owes money on it and the bank has the title.

He says he will pay the loan off and send me the title if I buy it. I want to make sure I dont get screwed. What is the right way to do this?

[trailrider72]

go with him to the bank,pay the loan off. then get the title?

[Redlined]

I would never hand someone a wad of cash without getting everything I needed to directly transfer the title. That could be a lot of trouble for you if seller doesn't follow through.

I would suggest you do the transaction at the bank, they should be able to sign it over to you (or provide some form of a release of interest) as the transaction is completed.

[CodyWayne718]

I sold my street bike like that. The guy jus wrote something up sayin that I would take care of everything and had me sign it

[OLHILLBILLY]

Yup, just go to the bank with him, pay off the note and get the title with the lean release, give him the rest. If he's on the level, he will have no problem with doing it like that.

If he starts balking, tell him to call you when he has the title and you'll buy it then.

[HodieRacer37]

I don't know. I got suckered into a similar deal back in 03 on an 01 CR250. Here it is 8 years later and I have a CR that I cannot register or sell because the title was never sent to me.

[tenis24]

Yes, go to the bank with him and get the title. It is standard procedure.

Don't be afraid to just walk away from the deal, there's tons of bikes for sale.

[William1]

First, contact the bank loan dept. Do this with the seller sitting next to you. Let the loan dept. know that the bike is being paid off IN CASH (no check/money order BS). Let them know what branch this will be done at. Arrange for the title to be there. He hands over HIS cash, they hand over the title to him. You then pay the guy in cash, he gives you the title. Any other method and unless he is a good friend, you are taking chances.

[150ron]

DONT DO THIS, even if you go with him to the bank, %99 percent of the time, they do not have the title there, and have to order it from a different location (department) and this takes time.

there is nothing to stop him from taking your money, and paying off the loan and then saying.. ''who are you again''

most likely he does not have the money therfore can not pay and get the title, so he will need to pay with your money, and YOU cannot pay off his loan, only he can hand them over the money.

I know someone that works at a bank, and once told me about this exact situation, where the person who was buying the bike got screwed big time, tried to sue the bank, but couldnt, and had to go chase the person he ''trusted'' to send him the titile.

in that situation, he (buyer) met with the seller outside the bank, handed him over 4k bucks to pay off the loan, and he (seller) was then supposed to walk outside with the title and sign it over to him, bank did not have title, (seller) walks outside and tells the buyer (who just gave him 4k cash) that he will send him the pink slip as soon as he gets it from the bank, (buyer) says, oh ok man, yeah that will be great.

few years later situation still not resolved, but its between the buyer and the seller now, the bank has been cleared, and from what ive been told, the (seller) claims he was just walking in the bank to pay off the loan with his money, and the other guy (innocent buyer) is trying to scam him.... so be careful.

If the person does not have a pink slip IN HIS NAME ready to be handed over to you, find another bike.

[Ronus]

dont do it, i have a crf150 for my wife that i now have no proof of registration.

[5852jake]

Just go to the bank with the seller, explain the situation, pay it off, and have the bank send the title to your address. Also have a notarized bill of sale typed up so no one gets screwed. I've bought lots of vehicles like this.

[J_Daniels]

As stated, the seller needs to get his ducks in a row and make sure the bank has the title IN HAND at a certain branch. You and the seller show up together. You hand the bank cash or a cashier's check, they sign the title and hand it to you and give the seller the excess from the loan repayment.

I have bought and sold many vehicles his way, it's completely standard proceedure.

[slowstepper]

I just did this, buying a bike that was 800 miles away. I coordinated with the branch manager of the bank, and the seller - so she (the manager) ordered in the title. when she got the title in hand (took about 10 days) , I drove down, met the seller in the bank parking lot - started up the bike - loaded it into the pickup, went inside, handed over the cash owed to the bank. got the signed off title, gave the rest of the cash to the seller - and away I went.

Seller does not have the money to pay it off, and even though he is well intentioned now - having that extra cash in hand - it's tempting to walk away from paying off the loan. So when the bank comes looking for him, "sorry sold it to so & so", then the bank shows up at your place and takes back the bike!

This is not hard - but it requires that you follow through all of the steps - making sure you are protected!

Carl Johansson

[BoxcarWilly]

don't do it.

common sense...

[steve0xr]

But the current owner still owes money on it and the bank has the title.

He says he will pay the loan off and send me the title if I buy it. I want to make sure I dont get screwed. What is the right way to do this?

I bought my street bike in this same situation. Went to the bank with the seller, he paid off the loan, they handed him the title, and he signed it over to me right there in the bank.