If your car is financed....
 

Do you get the title or does the finance company keep it until it's paid off (US)?

yes, we can't find the title for the totalled car........we just stack paperwork and it's not where we thought it was....... so a date would help...... Beest thinks we had it from the get-go, I have a vague memory of getting it when we made the last payment.....

yes, we are that messy. Guess we might try to be less so in future.....

We do have a fireproof box for important docs. It's still in its box...

You may both be right. When you bought the vehicle you should have gotten a title with the lien holder listed. When it was paid off you may have gotten a corrected title with the lien holder removed; though, it's not always required to do so.

In Indiana you get the title to sign but it goes to the state to transfer and then to the lien holder.The BMV gives you a registration cert. When the car is paid off you get the title.

thanks, much appreciated.

Mine too, was originally sent to the bank and mailed to me when the loan was paid off.

My wife had to get a new title to her car recently (it's still sitting here on my desk), and the process was very easy.

Depends on the state. Most states have one title that the bank gets. You get it with a lien release letter once it is paid off. New york and maryland have dual titles. One goes to the bank, the other to the owner with the lien info printed on it.

I can look in my NADA book tomorrow and tell you what Michigan does.

Try dmv.org for info.

http://www.dmv.org/mi-michigan/repla...lost-title.php

thanks. off to have one last trawl through the bureau where it ought to be......

If you lost the title, you can get a replacement. In Florida, it costs $75 for an electronic copy, an additional couple dollars for a paper one. Takes a week or so.

Dang, thats highway robbery!

I think it cost me around $10 to get mine in Indiana. If I had wanted it in a hurry it would have cost me $25.

Jim's link says $15 for here.

Not in bureau :( neither is any of the financing paperwork, though, apart fromt eh statement about the final payment on the Windstar. weird. may be in a box in the basement.....

Call the bank just to double-check that they don't have it. We paid off a vehicle once and they completely forgot to send us the title until over a year later. We should have noticed if we were paying attention, but... :blush:

Hm, Ford Financing...

hi ho hi ho it's down to the basement i go :(

it's green, if that helps. and duplicates cost $15, but you'll need a lien release letter from the bank you financed it with so they don't send the duplicate to the bank again.

This is why I don't deal well with regular life stuff.

Why is everything so freaking complicated?

It's not even my situation and this all makes me go half into an anxiety attack.

they DO send the title to the owner in Michigan. So you probably got it a month or 3 after you bought the car.

Attachment 35918

here's what you're looking for:

Attachment 35915
Attachment 35916

800.727.7000

lol


i have that memorized.

grrrr....

As Jim stated, even if you have an original title (with lien holder) and have paid off the loan, you still need a lien release statement from the finance company in order to sell or junk your vehicles. That can create transaction delays not only if you've lost the lien release; but, even if you have it. The State issued title certificates often have some anti-tampering/counterfeiting devices while the bank issued lien releases are typically just letters that do not. The lien release statement provides convenient information; however, it is easily forged. Buyers may not proceed with a vehicle transfer until the info can be verified with your former finance company. While we're in this period of financial instability with lending institutions merging and collapsing, those records can get lost in the shuffle creating significant delays. That's why I sent my title (with lien holder) and lien release statement in to the State for a corrected title (without the lien holder listed) immediately after the loan was paid off even though it's not required that I ever do so. Now, just the title in my possession is all I need to show that my vehicle is free of encumbrance for immediate transfer of ownership. You may want to do the same with all of your vehicles.

In NJ a new title will cost you $60.

And they will only take an original lien release letter, or a fax directly to their number from the lender. It would probably pay to call the DMV agency you plan on going to before you call Ford Motor Credit and see what they require. If they will take a fax from Ford, that could save you a bit of time.

fun stuff!

Well the title cost $20 for an instant copy .....and the copy of the lien release from ford cost $17 and we have to wait for that to be mailed -even though we're pretty damn sure we didn't receive that because apparently is says "take this to your secretary of state and get a new title" and we would have done that because we're like that. We don't lose paperwork until it's acted upon and that was kind of an important step........

thanks all for your help, especially the wonderful jim :)