Used Cars: obtaining a vehicle title, california mechanics lien, wells fargo financial

Question
I bought a 2003 broken car for a minimal amount, from a couple whom I know. They had moved cross country and said that they lost the title.  They filled out lost title and a sales slip for me. I spent a couple of months repairing the car including a transmission and various other repairs.  When I finally went to register the car I found that the couple lied about their last name the date and amount on the sales slip.  The kicker is that they defaulted on the loan for an unknown amount.  The lien holder is Wells Fargo Financial and they are not cooperating with me at all. I can't locate the couple that sold me the car. I am afraid to do a lien sale for fear that they might repo my only vehicle.  I am in Ca and not sure were else to go with this.

Answer

carguy Hi Dawna...

First of all let me say that what I'm telling you is not legal advice but rather what I would do in your situation. And believe me I have been in your situation before as a dealer myself. First of all the only way to shake Wells Fargo financial off of your title is to go through the lien  process in your state. The first thing I would do is to put "California mechanics lien service" into Google and see what you come up with. What people see our numerous companies who do all of the paperwork to file and then foreclose on a mechanics lien for you. The service will cost $100-$150 usually but it's worth the money because they do the paperwork correctly.

Secondly, do not think for a second Wells Fargo financial would think twice about repossessing their car from you and in fact I am surprised that they haven't. The smartest thing you can do while this plays itself out is to park the car in the garage  of a friend and leave it there for the 30 to 45 days this process takes. Think of yourself in the role and position of a mechanic who has invested his own time and money in the form of parts to fix the car for somebody and not get paid. Which is exactly what you've done. A mechanics lien  is a possessory lien , meaning that you must have possession of the vehicle in order for the lien to attach. If you are not in a position to park the car because you need wheels and can't afford to rent a car... then hopefully you have a friend you can trade cars with while this plays out... Wells Fargo financial acceptance Corporation is the secondary lender in the Wells Fargo family meaning they are no stranger to repossessing vehicles. They understand very clearly that as long as you have vehicle you have the ability to take it from them leaving them with nothing.

The lien service company is. going to ask you  how much you want lien the vehicle for. This number needs to is included every single out-of-pocket expense you had to improve the vehicle including your time, which you should calculate at at least $40-$50 per hour. Since you have taken on the role of the mechanic it's also okay to mark up the cost of the parts just like the repair shop would. Finally, in Oregon we are allowed to charge up to $45 per day for as many as 45 days for storage of the vehicle.... do not forget to include this expenses as well. Your goal here is to lien the vehicle for enough money that should Wells Fargo decide to protect their investment in pay off your lien to secure the vehicle that he won't get screwed because you didn't lien the car for enough money to fairly compensate yourself for your efforts and expenses. At the end of the period dictated by California law you will have an "auction" date that the lien service will give you.  Don't let the sound of it intimidate you .. I have never had anyone show up to bid on any of the vehicles I have liened. It's simply the ending date of this process... if the car is worth $5000 and Wells Fargo's security interest in the vehicle is $3000 and you have liened the car for another $3000 chances are there will pay you your $3000 and get the car. The worst thing that could happen is for you to lose possession of the car to the bank in which case you would lose everything. I hope this answers your question completely.

My private e-mail is  roadloans@Gmail.com if you have any follow-up questions feel free to ask them and going direct to this e-mail will get a much faster as I check it constantly throughout the day. Good luck.

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