My husband has a car for which we do not have a clean title. It's a 93 Capri that needs a LOT of work. Apparently, his loan was with Wells Fargo, but when he stopped paying the place he bought the car from paid off the remainder of the loan. The place that he bought the car from is listed on the title. They have moved locations and have, to my knowledge, made no attempts to repo the car or collect what they paid off on the loan. Wells Fargo appears on his Exp. credit reports with a Status of "Paid/Past Due" and with a Creditor's Statement: Paid by company who originally sold the merchandise". We are going to be buying a home next year and I'm not sure if a bank will make a loan with that on his report. I have tried disputing with Exp, but comes back "verified". I also tried a "nutcase" letter to Wells Fargo-they sent a letter back saying I had to dispute with Experian. I called Wells Fargo and they said we would have to pay $1500 to pay off the loan (I might even do that if they would take it off the report, but they said no chance of that.) Really, Wells Fargo has no real reason to take it off the report as they have already been paid. I am afraid to contact the place he bought it from, as I don't want to wake a sleeping dog. This derog is going to be on his report until 6/08. Not to mention the fact that I REALLY want this car out of my driveway! Any good advice as to how to get rid of the car and the derog? I've been working on cleaning up his credit for about a year, and this is one of the stubborn trade lines.
The lender may not want to repo it as it would cost more to go that route than to abandon the vehicle. Check in your state regarding laws for claiming abandoned property to get your title clear if you want to try and sell it. Otherwise tow it off somewhere, its not yours anymore so who cares.
If Wells Fargo was paid by the place your husband bought the car from, then why are THEY asking for $1500? The company that is listed on the title is the one you want to make nice with. I would call and ask to speak with the title department and ask for a Certificate of Title and/or Lien Record release. You should get a definitive answer as to what you need to do to get a clean title. With the clean title, the worst case scenario is you donate the car and take the charitible deduction on your taxes next year if you itemize. At least you'll have peace of mind knowing that this is behind you and the car isn't in your driveway anymore! I'm not an expert on the mortgage process, but I've read several times on this board that lenders require you clean up outstanding items before they'll approve the loan. Best to try and resolve it ASAP. Good luck! Lisa
Good News! Spoke to the company listed as the lien holder and they said that Wells Fargo was the real lien holder; Apparently, sometimes they don't change how it is listed on the title. I then spoke to Wells Fargo, who offered to settle for $500 and they put in writing that after they receive the payment they will not verify if I dispute with the CA. I think Wells Fargo is making out because I still believe they were already paid by the company that sold the car. (that is what it says on the credit report and two ladies at their office said the same thing - of course the man who negotiated with me denied it) I'm just glad to be able to get the car out of the driveway and off the Credit Report!
Re: Re: Car without clean title Hittin tax season Bigmon? To the original poster, I do not understand, why would the leinholder pay it off and then give the title to someone else. There is another way to get the title, you could apply for a bonded title but I guess in you're situation, a payment for 500 to remove is well worth it. Plus, if you just want the the car 'out of you're driveway', you can take it to a salvage yard, no need for title to salvage it.
Because it would cost them MUCH more to repo it than it is worth, the car is probably worth about 200-300 and it would cost them more than that just to file the paperwork.
I'm in Ohio. From what I was told, all cars in a salvage yard must have a clean title too, otherwise the salvage yard gets in trouble - but I won't swear that. The car does need work; hubby would like to get an estimate on fixing it, but I think unless you work on cars yourself, it wouldn't be worth having it fixed. Thanks everyone for the feedback.
If it is donated to a charity they can get a mechanic's lien/tow title for it and sell it for parts. If you are the one donating it you could concievably take a credit for the donation. All of this is assuming, as you said, the repairs are more than the value of the fixed car.
A lot of charities will come and tow it for free and you can take a tax deduction. Most salvage yards will want a title , but there are many that will look the other way. If you have the time you can call some autobody shops and offer it to them for free or a small fee and they will part it out.
Re: Re: Car without clean title OK, sorry, in MS you do not need a title to salvage, you could still apply for a bonded title.
