Lien/Hold on Dodge Dart 75

[vanleer mopars]

Hello Mopar World
I need some help and advice. I purchased a vehicle off craiglist a 1975 Dodge Dart 318 custom. Vehicle is outstanding for 1800 bucks, runs ,interior is good, no rust, and has original wheels. But unfortunately it has a lien/hold on it, that the seller didn't advise me of until I went to register it. Also needless to say the seller no longer has same phone number and won't contact me anymore regarding the situation. It sounds like I am S.O.L right!
The question I have for the community is should I pay lien off for 1700, and continue to restore the vehicle? (Total would be 3500 for car and lean) Or should I let it go and take my losses and try to recover my losses from small claims court
Or is there another way that I can pursue this, that I haven't acknowledge yet?
Any legal advice would be greatly appreciated, or solutions (no cement shoes though)

Thanks for reading
Van Leer Mopars

 

[boosted]

Did you pick the car up from the sellers house? Do you know where they live? I would get the local PD involved on this one.. I cannot stand a dead beat like this.. Or maybe find out who put the lean on it and see if you can work something out with them. Here in GA we can put a lean on someone's house for an unpaid debt.. I would not let 1700 go as the person you got the car from is a lowlife and needs to be taught a lesson on this..

Let us see some pictures of the car and we can tell you more on the value.. Motor, trans will play a role also. A /6 car is not worth as much as a v8.... Same with auto vs stick....

If it is clean then 3500 is not terrible for it..

 

[vanleer mopars]

I will post pics as soon as its daylight here in AZ. It is a V8 with auto trans. Also I looked into pressing charges on the person, I would have to prove the person knowingly sold me the car with the hold/lean on it to be considered criminal, but I'm still thinking about pursuing this option. I don't know this person but I do have their full name cause of title and address as well. We met at a public place because I wanted to make sure that many witnesses would be around just in case they were a killer or a thief.

 

[TrailBeast]

There is a clear place on the title for any lienholders to be listed.
Is there any? or did you buy it without a title and just a bill of sale?

 

[Demon416]

Contact the lien holder and report the sale. Let them deal with the seller. Just a thought.

 

[vanleer mopars]

Yeah bought it with a title, and there is none written in lien holder. The lien is from a debt, the debt stems from a criminal charge that individual never paid on. I found the debt collector from the MVD, and contacted them on situation. That's how I found out about how much the lien is and needs to be paid off before they release it.

 

[zhandfull]

Maybe you can lien sale the car yourself for $1,800 in unpaid storage. This may force the first lien to pay you off or loss rights. Not really sure how AZ works. That's what I would check into, companies that do these liens or a private company that process AZ MVD paperwork they may have ways around the lien

 

[6pk2goDemon]

Really sorry to hear this.....

Many times a lien holder will deep discount a debt like that. Have you tried to negotiate a settlement with them? Start with a lowball offer like 10% of the amount owed or so. You have to play the same game the debt collectors do.

Good luck and hope it gets worked out :thumbup:

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

Do you have the ability to register the car in another state? If so do it since there is no lein on the title. The new title will superceed the original Az title.

 

[vanleer mopars]

I can send more Pics if you desire, just has to be done via email, the forum will not accept others, and it states they are too large. But the other pics are interior and rear end.
The car is all around good condition. Floor boards are not rusted; the only small items I see are the rear window and driver rear quarter panel has quarter size dent by wheel well. The engine starts and runs, has over heating issue not sure if its tubing or radiator, I am waiting to work on car yet because not sure what to do in this lien/hold situation?
Interior needs reupholstering; dash is intact (original radio). No major body damage. Oil does leak only after driving; not sure yet if it transmission fluid or engine oil. And front passenger tire went bald so either has camber or caster problem or ball joints in front suspension
The vehicle shifts properly when driving 70+ for transmission, and VIN# matches engine size and make.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

I can send more Pics if you desire, just has to be done via email, the forum will not accept others, and it states they are too large. But the other pics are interior and rear end.
The car is all around good condition. Floor boards are not rusted; the only small items I see are the rear window and driver rear quarter panel has quarter size dent by wheel well. The engine starts and runs, has over heating issue not sure if its tubing or radiator, I am waiting to work on car yet because not sure what to do in this lien/hold situation? Interior needs reupholstering; dash is intact (original radio).
The vehicle shifts properly when driving 70+ for transmission, and VIN# matches engine size and make.

Very nice car. In my opinion with this being a 4 door you will be over the value of the car if you have to pay the $1700 because you are in it about right now. I have a 1969 dart 4 door that was a 2 owner car with under than 70K original miles that is just as nice and it wouldn't bring $2000 when it was for sale. It even has a near mint interior. I bought it for much less than it was priced for.

 

[Bad Sport]

I doubt that anyone can come after the car as there is nothing on the title.

If it was a court ordered lien then ultimately the PO is responsible, not you.

I am no attorney so this is all speculation on my part.

How did you find out about the lien? Who has the lien on it? Has anyone approached you regarding this?

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

Yeah bought it with a title, and there is none written in lien holder. The lien is from a debt, the debt stems from a criminal charge that individual never paid on. I found the debt collector from the MVD, and contacted them on situation. That's how I found out about how much the lien is and needs to be paid off before they release it.

I doubt that anyone can come after the car as there is nothing on the title.

If it was a court ordered lien then ultimately the PO is responsible, not you.

I am no attorney so this is all speculation on my part.

How did you find out about the lien? Who has the lien on it? Has anyone approached you regarding this?

See post above where op gave the details.

 

[Bad Sport]

See post above where op gave the details.

I missed this part:

I found the debt collector from the MVD, and contacted them on situation. That's how I found out about how much the lien is and needs to be paid off before they release it.

The lien is in someone else's name.

So you can't transfer title, is that the issue? DMV won't let you?

 

[vanleer mopars]

No found out through MVD of Arizona to contact NCO private hold/lien company, about the situation. No one has approached me, just not sure if I should pay off the lien or take the 1800 dollar hit I paid for the car. Just wondering if the car is even worth me investing in or letting it go.

 

[Bad Sport]

I would do a little research and find out if they can hold you responsible, I doubt it.

Would they let you transfer title?

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

No found out through MVD of Arizona to contact NCO private hold/lien company, about the situation. No one has approached me, just not sure if I should pay off the lien or take the 1800 dollar hit I paid for the car. Just wondering if the car is even worth me investing in or letting it go.

What to do in this situation is going to have to come from someone that knows the laws in your state.

You might contact the DMV and see if another title was issued and sent to the owner with the lien on it. If there was then the seller frauded you and the police can get involved.

 

[Bad Sport]

What to do in this situation is going to have to come from someone that knows the laws in your state.

You might contact the DMV and see if another title was issued and sent to the owner with the lien on it. If there was then the seller frauded you and the police can get involved.

Good point!

 

[inkjunkie]

What to do in this situation is going to have to come from someone that knows the laws in your state.

You might contact the DMV and see if another title was issued and sent to the owner with the lien on it. If there was then the seller frauded you and the police can get involved.

This is what I would do. If the title has no lien holder you should be able to transfer it. You might want to try to contact who ever holds the lien. Often times they will settle for a small percentage of what is owed....

 

[67Dart273]

One has to wonder "what good is a clear title in hand" anymore?

 

[kursplat]

Yeah bought it with a title, and there is none written in lien holder. The lien is from a debt, the debt stems from a criminal charge that individual never paid on. I found the debt collector from the MVD, and contacted them on situation. That's how I found out about how much the lien is and needs to be paid off before they release it.

consult a lawyer. NOW!
it's not a mechanics lien [ame]http://rcsliens.com/lien_manual.pdf[/ame] but a personal property lien and it seems to me they screwed up. they should have seized the property and sold it themselves. maybe they didn't know about it, i don't know. but guess what, the POS who sold the car now has $1800. you need to get to the judge who issued the judgement, explain what happened, how you have now been ripped off, and request the lien be removed because the POS has the $$ to pay. AND since he violated the judgement ask that a bench warrant be issued so he can be hauled in and made to pay. you might end up $300 or $400 more into this, hopefullly not, but otherwise your going to end up out the $1800 you all ready paid anyways

good luck

 

[inkjunkie]

consult a lawyer. NOW!
but a personal property lien and it seems to me they screwed up. they should have seized the property and sold it themselves.

from my very limited knowledge i would say this is true. chances are the previous owner of the car had a judgement issued against them for a debt they did not pay. legally they could have snatched up the car & sold it, usually they will not because of the effort it takes to sell a car. but at the same time with the car having a clear title there appears to be some sort of fraud going on. perhaps the owner of the car just gave you a title to the car that was issued prior to a judgement being issued against them. in another words, the cars owner very well may have a more current title with the lien on it......probably should also say that creditors will often violate laws in an attempt to collect a debt. sad to say but you might end up on the hook for it. most places will not take a car as scrap anymore without title. chances are you are going to have to work it out with the creditor and then perhaps go after the cars previous owner, if he is unwilling to pay the judgement with the funds you purchased the car with.

 

[vanleer mopars]

I will try to get this situated this Monday, since the car is not legally mine and I can't register it, might just tell the debt collector to come and pick up their car! But I'll see if they might settle for a lower price. Thanks for everyones advice and knowledge. I'll keep u updated.

 

[crackedback]

DO NOT tell them where the car is and hide it in a garage. If they find out you have it and can get to it, it will be gone.

 

[autoxcuda]

I will try to get this situated this Monday, since the car is not legally mine and I can't register it, might just tell the debt collector to come and pick up their car! But I'll see if they might settle for a lower price. Thanks for everyones advice and knowledge. I'll keep u updated.

Then you are out of $1800.

The lien company has an easy pickup. But the car to them is only worth what they think they can sell it for minus their labor dealing with it. Unless it's worthless. And I wouldn't tell them where the car is. Start working on the car because it's drastically overheating now and take the radiator out. Take the carb and distributor off because it may be causing the overheating. Right now you are confused and still investigating what is going on. Once you figure out what is going on, you of course stop working since it's not your car.

"Aw shucks", now the lienholding company has to send a $100 tow truck to come get the car. Pay storage, pay $800 to get car running again to make it a $1000 car. Or scrap it for what, $300 after tow bill? OR you'll pay the leinholder $200 to release the title.

I wonder think if the lien holder removes the lein on the car, that will not allow them to go after the guy for the $1800 or any remaining money if you make a partial payment.

I'd part it out before taking $1700 or $1800 in the shorts.

If they go after the seller, he will just say he spent the money. I bet the court could make you pay off the lienholder in full so you can title the car, then YOU would have to get the money from seller by YOU holding another lien on him. He will never pay it. Same situation all over again.

Convenient that the selling price was very close to the lien amount. Now if the seller is dragged into court he could say he was trying to pay the lien off. But aw shucks, he had immediate emergency needs for the money and now it is gone.

This was no accident by the seller. It was all well planned out.