Logistics of buying car from out of state private party?

[shadow191]

So I'm shopping for a gift for my wife; probably an E92 335. I've found a few I like, but they're all out of state. So for those of you who have done this before, I'm interested in your experiences. I also have a few questions about how the whole process might work.

- I originally was going to get it spring time 2013 for maybe our anniversary or her birthday. But since several I like have just come onto the market, I'm
thinking about pushing up the time table and giving it to her on Valentine's. I originally was going to buy cash with part of my work bonus, but those
don't get paid until March. So I probably need to finance the car for a little while, then pay off. If I do this, how would the transaction work? Do we meet at a bank to
close?
- If the seller is still financing the car, how would we transfer title? I assume they'd have to pay off their loan with proceeds from the sale. Can it be
done on the spot? Or does it take a few days. I'd like to fly out and drive back, so timing is critical.
- Do I need to get a temporary tag to drive it back? Here in GA, we don't really have much of an issue with it, but I'm not sure about other states.

I've only ever sold cars to out of state buyers, never purchased. And for my cars, I had the title so I just signed it over. I have no idea how to get one released from a bank. Thanks for any help.

 

[jimmij]

Just sold a car to a buyer where I owed on the car and he was financing thru Bank of America. The bank sent him paperwork for the loan and I had to give them copy of the title and loan information. After receiving the paperwork, the bank processed the loan sending the payment for the loan directly to the bank that I financed thru. I owed less than he paid so boa sent him a check for the difference. At this point, we settled like a cash sale and I signed over the title. It was a very easy process.

 

[Dracula]

what year is the e92 335i? you do know this model has so many problems?

 

[shadow191]

Thanks for the info; I'm actually probably going to use BoA since that's my primary bank and they're everywhere. How long before the sale did the bank send him the paperwork?

Just sold a car to a buyer where I owed on the car and he was financing thru Bank of America. The bank sent him paperwork for the loan and I had to give them copy of the title and loan information. After receiving the paperwork, the bank processed the loan sending the payment for the loan directly to the bank that I financed thru. I owed less than he paid so boa sent him a check for the difference. At this point, we settled like a cash sale and I signed over the title. It was a very easy process.

---------- Post Merged at 07:16 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:12 AM ----------

Not sure yet, anywhere from '07-09 depending. I am aware of the issues with the car, I've still always wanted one and all the ones I'm considering have extended warranties and low miles (and my father in law is a BMW/MB mechanic). I figure every car has it's problems. I'm not really impressed with the build quality of the FX either - rattles everywhere, delicate paint, terrible leather, dash recall, odo recall, couple of other recalls I forgot about, but overall I love the car.

what year is the e92 335i? you do know this model has so many problems?

 

[jimmij]

He applied online Sunday. Got a call to verify his application on Monday. Received commitment letter from the bank Tuesday. Overnight end the signed paperwork on Wednesday. Loan was completed on Friday. He picked up the car on Sunday. It was a very smooth process and boa was great every step of the way. He is still awaiting the lien release from my bank which takes about a week. With temp tags good for 30 days, he should not have an issue getting plates in time.

 

[mishanja]

I bought my FX out of state (live in Arkansas, bought it in West Palm, Florida). I found it on eBay, contacted the seller, and paid $500 deposit. Flew out to Florida three days later and picked the car. I had some savings (cash) and also got a loan from the bank (just a general loan, I think for like $10k), so that I could have a title on hand. I paid seller in Bank Check in the name of the seller, he gave me a keys, bill of sale and I drove it home. Got a title two weeks later. Was pretty easy. Not sure how all of this would work out if the car needed to be financed. Hope this helps

 

[shadow191]

Thanks for the help guys. Yet another question. If the seller has title in hand, does the transaction need to take place at a bank if I am financing? ie, is there any way to get the bank to issue a check beforehand. Since I'm trying to surprise my wife, I have to fly up there during the week under the pretenses of work travel. The seller may not be able to meet me until the evening and I'm unsure if we will be able to get to a bank before closing. All of this is new to me, I've never worked directly with a bank for an auto loan before. I thought about trying to take a 0% check from my credit card, buying the car, then paying it off in a couple of months, but the 3% transaction fee sort of makes that option less attractive.

 

[porkandbeans]

It's up the the bank supplying the loan on if they want to do that. You'll have better luck if you're better established with the bank and also with the banker. Decide who you want to get the loan from, establish confidence with them, and stick with that one banker. Tell the seller what you are doing so there are no surprises. Depending on the person, the amount, and the check, the seller may not want to release the vehicle until the check clears. This is where the bank you chose becomes important.
The credit card idea is good to keep things easy. But, I would never trust a credit card check until it clears - regardless of the bank named on it. Credit card checks and temporary checks and higher risk. Although, if you have a good relationship with the credit card, they can waive any and all fees if they want to.
You may want to be familiar with the vehicle registration and transfer laws of the state the vehicle is coming from. You don't want any surprises especially if timing is of the essence (and off business hours). The state releasing the title may require a notary to sign off on the transfer, or allow the seller to keep the license plates keeping you without any, may not provide a title for transfer, or some other hiccup.

I've bought a handful of vehicles from out of state and there is always the potential for some kind of issue popping up. Nothing that can't be solved, but may take a bit more time and effort on your part. Now, if you were bringing a new title into CA, that's a whole other mess to contend with.
Press on. It can be done easily enough. Just do your research and maintain honest confidence with the owner.

 

[shadow191]

As an update, I got the process going with Bank of America. It's much easier than I thought. Basically the seller just has to fax copies of the front and back of the title and give them some information like address, etc. With that, BoA will run a quick background check and if it all clears, send me a check made out to him. Then I get the car and title and register it then send the title to BoA. And I didn't know that auto financing rates were so low these days. It almost doesn't make sense to buy a car cash when loans are this cheap.

On to my next question. Anyone have experience driving a car home from out of state w/o tags? I've been told that as long as I have title, bill of sale, and proof of insurance, I'll be fine. NY issues interstate transit permits, but the timing of this won't allow me to get one as I'd have to show up in person at the DMV after the transaction. Here in GA, we don't have temporary tags for private party purchases, you just have to register your car w/in 7 days.