Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Changing Your Car When You're Still Paying Your Loan

By John Brennan

Many people find themselves in a position where theyare ready to sell their current car and purchase a new one, before their current car loan is paid off. You used to be stuck with the car until the payments were made, although now some dealers are offering to take over the payments of your current finance loan in exchange for purchasing a car from them.

So how do you go about getting what your existing car is worth, and how do you sell a car that is subject to an existing loan? Number one, you need to get a figure from your loan company for the amount that is outstanding on your finance. Then, if you've got savings or other spare money that you can use to clear that amount before you sell the car, you're in a strong position. With the loan cleared, you can sell the car however you choose.

If you're anything like most people, you might not have that sort of money sitting around though, and if you try and take out a second car finance deal while you've still got your first car loan, bad credit might prevent you being approved. If this applies to you there are still ways you can work this, but it gets a bit more complicated.

First of all, you can try to sell the car for the minimum amount you'd need to clear your can loan. However, this would mean taking payment from the buyer but not being able to give them clear title to the vehicle until you paid offer the loan on the car, and the loan company gives you title to the vehicle. A lot of buyers might not be willing to go through with this.

Your other option is to contact the loan company that youare currently financing your car with, and inquiring as to whether theyad agree to using an escrow service for the sale of the car. This way, when your buyer pays the money, it would go into an escrow account that the loan company would be able to access after the title has been released to the buyer.

You may also try contacting the institution where youare financing your car, and asking them yourself, ahow can I sell a car that is already under car finance loan?a They may be better equipped to assist you in this kind of situation, and even if they canat help you, they may be able to point you in the direction of someone who can.

This might all seem a lot of hassle. If it does, your best option might be to look around for a new car at a dealership which offers you a way to get out of your current car finance. More and more dealerships are offering deals where new customers can trade in their current vehicle that is still under a loan agreement, and then some or all of the costs of that loan are added onto the finance deal on the new vehicle.

With this method, you can drive the new car that you want, but manage the monthly payments. Just make sure to use a car loan calculator so you know what you can and canat afford - rolling your old auto loan into your new loan can make the monthly payments higher than expected. So, now when you wonder, how can I sell a car that is already under car finance loan? Youave got a few different options to choose from! - 16069

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