Anyone buy a used car from a title loan place?

[Rural]

Any advice on how it works (or worked in your case)? I assume everything they sell is repossessed. Do they even have titles in hand?


It might be evil to buy a car from a predatory lender; I'll need to think that through as well, but I also wanted to see if anyone know anything about the logistics. The prices are unbelievably low (as, I'm sure, is the quality of the vehicles).

[terran]

One other thing to keep in mind is that maintenance may not have been top notch. Chances are if you can't pay the loan you aren't paying for maintenance either. Kind of like buying a foreclosed house. Not to say it's not a good idea, just something to be mindful of. These things are probably discounted because the lender just wants to move them fast (good for you) but also because they may have some issues (might be bad for you if you're not lucky/careful).

[marielle]

I'm not sure how a title loan place works any different from another used car dealership, but personally I'd want to buy from a private party (maybe even the original owner) because they would have some details of what work has been done on the car. Not everyone is honest of course, but some people would have maintenance records. A used car dealership would have absolutely no idea what the history of the car is other than what you can find online through a carfax.

[Rural]

I guess I should explain since title loans may not be common everywhere - a title loan is like going to a pawn shop and pawning a possession, though (while you make the payments), you pawn only the title and can keep driving the car. Once you fall behind, they repossess the car.


This is definitely a recipe to get a real clunker; I know that. But we both know vehicles very well and can find one either mechanically sound or requiring cheap repairs. What I don't know are the legalities and logistics and was wondering if anyone had insights. I'm looking for a fuel efficient backup vehicle, not a daily driver, so a clunker is on the menu, and these places are listing many vehicles under $1,000.

[Syonyk]

Can you fix a lot of stuff on cheap cars yourself?

Then you can probably get an awesome deal.

But I can guarantee anyone who gets their car repoed by a title loan place is not taking care of it at all.  Like, I'd be surprised if half the engines were even to the bottom mark on the dipstick.

[Rural]

Oh, yes, he and I both can fix anything, but I think probably won't do anything like a full transmission rebuild anymore - getting too old. So it's not the car I'm worried about - I can and will pick an ugly but sound one if there is one there, and can and will walk away if not. But I was wondering if there will be title or other issues with the vehicles. I figure I should avoid parking such a vehicle at the local Wal-mart for a while as the previous owner surely still has a key, for example.