There is so much wrong with this:
After we get past the prerequisite out-of-focus pics of the floor and the broken window, we realize the guy appears to be hiding the car from the repo man in a shed in the back. He even goes so far as to confirm who the lender is, just so you know who will be coming after you once you have paid this moron $1000 for the joy of having it in your possession!
lol.
I'm not sure how they intend to "sell" this car.
Looks like the GF or someone else he owes money to, did a number on the windows and tires.
Not just one window broken but all three in the cargo area are broken.
He says "needs tires" and I think he is trying to show in the photo that the front right is running on the spare tire.
I predict that he has a damaged car from a scorned lover or enraged lender (bookie) that he car not afford to make payment on and can't afford to fix.
I think he he is hiding it from repo man in hopes that you will give him $1k and then pay off the additional (likely $8k) to the Buy here, pay here lot.
Edit: beaten by Nohome.
Having already burned his bridges with the title lender (and others, judging by the abundance of broken glass), he's hoping that some equally unscrupulous scum will take it off his hands and part it out, chop-shop fashion.
Sadly, I'm surprised it hasn't already sold.
I am sure that once it is sold he will claim it to be stolen to get the insurance money on top of the $1000 from the "buyer".
Geeeez. Stupidity knows no bounds. Having said that, there is probably someone stupid enough to buy it.
Is it too credulous to assume this all means the seller's vehicle (car?) was vandalized, not covered by insurance or covered with a unaffordable deductible, and too expensive for seller to fix while still paying the loan? As a result, they drove it from their outdoor parking (look at the leaves on the front) to a friend or relative who has covered parking, and put the thing on Craigslist to sell off?
This does assume the seller has less than a large deductible (typically $1000) and owes so little on the vehicle that the amount they can scrape together and the $1000 would clear the lien.
The solution seems like it would be to meet at the lienholder's office to complete the sale and obtain the title. If seller won't agree, run.
Am I too naïve?
Or the seller let the insurance lapse...
Mike wrote: Am I too naïve?
Yes you are or you are the seller!!! 
The fact that he mentions that he does not have the title and who is owed money, would lead me to believe that he knows full well what he is doing is illegal.
Mike wrote: Am I too naïve?
Not at all. You should be commended for your faith in human kindness and your lack of cynicism. If there were more people like you the world would be a better place.
Sincerely,
Your uncle, the Nigerian Prince
Add:
1 GPS tracker
1 not so smart criminal
1 chop shop
Results: Police Sting
Would that be considered a minivan in the $2016 challenge?
In reply to NGTD: But if you have a loan on a car, you don't have the title. There is nothing wrong with selling a car with a lien on the title. I've traded in to a dealer a car with a lien. I just checked, and private party usually involves going to the lien-holder's office with seller to obtain title. In some states, buyer would pay agreed-upon amount to lien-holder, up to amount of loan, and pay remainder, if any, to seller. Lien-holder then sends title directly to buyer. In other states, lien-holder would still send title to seller, which I could not abide.
This isn't to say I don't see problems with the ad. How does a one-owner, twelve-year-old car have a lien - did they get a title loan? I would want acceptable stories from the seller on these windows being knocked out, and the spare being mounted. I'd want to see other proof the person in front of me is the rightful owner of the vehicle.
bludroptop wrote:Mike wrote: Am I too naïve?Not at all. You should be commended for your faith in human kindness and your lack of cynicism. If there were more people like you the world would be a better place. Sincerely, Your uncle, the Nigerian Prince
$dayjob includes educational and technical work against emails from Nigerian relatives.
I've had a vehicle vandalized. I've painted myself into a corner on a car with a loan. I sorted it, learned from it, and my finances are far better today. If both had happened at the same time, I could see myself writing an ad that shares some core elements. Based on the stories I've seen here about making due with some hella dodgy vehicles, I suspect I'm not completely alone.
In reply to Mike:
The scenario you are describing would not be the sale of a car without a title. It would end as a satisfied lien with proper title transfer.
The difference is that this seller is trying to sell it without the title. Sorry, I don't share your naïveté.
The fact that he is claiming it as a 1 owner vehicle only muddies the water further. The title would proove that. No title, no proof. And how did he manage to buy the vehicle from a dealership new, and still have a lien on it 12 years later?
I'm pretty good at coming up with alternative scenarios. If there was any way I could contort this into a clean deal, it would already be mine. I can't.
The sadder part is that every single CL ad under $1000 in my local area is similar, or has a blown engine. It's pathetic.
Have you noticed this one in Open Classifieds? https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/open-classifieds/1981-lincoln-continental-mark-vi-for-sale-6500-71600-miles/110465/page1/
Im not saying it's stolen but notice the seller's current loan of $200 every two weeks at 19%!!
Also the oddity that the car and the seller read like they have moved and transported to California but listing says car is in Virginia??
I don't think it is canoey but just another example of poor ad and some poor previous purchase decisions.
I wish I had the Internet to help when I was fishing for repos. Some of these guys make it so easy.
In reply to SVreX:
The seller might have taken out a collateral/title loan on the car.
Ian F wrote: In reply to SVreX: The seller might have taken out a collateral/title loan on the car.
That's plausible, I took out a "car loan" on my 2007 rx8 two or three years after I paid it off in order to sell the last house (lost me arse on that one). It was waaaayyyy cheaper to do that than an unsecured loan, we got something like 2% interest on it.
I think I see what is going on here.
Seller has listed the title status as "missing" and has written in the description that a finance company has the title.
It sounds like some of us are interpreting this to mean the seller intends to sell the car as title missing, even though the car has a lien. Others are interpreting it as meaning the seller has marked the title status incorrectly, and is disclosing the lien in the description.
Scam. Flag it
Mike wrote: I think I see what is going on here. Seller has listed the title status as "missing" and has written in the description that a finance company has the title. It sounds like some of us are interpreting this to mean the seller intends to sell the car as title missing, even though the car has a lien. Others are interpreting it as meaning the seller has marked the title status incorrectly, and is disclosing the lien in the description.
Did you miss the part where he wrote in the body of the ad "DOES NOT HAVE A TITLE!"??
I don't see much reason for interpretation on this one.
I almost bought a 2zz donor for the MR2 spyder that ended up having a title loan on it. The guy said the title was lost and so the car was for parts .. then I noticed he had it posted elsewhere with a lien listed on the title. I was literally going to load up and get it when I found that ad. Texted him and yes - he said he had a title loan on it. I probably could have gotten away with it but that wouldn't have been something to live with for years to come. No thank you!!
Dodged that bullet. He said the title loan was something like $2000. Too much to make the donor worth it. (He was asking $975 with a bad clutch. Seemed like a possibly legit price.)
You'll need to log in to post.
