I have finally made the commitment to get rid of my financed car and quit hemorrhaging money every month. I regret my mistake very much, especially since I tracked my driving for a month and it would have cost me $78 to uber everywhere I drove, versus $308 monthly payment + $140 insurance. It's also not registered in my current state (about $700 to do so) and two of the tires are at 5/32nds and will need to be replaced soon (not terribly soon given my infrequent driving, but still another cost I don't want to pay for). The only good news is that my interest rate is 0.9%, so that's not piling on too heavily.
Unfortunately, because it's financed I don't have the title and I don't have the money to pay it off and get the title. According to Blue Book, I also owe more on it that it's worth.
It's a 2015 Toyota Corolla L (most basic model) that I owe $12,465 on. KBB values it at $11,176, and the Toyota nearest me offered $10,000 for it at my last service appointment a few days ago (though I assume they would tack on some garbage fees for made up reasons). When I checked Craigslist, same year/model cars with double the mileage were listed for around $13-14k, as were older cars (2007, 2009) at around the same mileage.
The only damage to the car is some moderate scratches on the front driver side fender. At my last service appointment, they noted that the two front tires are at 5/32nds and the air filter "may need attention." I've completed service appointments every 6 months, with records available, and it still has one free service appointment left in May. It was street kept in Southern California (drought = no rust) and has been garage kept for the past 6+ months on the East Coast.
My questions are: Is it possible to sell a financed car without title in hand? Google searches say it's possible if the buyer trusts you, but does that ever actually happen? Is it better to try to sell to a private buyer who will trust me versus taking the $10k from the dealer and finishing the payments on my own as fast as possible? And if I go the private sale route, what can I do to try to up the sale value (I'm thinking the Jeep Suicide article where the guy took photos of it in the woods — I don't think Corolla in the woods has the same appeal) with little to no tools/equipment/mechanical ability?
