How do you purchase a used car from a private party? Assuming you do not have all the cash up front. Do you just get a loan from your bank and they write you a check where you hand to the seller? Lets say its a 2003-2005 model car that is in the 30-35k range.

 

The loan can usually be for no more than 3/4 of black book value, the bank must inspect the vehicle before they will loan, the title will be held as collateral until the loan is paid.

 

This might be slightly off-topic, O.L.T., but I couldn't help but wonder out of curiosity...what do those bank people know about inspecting a car and what to look for? You or I ( and others at CL ) could probably do a better job of inspecting a vehicle than the average banker. Yes...I understand that technically it is their money they are putting up, and they will want some justification for it, but most of them do nothing but either sit at a desk all day signing papers or stand up at a counter doing transactions.

 

Marshall,

Basically they just do a visual inspection of the interior and exterior - basically just to see that it is worth the approximate book value. As long as it doesn't have big dents and dings everywhere.

J - you will tell them the car you are looking at - give them the VIN etc. When you agree on a price with the seller - go to the bank and get the cashiers check and give them that for the title and bill of sale. You will bring this title to the bank and they will put a lien on it meaning that the car is theirs but it is titled under your name. That way if you sell the car before it is paid off you need to pay the bank the remainder of what you owe them in return for the lien release.

Hope this helps,
Jonny

 

Thanks, Dx3...that's what I suspected but wanted to be sure.

As far as the actual signover of the title, in just about every state, that has to be done not only by the car's former owner by a Notary Public as well ( my late mother was one ) who is licensed to practice in that state......but in a bank there will probably not be any problems. I'm sure the bank will have one, though they may charge a small fee for it, and the NP may or may not actually be at that bank's local branch. Some bank managers and Loan officers are licensed as NP's. The state usually allows a small fee up to a certain amount.

 

Very cool. Thank you everyone. btw, if anyone is curious. i'm looking at a e46 m3 or mini cooper. I know they are both pretty different cars, but basically i'm kinda young and i'm just looking for a good handleing car that would be fun driving to work and has good handleing.

 

this really depends on your relationship with the bank...my past 3 loans have been for over blue book value as the market value on the cars was more than the blue book value on them (all the same make and model)....my banker never even saw the cars (except 1) during my entire ownership...of course, he wouldn't do that for just anybody but it just goes to show that you should maintain a good relationship with your bank

 

Depends on what you mean by " handling ". The Mini, partially because of its diminutive size and weight, is without doubt more agile........especially in the Cooper S or John Works versions.
The M3, being much larger, will probably not be quite as agile, but its much wider tires should give it a higher ultimate-G-threshold in hard cornering...and unlike the Mini it is rear-drive with better weight balance. Both will have stiff rides...the Mini probably more so with its short wheelbase. The M3, as a German-designed BMW product, ( the Mini, of course, is technically a BMW product but British-designed ) will likely have better steering and road feel.

A couple of slightly unrelated things to keep in mind, though, if you are seriously choosing between these two cars and especially if you are buying new. First, demand has regularly exceeded supply for both cars for several years now.......so don't look for any real bargains when it's time to sign on the dotted line. However, both are in demand as used cars, so if you don't keep it too long you probably won't have much trouble selling or trading it in. Second, while there are SOME nice people in the BMW sales and service organizations, in general they are snooty and aristocratic and just don't impress me, and if you buy either car new you will have to deal with them. Third, a BMW M-car can be quite expensive to own, take care of, and insure. Insurance for a young man with an M3 can be difficult and expensive to get.....especially with a less-than-perfect driving record. ( of course I don't know what your record is ) Fourth, a Mini Cooper is no Mercedes S-Class in the crash safety department....I would not want to have any kind of significant accident in one, even with belts and air bags. Fifth....and an important point for some people....neither car has been very reliable in service.

Good luck

 

Thanks Mmarshal for the great pro/con of each car. I am aware of most of the stuff but some I was not aware of the reliability of the Mini S. Since its a first year model car(not counting the mini1) there's really not too many high milage driving around(and posting online). Also i know the e46 M3 has a price tag about twice as much as the miniS. I actually went on a test drive Mini S today and i'm really liking it. The wiser choice for myself would probably be the Mini S right now. It not a bad car for ~25,000(not counting the JW version +6,000). The M3 is affordable for my budget, but i'm not sure how much insurance would be since i have not done a quote on that car yet. So insurance for all i know could easily be ~2,000+ a year. plus additional gas. I'm 22 with a perfect driving record and my current insurance for my Lexus is 700 a year for full covarge(living in so. cali) through my brother. I'm hoping to finance the car and insure it myself, once again, the miniS would probably be the wiser choise.

The only complain I have on the Mini S as of right now is the road noise/engine noise. I'm so use to the quietness of Lexus so i'm not sure if it would bug me in the long run. Also i forgot to check when i was test driving to see if the steering wheel was able to adjust down, the steering really felt a bit high.

Thanks again mmarshall

I'm not really sold on either car as of right, so i'm still open to recomendation for a good handling car around 25,000, but can go up to about 40,000. Obviosly the lower the better since it would leave more money for investing and play. Please no G35c, 330, TL or any of those. They are just way too common in so cali.

 

In that case, then, for first-rate handling, there are several more good choices in that price range.

Check these out:

Honda S2000........ Built like a Swiss watch, reliable, race-rar-style red push-button starting, 240 HP but at extremely high revs and no low-end torque, unbelievable handling in hard corners. Stiff ride. Hard to bargain on, though. Short 3 / 36 warranty.


Mazda MX-5 Miata......new and redesigned this year, also built like a Swiss watch, reliable, almost perfect handling balance, easiest-to-use manual convertible top in the industry...one-handed operation from the driver's seat, but interior is cramped for tall people ( less so this year than in former versions ), trunk space is OK for a sports car but it clearly is not a Suburban, and HP is lower than the S2000's but max HP and torque is reached at lower RPM's and with more overall torque. Also, like the S2000, a stiff ride. A Turbo MazdaSpeed version was available on the old model, is schduled for the new one, but I don't know if it is available yet. 3 / 50 warranty.


Pontiac Solstice / Saturn Sky......brand-new and, of course, reliability unknown. Similiar to the Miata and S2000 in many ways, and undercuts the Miata in base price and WAY undercuts the S2000. Power level ( 177 HP ) slightly above the Miata and less than the S2000. Convertible top not as easy-to-use as the Miata's. Several magazines have compared the Miata and Solstice and picked the Solstice as ( slightly ) the better of the two overall....one or two still prefer the Miata. The Solstice will be difficult to get and hard to bargain on....the Sky ( when it becomes available early next year ) somewhat less so because of Saturn's pricing policies. Saturn dealer and customer service is in general much higher than Pontiac's. Like Honda, cheap warranty...3 / 36.


Mitsubishi Evo.....basically a street-legal rally car. AWD helps foul-weather traction a little ( something you can pretty much forget about with rear-wheel-drive sports cars ) but standard high-performance tires are meant for dry-weather handling. All-season or winter tires recommended for foul weather. Superlative dry-weather handling. 286 HP gets you away in a hurry.....even with the heavy all-wheel-drive system. Sophisticated, helical limited-slip differentials. Plenty of torque as well, but with turbo lag. Extremely stiff ride......make sure you can stand it and it won't knock out your kidneys. Reliability varies among individual samples. Turbo intercooler ( with driver-controlled water spray ) under the front bumper low and exposed to damage from road debris. Long 10 / 100 drivetrain warranty, 5 / 60 bumper-to-bumper.


Subaru STi......much like the Evo except with somewhat better overall reliability, slightly softer suspension, and a more-capable and well-proven AWD system with a driver-adjustable center differential. Also, the STI's intercooler is up above the engine where it is not exposed as much to damage. 3 / 36 warranty with 5 / 60 drivetrain.


There are other choices too, if these are unacceptable ( you may find them too noisy) ...but for an under-40K new car with razor-sharp handling, consider them first. These cars start around $20,000 for a base-model Solstice and run up to the high 30's for an S2000. Evos and STI's generally run 30-35K, unless there is price gouging from supply and demand.

And, of course, you can buy new or used.

 

That may be off topic, but my bank has never inspected any of the three cars I've financed through them. It is however, a credit union, so a large bank may do things differently.

(whatcha getting John.? )

 

Check out CapitalOne.com. I filled out their credit app (got a great rate) and within a minute I had an email saying I was approved - and within 5 minutes a rep called me to confirm all the info.

The overnighted me a blank check so I could fill out the exact amount to the seller and after faxing over the appropriate paperwork (bill of sale, title, etc..) I was good to go.

You know what your payments will be upfront and they can even have it setup to auto-deduct the amount from your checking account.

SUPER easy and quick too. I hate dealing with the turds at the bank so going this route was awesome.

You aren't obligated to go with their loan until you use the check... so you can fill the info out and see your rate without much hassle.

EDIT:
Oh yeah - and to fully answer your question about buying a used car privately -

Then once the seller signs over the title you (usually after the check clears) just take it to the DMV and pay for registration and vehicle tax (at least here in IL that's what you do). One other great thing I realized about buying privately is that you just pay a vehicle tax to the state - no sales tax. Because of the age of the car I got (1999) the tax was only $90!

 

wow 90 bucks. thats cheap. I think here in California, you have to pay 8% of the value that the person selling the car claims the value of the car is.

 

Hey Lee,

How's it going buddy? long time no talk, how's work going for you. i think a while back i read a post you were looking for a job or wanted to change fields or something. Still driving that LS?

You know what. I'm really not sure what I want to get yet. I have 2 priorities in a car.

#1. Reliability-whether it be under warranty or just pure reliability of the brand name
#2. Fun to drive, prefably rear wheel drive, but of course a mini cooper is not, but the fun factor outweights the rear wheel drive in this car.

i keep changing my mind every few days. haha Now that mmarshall mentioned the S2000, i've been looking into that car. Only a few minor problems that bug me about that car, The quality of the convertable(i read on both s2ki.com and honda-tech.com that it wears our easily where the bars go across. but i freaking love the speedometer cluster in this car. the HID(everyone know's i'm obsessed with good lighting) If I do i'll probly get a 04 with the lower RPM at 8krpm but it has the new 2.2L engine. and its a honda so the reliabilty is known to be good

IS300, What more can i say. Its a Lexus. I can get a used one for about 22,000-25,000, but i wished they had a 2 door version. same engine as my current GS with added VVTI. It may be a little small(head room wise) so i gotta go test drive one this weekend and see how it feels.

 

You had the right idea the first time. Buy a Bimmer.