Buying a bike with a lean on it... | GTAMotorcycle.com

Buying a bike with a lean on it...

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Anenthan

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Hey guys,

So im buying a bike and the seller said the bike has a lean on the bike and he says that once he receives the payment from me he will pay the bank and then it would take about 15 days for the lean to be removed. Now I dont know how this process works.. any of you guys gone through this process when buying a bike or have suggestions on how I should go through with this? thanks
 
"lien"

You have no guarantee that he'll pay the loan back. He can take your money and split. And then the bank owns your bike.

He needs to pay it off before you pay him, and he needs to provide you with proof of payment from the bank. The alternative is that you both go to the bank together and you watch him pay the loan back. This would depend on the institution which gave him the loan in the first place I guess.
 
If there is a lien on the bike, he doesn't technically own it...so he can't sell it. If he doesn't pay that lien, it gets repossessed and you lose out.

Don't do it.
 
I've been through this many times, both as a seller and buyer.

The seller must pay off any liens on the bike, and it usually takes 2-3 days MAX for the payout to clear (not 15) for the loan holder (company he's financing the bike with) to release the lien. The seller then receives a letter indicating that the lien has been paid off. You can then request this letter from the seller, or wait until the info is updated in the Ministry's database. (I can't say how long this one takes, but from previous experience it takes about 5 business days or so)

Once you have a letter from his loan company that the lien has been paid off, it's pretty safe to pay the guy. (you can call the company to confirm if you like)
 
thowe said:
If there is a lien on the bike, he doesn't technically own it...so he can't sell it. If he doesn't pay that lien, it gets repossessed and you lose out.

Don't do it.
Click to expand...

Tons of bikes get sold with liens. This is common. It's up to the buyer to take precautions to ensure the lien is paid back by the previous owner. It's not all doom & gloom.
 
when i bought a car a few years back, there was also a lien on it. The buyer asked me to get 2 certified checks, one was to his financial company that held a lien on the bike, and the rest that was left over to his name .

It also shouldnt take 15 days. He can call up his bank and get proof that he paid and they can fax over something that it states there is no more lien on the bike.

I also recently bought a bike with a lien on it, from someone i know very well so i didnt worry about gettin scammed. When I got to the MTO office they didnt care if the lien was paid off or not.
 
I don't see why you can't buy the bike with the lien and deduct the amount of the lien from the amount you pay the seller, then payoff the lienholder.

OR

Make out one draft payable to the lienholder and another draft or cash for the balance paid to the seller.
 
promac said:
I don't see why you can't buy the bike with the lien and deduct the amount of the lien from the amount you pay the seller, then payoff the lienholder.
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^this

You have no guarantee the buyer will actually pay off the lien once you give him the money. If you buy the bike with the lien, you're actually saving him time and hassle, he should have no objection to this.
 
tribal250 said:
when i bought a car a few years back, there was also a lien on it. The buyer asked me to get 2 certified checks, one was to his financial company that held a lien on the bike, and the rest that was left over to his name.
Click to expand...

Okay this seems like a very practical way to do it, but just giving the guy money and hoping he is honest and pays the lien...then again, didn't have to tell you it had a lien I suppose.
 
I bought a bike with a Lien. Luckily the buyer, Tim, was a great guy.

He stated he would clear the lien before purchase. I believed him, and he did so.
 
self proclaimed great guy. JK

im with u on this one, not everyone is out to get u

micco said:
I bought a bike with a Lien. Luckily the buyer, Tim, was a great guy.

He stated he would clear the lien before purchase. I believed him, and he did so.
Click to expand...
 
Would it make sense to make out 2 bank drafts; The first for the amount of the lien and made out to the lien holder's name, and the other for the balance with seller's name.
 
I remember trading one of my vehicles in for a new one. Was I surprised to hear that I had a lien on my trade-in. Apparently, the bank forgot to discharge the lien once the loan was paid off. That was a bit of a PITA to sort out.
 
There aren't too many vehicles sold privately that don't have a lien on them. While it's always necessary to take a few precautions, it's not too difficult. As others have mentioned, pay the owner in two parts, one part jointly payable to the owner and the financial institution (you'll need to confirm the amount of the lien) with the balance payable to the owner. This all assumes the lien is for less than he/she is selling the bike for. If the lien is for more you'll need to obtain confirmation from the financial institution that they'll release the lien or find out what the plan is for the seller to get the lien released.

As far as the length of time it takes to remove the lien, it is only a matter of days if everyone does their job. It's pretty much done electronically today and really isn't an issue if you pay the lien holder directly.

Good luck.. and don't let this stop you from purchasing the bike if it's what you want.
 
RickT said:
There aren't too many vehicles sold privately that don't have a lien on them.
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None of the vehicles I've purchased have had liens on them. :D
But then again...I'm generally the last owner of the cars and trucks I buy, hahaha.
 
Maybe a bit pedantic, but I thought I should clear up a couple of the misconceptions.

Seller owes the bank some money.
The lien against the bike is the bank's guarantee (if he doesn't pay, they can legally take the bike).
The seller does own the bike.
If you buy the bike, you will own the bike, but the lien stays on it.
The seller will still owe the money to the bank, but you will now hold the 'guarantee', and if the seller doesn't pay the bank, the bank can take your bike, to settle the sellers debt.

So, the seller would take a risk in accepting the price minus the amount owed to the bank (you could chose not to pay the bank, and he would still owe the bank).
You would be taking a risk giving him the full amount, as your bike could get repo'd if he doesn't pay.

Unless this is a family member or close friend, it is in both of your interest to get the lien cleared up BEFORE the bike changes hands.
Going to pay the debt off together is a good middle ground if the seller absolutely cannot find any other way to pay off the lien without your cash from the purchase; but even then, have a signed agreement before you hand over any money.
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