Can you sell your car without a title or proper documentation?
Selling your car is not a tedious process if you have proper documentation in hand. Most of the rental companies sell their renting cars within 3 years. But the selling can be a hassling process if you don’t have a proper title or documentation. The title gives you the authority of being an owner and having the legal right to shift ownership of your car to another person.
For car rental companies, selling and buying a car is a very familiar and frequent process. So for your question about whether you can sell your car without a title or proper documentation, we have an answer to this. Stay till the end for complete information.
Is it illegal or legal to sell a car without a proper title?
No, it is not considered illegal because the title is just proof of ownership of your car. There are reasons for which a title is necessary to purchase and sell it to another buyer.
However, some cars do not possess any title due to several not-so-important reasons. But with or without titles, car owners have to sell them when they need them. Thus, there are several ways through which you can sell your car without a title be it special processes, loopholes, or with a straightforward bill of sale.
Before you move ahead to read the actual steps of selling your car without a title or proper documentation, check your state and its legalities. Because in some states, it is illegal to sell a car without title in any of the below-mentioned ways. So let’s get started.
3 ways to sell your car without a title or proper documentation
Follow these 3 steps to sell your car safely and hassle-free:
- Replace the title of your car
Every state has a safe and legal provision for the replacement of the vehicle’s title even for the vehicles with no title. Below are some basic steps to get the replacement of the title done, although the steps vary from state to state:
- In case you don’t have the vehicle’s title or you never titled it, then first provide the proof of ownership. To do so, you will need an original bill of sale, certificate of inspection, a receipt, or other documents that your state can accept as proof of ownership.
- You will need the same documents, whenever you wish to apply for a new car title. You will be asked to fill an affidavit that attests that you are the legal owner of the car.
- Don’t worry you don’t have to physically visit any place for requesting the title replacement. Just head to your state’s DMV website and then visit the title replacement page. Explore this website or DMV info page carefully to know your state procedures for the same, as each state has specific processes.
- There you will find the duplicate title request form. Fill it completely.
- Still, if you wish to complete this process physically, you can visit the DMV office. Otherwise, you can mail this printed form to the DMV or proceed online as mentioned above.
- Once the request is sent, you will be asked to visit the DMV office with a valid ID and proof of vehicle ownership to finish the process. You will also be charged a nominal duplicate title fee between $10 and $80.
- The DMV will create a bill of sale to facilitate the sale of the vehicle. Then finish the “transfer” section on the back of the title paperwork. This will transfer the title ownership to the buyer.
Your buyer might request a temporary permit to control the new vehicle while waiting for the duplicate title as per your state of residence. Thus, the buyer can conquer the ownership of the vehicle and control it even before the title is allotted.
You might be asked some extra fee for “express services” to get your title printed as soon as possible. If not, wait for the 1-2 weeks after the submission of the replacement form.
2. Selling your car with a lien
In place of getting the replacement of the title, you can also give the hold on your car to someone else. This step is most popular among those who don’t own a car but have bought it on a car loan. In such a situation, the lienholder or lender is the owner of the car. Thus, while selling your car, you have to sell it without the title.
So this way of selling your car without a title or proper documentation has different processes:
You can go for selling through a car dealership and leave the rest on car dealers. They will make arrangements for you to settle the loan completely which shifts the title to your name. Then they are free to sell it to the buyer. You might earn some profit or utilize the proceeds to fund to get the hold of a new car through a trade-in process.
In spite of that, remember that selling your car through the car dealership results in an overall loss of money. It is because most trade-in deals can not match the level of a car’s fair market value when compared to selling it to another private party.
However, you can sell your car at a lender’s office. When you find a willing buyer, you and they can meet at the lender’s physical place. While you are presenting to the buyer of your vehicle, they will send money to get rid of the loan. You can then directly sell it to the buyer easily after the title is assigned under your name.
The buyer can shift the funds using a cashier’s check or wire transfer to the buyer. This will offer more assurance to the buyer and fulfills the terms of the lien since the funds are directly transferred to the lender. Thus, the seller can never misuse the money as they cant get their hands on this money.
Remember that this way of selling your car without a title or proper documentation works only if the lienholder has the title under their name.
3. Selling a spare car
Some spare cars can be sold without a title. Most of the states do not assign a title to cars above 15 to 25 years old. However, they have standardized bills of sale. These can be filled and buyers can utilize them to register the ownership of the car.
During this, the seller and the buyer must fill a legitimate bill of sale form as per their state’s DMV office.
What if the buyer does not belong to your state?
Selling can be a hassling work if the buyer belongs to another state and needs a title as per their state’s laws. You will be asked for extra documents, a bill of sale, and a separate notice of sale sometimes when you don’t possess a vehicle’s title and your stare considers your spare vehicle. Contact your state’s DMV office if you have any queries regarding the guidelines.
Now you have the answer to your question
Yes, you can sell your car without a title or proper documentation but with different procedures specific to each state. Many times, you’ll wish to replace the title after a few weeks by completing the form at your state’s DMV office.
We did our best to clear all your doubts. In case you still have some, feel free to reach out to us .
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