Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

[SeaKaye12]

Hi,

I want to sell my Camry to a friend. It's worth about 5k. He wants to pay $1500 down and make payments over one year for the balance. I'm fine with doing that; I just want to put the deal in writing.

Can anyone give me a link to a source for a (free) loan document that covers all the bases? I want everything spelled out; including my right to re-posess the vehicle if he defaults on the payments.

Can anyone help?

Thanks, Chuck

 

[jimr]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

that sounds like the fastest way to ruin a friendship. I wouldn't hold the note for a friend or as far as that goes a family member.I have seen really good customers run up a bill at different shops and they always find an excuse to delay paying on it cause they were friends with the owner. I would sell the car to him but explain I am not a bank and cannot hold the note. just my 2 cents

 

[JB]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

What jimr said. It cost me $30Gs to learn that lesson.

 

[DJ]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

that sounds like the fastest way to ruin a friendship. I wouldn't hold the note for a friend or as far as that goes a family member.I have seen really good customers run up a bill at different shops and they always find an excuse to delay paying on it cause they were friends with the owner. I would sell the car to him but explain I am not a bank and cannot hold the note. just my 2 cents

Ditto. He can't afford it and he knows it. NO DEAL!

 

[Tyme2fish]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

If he can't get a loan from a bank he can't pay you. Keep the car and the friendship.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

If he can't get a loan from a bank he can't pay you. Keep the car and the friendship.

Smart words.

 

[rwise]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

I agree with the above, thats what banks are for! cash and carry!

 

[cbavier]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

I not only agree it's the Bank or no deal but here is another problem selling between family and friends. If the car breaks down or develops a problem the friend will blame you and you will lose a friend anyway. It's better to not sell anything to Friends or Family if you want to stay Friends.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

You have gotten good advise so far ... I tell people to never lend money to family or friends that you aren't prepared to give them. If that is the case, just sell the car to your friend for $1500 and keep the friendship. If you want the $5000 for it, then insist he get the loan somewhere else and pay the balance. If you were going to loan him the money interest free, then drop the cost a little to compensate for the no interest part and let him get the loan on the lower figure.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

Well, I've lent money to friends. On certain days and situations...I think thats kind of what its there for. I've only lent if for apparent tough situations tho'.....not for the benefit of somebody buying stuff. That said, I'm not frivolous in my friends or with my money. I've not had an unsuccessful experience yet in having my friends step up and make good on their debt. It usually revolves around clarity regarding the deal. If you tend to do the ol' arm punch, good ol' boy kind of deals, avoiding eye contact etc without being direct....you get what you give.
It doesn't sound like this is a lot of money but I do have a couple of questions: Is there a good reason your friend can not front the difference? Is he/she on hard times? If so, should they be buying a vehicle this much out of their range?
Regardless....good luck, use your head in making your decision and your deal. You may have to choose to let the money go, over the friendship, if it falls through.
BP

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

when you do deals like this you will find that every time he has to spend money for a repair he thinks he should deduct it from what he owes. If all he has is 1500 ,all he needs to buy is a 1500 buck car,short and simple

 

[ndemge]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

http://static.howstuffworks.com/pdf/samp-promissory.doc

 

[Coors]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

that's one way to see if he is a true friend.
Did that twice; one turned out to be a friend, one is no longer a friend.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

He should get a loan, or buy a $1500 car now.
If he really can pay for it, he will have the money saved up in a year so he can go buy a $5000 car.

You will need to file a lien on the car to recover it.
You will also need some way to make sure he has it cover with insurance, and that he doesn't cancel the policy in a month or two.

Good luck.

 

[SeaKaye12]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

OK folks...thanks for all the input! I can't remember any other topic here where there was such complete agreement from all the responders

Every situation is different of course; but I do agree with most of the comments and observations. This guy is young (26) and I would just like to help him out.

He's got a bunch of student loan debt which keeps the banks from wanting to get involved. He needs a car for the new job that he's got...and the various dealers around here that offer in-house financing don't seem to have much to offer. I think that answers Bigprarie's questions.

My car is in great shape, has low miles and since I'm the original owner, I know every last thing that's been done to it over the years.

The dealer's cars are beat, overpriced, and the financing deals are at very high interest rates.

I think that my friend deserves a better deal than that; but after reading through your comments, I think I will pull back on the owner-financing part of the deal and see what happens.

Thanks for all your replies.

Chuck

PS...Where can I get a copy of a dealer's version of their "in-house" sales contract? It would be good for us to go over their "fine print" ahead of time so he knows what to expect if he ends up going that route....?????

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

I doubt any dealer would stand by and let someone reveiw the legal details of a contract unless they are signing it.It might cost them a sale and thats a no no.If a dealer wont give you a straight forward price he sure wont let you see any contract.......

 

[arboldt]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

You want to help out a friend, but he can rally only afford a $1,500 car. Your vehicle is worth much more than that.

I'd think the best way for you to help him is to help him find another vehicle for sale by a private owner in his proce range.

A dealer will buy cars at auction or trade-in, then invest time and materials to clean it up and maybe evaluate it mechanically. Most of that will be in cosmetic things so the car will appeal to a prospective buyer -- things like spot-painting dings and scratches, supercleaning the interior, etc. All this expense helps it sell but nothing toward helping it run better. In fairness, he may spend some on engine, drive train, etc. but that investment really won't add to the price he can charge.

Surf to kbb.com or edmonds, and compare the differences between trade-in, private sale, and retail sale prices for the same vehicle, and you'll see what I mean.

So if the cosmetic appearance is not that critical -- and in his price range is can't be -- then look for a solid vehicle for sale by a private owner. That's going to take a lot of people watching for 'For Sale' signs and a few ads in the local paper, Craig's List, etc. You're going to need to sift through a lot of questionable vehicles to find a gem for him. 1 1/2 years ago we sold a great-running car for $1,400. My wife loved that car, it was economical, ran great. Unfortunately, we had to get something a little bigger to tow our small boat, so it just didn't fit our needs any more. There are others in that situation, too.

Help this guy out by helping him find a good car he can afford.

 

[newbie4life]

Re: Auto Sale: Private Party Loan Document>Where?

Well, there's always one.

I guess I'm that one.

I purchased my first home from my Grandma and Grandpa. See, he had bought this house right next to him, was going to fix it up, but was doing a 'shoddy' job at it. He just wanted out of it.

We were looking at coming back into the area, and we had just had our second child. No health insurance, no money, and what made matters worse, is our second child developed a blocked tear duct, and needed eye surgery..... 6 times.

My Grandma and Grandpa sold us that house at 7% interest, and we fixed it up (it's what I do for a living) and made our payments to them religiously. Being that the house was next door to them, we became almost inseperable. Usually, where one of us was, there was the other. I helped them with anything I could, tilled his garden, always cleaned the snow out of their driveway, etc. When Grandpa had a heart attack, she called me, and I drove him to the hospital. My kids ended up knowing their Great-Grandma and Grandpa better than most know their Grandpa or Grandma. When I think back, I think my kids benefitted more than we did.

Then, we sold the house, made money on it, and moved out.... That was a horrilble weekend. They didnt' want us to leave, we felt crappy about leaving them.

Grandpa has sinced passed away, but I'll never forget the way he went from my Grandpa, to my best friend. He taught me so much.

Back to the original point -- Not always will you run into a bad situation. Sometimes, it will actually make for a better friendship. To this day, if my Grandma needs something, I'll be there within a half hour.

Thanks to them helping me get on my feet, I now own a new house, a garage most would dream of having, and new car and truck.... all because of a $14k land contract.