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How do I sell my car with a loan?

I want to trade in my vehicle for the extra cash, but I’m still paying off my loan. ​​How do I sell my car with a loan so I can (hopefully) get some profit?

avatar
Matthew Macgugan · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Extra cash is always nice! The first step is to request a payoff amount from your lender to see how much you still owe on your vehicle.
This is important because the loan must be fully paid for you to be the full owner of the vehicle. When you have a loan on a vehicle, the lender owns the title, meaning you cannot legally sell the car without consulting with them.
Before proceeding, make sure you know how much your vehicle is worth. Use
Kelley Blue Book
to determine how much you can get with either a private sale or dealer trade-in for your car. Private sales usually get you a little more money for your vehicle.
Once you know the balance of your loan and the value of your vehicle, subtract the loan amount from the value to reveal how much profit you could make from the sale. If you find that your loan amount is greater than the value of your vehicle, you are in an
upside-down loan
, meaning you will pay the lender the entire sale value of your vehicle plus the remaining loan balance.
If you are upside down on your car loan, consider refinancing your vehicle to help you get on top of your loan and save some money. Try using
Jerry
to compare rates with multiple lenders. No matter what your credit score is, Jerry makes refinancing your car easy by comparing quotes from multiple lenders to find a rate that works best for you. On average, car owners pay $85 less every month by refinancing their auto loan.
Good luck selling.
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