What Is a Lien and How Do You Sell a Car With One?

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What Is a Car Lien?
How Do Car Liens Work?
Can You Sell a Car With a Lien on It?
5 Ways to Sell a Car With a Lien
1. Sell to a Dealership
2. Pay Off the Loan Before Selling
3. The Buyer Pays Your Loan Off
4. Sell Through an Escrow
5. Sell at the Lender’s Office
What Happens If You Sell a Car With a Lien on It?
Ways to Avoid Selling a Car With a Lien
Communicate With the Lienholder
Clear title: This is a title that has no lienholder on it. Having a clear title on your car means you are the sole owner of the vehicle. It also means no other party has a security interest in your vehicle.
Lien title: A title with the lienholder’s name on it is a lien title. The lienholder may have possession of the title until you pay off your car loan.
Clean title: A clean title on a vehicle suggests that the vehicle doesn’t have a history of sustaining major damage. A rebuilt car may not have a clean title if the vehicle previously sustained major damage from a crash, fire, or flood.
Refinance the Car
The Takeaway
Frequently Asked Questions
Photo credit: iStock/Nuthawut Somsuk
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About the Author
Jamie Cattanach is a full-time freelance writer whose work has been featured at CNBC, Yahoo Finance, The Motley Fool, the Huffington Post and other outlets. At SoFi, she writes about investing, retirement, student loans and how to get your money right -- no matter what that means for you.
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