Tips on Buying Cars: Maybe buying used truck with lien, lien, holder

Question
I thank you in advance for any insight you can give me on this topic.

I am likely buying a used 2002 Ford F150 tomorrow. I live in Evansville, IN 47715. Everything seems in order and legit. However, the owner does have a lien on it. I have made many used car purchases in my days, but never bought one that the owner still had a lien on. Usually I hand over the money and the seller hands me the title. How will this work if there is still a lien on the truck and are there any issues I need to be careful of? Obviously since the bank has the title he can't just hand it over to me. He can't pay off the lien until I pay for the truck though. Should I be worried about this?

Thanks again for your help.

Answer
Hi Matt

Buying privately there is no recourse, the seller may be a very honest person, but there are many vehicles sold where buyer never gets the title and driving a vehicle where seller never paid the lien.

You make your purchase payment to the lien holder in question, NOT THE SELLER.

Contact the DMV in your area for further instructions, here is a link on my website that will guide you to the nearest location     http://www.usedcartips.org/DMV.html  

Matt, to fully understand the risk factors buying privately take a few minutes to read this  link to ensure all the proper steps will be in order    http://www.usedcartips.org/privatevsdealer.html  

Good Luck

Ray