How to know if a car has been paid off?

Hello,
I am in San Jose CA. Could you tell me how to know if a car has been
paid off? I am looking for a Honda.
This car has a loan/lien in Carfax report. The seller told me that
since he has the title in hand and can transfer it to me that means
the car has been paid off and I do not need to worry about this.

However I see that in the title the seller's name is only "registered
owner" (no
information about lien owner in the title) and in the car's
registration there is lien owner (a bank).

The title has just been issued recently and the registration was
issued 5 months ago.

Could you please advice if I should worry about this?

Thanks

 

if there's no lien holder on the title, then there's no lien holder.
and lien holders don't release title documents, they keep them safe in
their own hands so people can't sell what they don't own. thus, if this
is a genuine title document, and they're in possession of it, they have
the unencumbered right to sell the vehicle to you.

in the future, don't waste money on useless and out of date carfax
reports - as you've just discovered, not only can they can be misleading
as to title, they can be misleading about condition. some vehicles can
be crashed and repaired, but have clean title and there be no carfax
report, despite there being serious inadequacies. other times, carfax
can red flag things like "salvage title" on vehicles that have no
faults, but have been de-registered, say for long term storage.

again, don't waste money on carfax. spend it on having the vehicle
professionally inspected by a qualified mechanic. at the end of the
day, your personal safety is what matters, not glorified [and expensive]
toilet paper.

 

Um, you can always call the county it's registered in. They should be
able to tell you if there's a lien on the car. The other option would
be to tell the seller to go with you when you change the title and
registration. If there's a lien, you will know in about 10 seconds.

BTW, he's committing fraud and perjury if he signs over a title
without informing you that there's a lien on it. DO NOT buy the car
at any place other than his home. You might test drive it somewhere
else, but you need to make sure it's really his and this is one way to
get a better feel.

I think California is like Texas and the registration doesn't change
until the owner changes.

BTW, are you sure you don't have the two backwards? The registration
should show the owner, who is the person who purchased the car. The
title should show the owner AND the lien holder. If the registation
shows anyone other than the seller, it's not his car. If it shows a
bank, it might be a lease. I once drove a company car that had the RO
as PH&H (Peterson, Heather and Howlle). The also carried the
insurance and there was a statement, notarized, that I was the
authorized operator.

If he won't go with you to transfer the title, drive off at a tad bit
over the speed limit. Say 75 mph in a school zone.

--

- dillon I am not invalid

Toby (Tri-Umph That's the Sweet Truth)
March 1998 - June 2010
What a dog. What a dog!