long read, but i'd appreciate any useful suggestions in this matter

As some of you might know I've been looking to buy a 97-01 shell to do a project for a friend of mine that really was impressed with the work done on my own 00 PY ITR that i sold recently and he asked me to look out for a shell for him so i could possibly replicate the work done to my own car and in the end sell it to him

received an offer on a shell from a H-T member, 00 PY shell from CT
everything looks good with and i'm really interested in picking up but there is one problem

there is a reported loan/lien on the car of the amount roughly around $4000usd
I've agreed with the current owner that the amount on the loan is what i would pay for this shell

i asked him to pay the loan/lien with his own money so that there is no outstanding fees on the car and then i would have my tow truck driver pick up the car and hand him over the full amount back, pick up the ownership and get a bill of sale but the owner tells me he doesn't have that kind of money laying around to pay it off all at once and it would be better if i wired the money over directly to pay off the lien/loan so that he doesn't get any off it and the car is paid off.. which didn't sound too bad until i thought about the idea that what happens if i pay of this guys loan and i never hear back from him again..

from what i know i won't be able to bring the car across the border until all the loan/liens are paid off, so what do you guys think i should do about this?

 

Definately don't send money and hope hes honest. You will have to go there yourself and pay it or have someone else pay it for you and pick it up. A bit of a pain, but worth it, knowing for sure its not a scam.

 

the way it ususally works, is you guys meet up, goto the guys bank that holds the loan on the car, and pay it off, get the title from the bank, sign the title over to you, make sure you make a bill of sale, and get it notarized,

that way you leave with the title, bill of sale, and the car, and he gets his car paid off

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 01-0720 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the way it ususally works, is you guys meet up, goto the guys bank that holds the loan on the car, and pay it off, get the title from the bank, sign the title over to you, make sure you make a bill of sale, and get it notarized,

that way you leave with the title, bill of sale, and the car, and he gets his car paid off</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree. You want to make sure everything is signed, sealed, delivered in person. Always leave a paper trail and water your back. You are leaving yourself open to liabilities in the future if you don't.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 01-0720 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">that way you leave with the title, bill of sale, and the car, and he gets his car paid off</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

also if the owners bank doesnt hold the title on site at the bank, make sure he calls ahead and has the title sent to the bank ahead of time so you can get it all done in one day

 

there is a reported loan/lien on the car of the amount roughly around $4000usd
I've agreed with the current owner that the amount on the loan is what i would pay for this shell

i bought my ITR the same way, the previous owner owed about $4k.
i met the owner at the bank, did all the paper work and walked out of the bank with all the paper work saying the car is mine.
if the bank doesnt physical have the title, you will have to wait for it, i had it sent the the bank...
then once i had the title i went to DMV and register the car under my name.