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How do I sell a car with a loan balance?

How do I sell a car with a loan on it? I am behind paying for rent, and my landlord says if I don’t pay what I owe, I will be evicted. I need to sell my car to cover the cost of my rent, but I haven’t even paid off my car loan yet.

avatar
Phoebe Mah · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Oh, no—I’m sorry to hear you are having a difficult time right now! To sell a car with a loan balance, here is a step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Figure out the loan payoff amount. If you pay your bill online, you may be able to locate this information by logging in to your online account. Otherwise, you can simply contact your lender and ask.
Step 2: Research the value of your vehicle. You can use free resources like
Kelley Blue Book
or Edmunds.
Step 3:​​ Determine your equity. To calculate this, subtract the payoff amount from the estimated current value of your car. If this number is positive, you can sell the car, pay off the loan balance, and keep the remaining amount. If this number is negative, you will need to sell the car, pass the proceeds along to your lender, and pay the remaining balance of your loan out of pocket.
Step 4: Transfer the
title
to the buyer. You may want to provide a bill of sale, as well. This will finalize the sale of the vehicle!
If you’d rather keep your vehicle and find another way to cut back on car expenses, check out the
Jerry
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