Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - members

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:33 pm

To make a long story short, the timing belt on my car broke and ruin the engine on my Kia Sportage. I have a personal loan againist my car with Citifinanical. Right now I am trying to find a way to get the lein off my car so I can sell it to my uncle. But I need a clear title. I called Citifinancial and they said the only way to get rid of the lein is either secure it with another vechile (which I do not have otherwise I would) or pay in full. But I was wondering if there is another way that they are not mention or if anyone else has been in this situation. I am in the state of Wisconsin and the lein is for around $9500 roughly ( I do not know the exact total).

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:38 pm

I understand where you are coming from as I had a 1995 Monte Carlo that had the same thing happen. I was fortunate enough though to purchase another car and switch out titles with my credit union and sole the Monte Carlo as a total loss. Sad

Would your uncle be willing to help you pay off your car or sign over a vehicle for you to use as collatoral (sp?) for the loan? Sorry that is all I can think of right off hand.

Someone else will be along shortly to give you their advice hang in there. Embarassed

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:39 pm

joe-are you going to be selling the car to your Uncle for enough to pay off the lien? If so, can your uncle give you the money first, you go pay Citi, they release the lien then you formally transfer title to your Uncle?

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:46 pm

He is only giving me me $500 for it because he is going to have to tear apart the engine to make it start again.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:48 pm

I am thinking I am pretty much SOL because I cannot think of another way to get the lein off.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:50 pm

I'm sorry to say, they're not going to just hand over the title ... .

Lenders usually require their customers to keep comprehensive insurance on the vehicle. As big as Citi is, surely I would think they kept on top of your insurance ??? Or maybe not ... do you have insurance? My first answer would be to file an insurance claim.

Now, these numbers don't seem right to me. Most finance companies loan to value, give or take. They must have thought your car was worth at least $8000 if they gave you that much money. So even with a bad engine, it still should be worth about $4K. Is the car that old that it's only worth $500?

For that much, you may as well give the car to Citi and let them sell it. It'll be easier for them, since they have the title. If you drop it off and sign forms, then it will be classfied as a voluntary surrender and not a repo (still bad on your credit report though).

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 6:08 pm

I actually have the title for my car. It just says that I have a loan againist my car. I called my insurance and said since it was the timing belt that broke and it was manitanice that they could not cover it.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 8:24 pm

We just got rid of citi financial auto, by getting a loan through our credit union to pay them off. But at the time of buying the truck we had to get an extended warrenty for the truck. Because citi didn't want us to have to worry about getting the truck fixed AND still try to make the payments. Thank god because we did have one problem so far and it only cost us $100 to fix, but it cost the insurance company $2,000.

Did you have an extended warrenty? If so check and see if they cover that kind of damage.

But what they told you was right. There is no other way of getting the title back besides by paying it off. Heck I paid mine off the begining of the month and I still haven't gotten the lien release yet.

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 8:44 pm

I did not get the extended warrenty of my vechile. I still looking around to see what my options are about paying this off.

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:23 am

I forgot that in Wisconsin they do let you keep the title in your possession. But with the lien there, you can't do anything, and Citi is not going to release their lien very easily.

It's possible -- if you call and talk to a supervisor/manager. Explain the car is beyond repair, show them repair estimates. If they realize the car is worthless, then they might just give up the lien -- provided, they will want the buyer to pay them directly (you won't get any money out of it, it will just decrease your loan balance).

I still say keep on this insurance issue. I swear that a comprehensive policy will cover large repairs like that. Find your policies, read them word for word, and see exactly what is covered. We even have insurance forums on these boards. Maybe you could post the question over there and someone with better knowledge can answer about filing an insurance claim.

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:35 pm

The thing is I already bought a new car and cancelled my insurance on it.

Car man · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 10:05 pm

The only way that a bank will release the lien on a vehicle is if the loan is paid off, or if they are given equal or better collateral for the loan. If they release the lien, they have no leverage at all to collect. They would rather repo the vehicle that let you sell it for $500 and take have a $8500 unsecured debt with them.

Put insurance back on the car today! Your loan agreement will allow them to purchase and charge you for insurance if you do not provide it, and the cost is going to be MUCH higher than you would pay.

Your only hope is to find some way to pay off the car. You do not say what year the car is, so I can not tell you what it is worth, but if it is a fairly late model, it is worth more than $500 even with a bad motor!

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 9:12 pm

I live in PA. and have a vehicle financed through Citi, as well. I have a 'pink slip'...Citi has the ORIGINAL title, until the loan is paid off. I was reading the other posts, on this thread. Someone said something about having a loan, at Citi, for their vehicle. Do you mean you have your car financed through Citi, with the car as collatral..OR...do you have a PERSONAL loan, USING your car as 'collateral' for that loan? I would say, if your Uncle can't pay the loan off ( or someone can't help you do that..) then you can transfer the title, because Citi would continue to have it.

Debt and Credit Management	Other financial topics
Debt Consolidation, Management and Settlement Dealing with Creditors and Collection Agencies Get-out-of payday loan help Creditors and collection agency address book Credit Repair, credit score and credit reports Financial education through videos	Additional income, investment, shopping & budgeting Banking including help on chexsystems Identity theft - scams, security and training Getting a Loan and choosing a good lender Dealing with Student Loans US Tax system and impact on debt
Community success stories	Miscellaneous - Hangout forums
Winning stories with debtcc community Stories: How I accumulated debts	Expert articles - Community knowledge bank Debtcc Complaint center Pub, feedback and announcements Funny Videos - Hey you worked a lot, now laugh and relax

*Name:
*Email:
*Phone:
*Zip:
Debt

	* denotes required field

Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - members

lein on car with Citifinanical

Members Area

Free Debt Counseling

Ask the community

Question of the week

Useful Links

Highlighted Topics

Recent Blog Post