Buying a used car for sale can be a very daunting task. Many of those who have bought cheap cars for sale believed that they knew what to do, only to find out later on that they missed something. Many easily observable characteristics of a car for sale dictate not only the current state of the vehicle but also its tendency for the used car for sale to have particularly mind-boggling, wallet-munching problems in the future.

1. What should I do if the used car I want to buy/sell still has a lien on it?
A lien is a form of security interest that is put on a piece of property as an assurance that
a particular debt will be paid. In the context of automobile sales, a lien refers to the car
itself, which is used as a security to ensure that the payment for the car loan will be
made in full. A lien will not be released until the car has been fully paid by its owner to
the bank who issued the loan. In this state, a car is said to be having a lien.
Ideally, you should buy only those used cars whose liens are fully paid and are free from
any other financial obligations. However, there are just those instances where it simply
cannot be helped. Thus, it is important to know what to do if such an issue should arise.
If You're About to Buy a Used Car
Ask the previous owner about the details of the lien. Typically, a used car seller is very
much willing to discuss the details of the lien that is associated with the car he's selling.
Discuss with the seller if he or she can settle all his or her debt before finally selling the
car to you.
However, there are cases where the used car seller does not wish to cooperate by
consciously refusing to mention the existence of such a financial obligation. While it is
true that he may have morally valid reasons for doing so, legally, this is just plain
wrong. You can check a used car's lien information by taking a look at the used car's
UVIP, where lien information is always included, if there's any.
The lien information should include the name and municipality of the debtor. The full
street address of the debtor will be stated if it happens to be a business establishment. It
will also include the name and address of the lending institution, the place where the
debt is registered and the amount of debt owed.
Note, however, that the UVIP is not totally accurate in listing down all liens because it is
often a few days late in publication. This means that newly incurred debts may not be
listed right away, so that they may be beyond the scope of your radar. Thus, it is a good
practice to request a brand new UVIP from the Ministry of Transportation should you
finally decide to purchase a used car, just to be on the safe side.
Now, suppose that a used car that you really want to buy actually has a lien. A lien may
be transferred to you, the buyer, by contacting the appropriate government office. For
Ontario, the right persons to call will be from the Ministry of Government Services after
that, you can speak with the buyer with regard how much you would pay him, taking
into account the extra costs that will be incurred because you would now have to

2. continue paying off his debt.
If You've Already Bought a Used Car
If you've bought a used car and you then discovered that it actually has a lien on it,
speak first with the car's seller to verify if the lien has already paid. If contacting the
seller is impossible, you can also contact the lending company and inquire about it. If
the debt is not yet repaid, you may not do anything about it under usual circumstances.
Hence, it is better to take things in stride when purchasing a used car, and avoid being
caught up by the spur of the moment.
For more information on Ontario used cars and wide selection of car accessories
please visit our Ontario car dealership.