Tips on Buying Cars: used car, lien holder, small fortune

Question
We purchased a vehicle with a lien holder the lien holder is a company the owner of the vehicle worked for.  We did not know this at the time just that there was no pink slip,,we took possession of the vehicle and the bill of sale read "as is condition paperwork and mechanical". What can we do now.  We paid under $500.

Answer
Gale,

Thanks for your question.  There is not much that you can do now.  You could take the person or seller to court, but it would cost a small fortune, and probaly not be worth it.  The fact that you paid so little for the vehicle does not help.  Now, with all of this said, understand that it is ILLEGAL to sale a vehicle with a lien on it without satisfying the lien.  What this means, is that if the loan that is on that vehicle was not paid in full thru the transaction of you purchasing the vehicle, then the seller committed a felony, so you do have that option.  You can call the police and they can work thru the scenario's for you.  Understand that before you call the police, you will have to have all of your documentation.  Also understand that there might not be a lien on the vehicle per say.  It may be that the lien holder never released the lien even though the lien was satisfied - this is very common.  Your best bet is to call the lien holder and find out if they still have a security interest in that vehicle.

Hope this helps.

Thanks - JB