Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

I recently moved from the US to the Middle East (again!!), and did what I normally do

1. Got the best offer I could from a local dealer.
2. Advised him I had financing and got my CU to email him and I the final settlement
3. Paid the guy the difference
4. Jumped on a plane

I now have found out that the dealer has not paid the settlement. On advising the CU of what happened, they are saying its my responsibility to get the guy to pay.

The dealer is not returning my calls, and I know he has already sold one of the 2 cars I sold him..

Having used to work in the motor finance world, my understanding was that, upon providing proof to the bank of the sale to a registered dealer offering finance, the bank went after the dealer. Yet that does not seem to be mu CU's thinking..

Any suggestions, other than threatening legal action?

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

You sold a car dealer in the Middle East two cars?
Why is your Credit Union involved? Why do you need financing? etc..
Maybe you could clarify...

In any case it sounds like you need legal advice from an attorney.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

I sold the 2 cars I had in the US before I left. They were on financing with my CU in the US. So I ensured the dealer knew that there was a lien on the vehicles..

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

Oh..I see...sorry about that.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

How long ago was it that they bought the cars off you? When I sold a car to a dealer they asked for a 30 day payoff amount and it took them about 25 days to pay the credit union. I'm assuming the CU still has both titles so he'll either have to pay up to get the titles or he'll have a disgruntled customer in a few weeks when they can't get a tag for their car.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

If the CU had a lien on the vehicles, were they not holding the vehicle titles? How did the dealer sell a car without a title with it.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

This! :nod:

I am confused about the details given as if there is a lien on the vehicles they should be unsaleable unless the payoff is made and the title released. :confused:

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

In Oregon if the dealer (or anybody) got a replacement title and sold the vehicle without paying the lien it is theft.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

No only in Oregon!

It makes me wonder If the cars were exported - there is quite a large market in some parts of the world for used prestigious or Japanese cars, that are too old to still be prestigious in the US.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

In New York even a replacement title will state that there is a lien on the vehicle and that title cannot be transferred without approval of the lienholder. Why the poster would sell the vehicle to a dealer and not get the money upfront at the conclusion of the sale is beyond me. It is the titleholder's responsibility to pay off the lien not the dealer or person he sold the vehicle to.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

It is usual when a vehicle with a lien on the title, is traded in to, or otherwise sold to a dealership, that the loan be repaid by the dealer* as part of the title transfer of the vehicle. The dealer does this to protect themselves, otherwise if they give the full value of the vehicle to the "owner"/seller, and the owner/seller does not pay off the loan and get the lien released they (the dealer) would be guilty of theft, as per Lansbury above, for selling a vehicle without good title.

* The dealer in this scenario is in the same position as a lawyer or transfer agent in the same of a home/ property with a loan secured on it - the seller only collects the net proceeds, and the lawyer/agent transfers the balance of the loan to the lender to secure the release of the mortgage lien.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

'I now have found out that the dealer has not paid the settlement.'

How did you find this out?

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

That makes sense. One thing is that when the dealer sells the vehicle they would need to either register the car in the dealership's name and get a clean title and they do this with showing a copy of the lienholder's letter stating the loan has been paid in full. Or they give this letter and the old title to the new buyer. Anyone who is stupid enough to buy a used car and is given a title with a lienholder notation on it without being given said letter is an idiot.

When I've either sold a car privately or used it for a trade-in, I always gave the title plus the lienholder's payment in full letter so it can be registered without a lienholder on it.

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

The lawyer/ transfer agent analogy also works for this part of the transaction - a car dealer can hold vehicles without registering the title (like the lawyer/ agent, who is never registered as the owner as real estate is transferred to the new owner), whether new or used vehicles. Otherwise a new vehicle would always have one previous registered owner (the dealer who sold it), and every subsequent change in ownership would add TWO owners to the ownership history - the dealer who took it as a trade-in and the new owner.

That said, sometimes dealers DO register ownership of a new vehicle, so that they can get the commission/ incentive payment for having "sold" x vehicles this month (evidenced by registrations/ transfer out of new car inventory). …. Such cars are either discounted to get them "off the lot", perhaps sold as "ex-demo", or sold in bulk to Carmax or a similar car dealer (didn't you ever wonder where they got their "new car inventory" from? ;) )

Re: Any CU or Bank Employees able to answer a question?
 

Honestly, no.