When you buy a used car, one small detail can change the whole deal: a lien. If there is an active lien, the lender still has a legal claim to the vehicle. What this means is that the car is not fully yours yet, and the car can’t be transferred to the new owner until that lien is released. In most cases this means that the seller must pay off the debt owed to the lienholder first. Skipping the lien check prior to buying a used vehicle can mean potential ownership claim issues, which can result in loss of the vehicle as well as financial losses. You can avoid some of the uncertainty that comes with buying a used vehicle with undeclared liens. By conducting a lien check, you can avoid unnecessary headaches, legal battles, registration delays, extra paperwork and financial losses.
You can run a vehicle lien check easily online; it only takes a few short minutes. Using the CarValid VIN check, you can uncover the vehicle’s full history, including liens, loan amounts, sale history, lienholder information and much more...
What exactly is a lien?
A lien is a legal ownership claim placed on a property; the most common types of liens are lender/bank liens and mechanic liens. Anytime there is an unpaid debt incurred on a vehicle, such as an unpaid repair bill or vehicle financing through a bank or credit union, a lien may be placed on the vehicle. The lien will remain on the vehicle until such time as the debt is paid off. It protects the lenders and vehicle service shops in case the vehicle owner/borrower doesn’t pay the bill. In the case where the vehicle owner is in default of their legal obligation to repay the debt in a timely manner, the lender or service facility has the right to repossess the vehicle in order to recover the losses. When the loan is fully paid, the lender issues a lien release and the title becomes “clear.” In many states this is handled electronically through ELT (Electronic Lien & Title), and then a paper title is mailed to the owner after the lien is removed. It may take some time to get the updated title, as the process itself may take some time. This highly depends on the state and process used (paper vs. electronic); it can take around 2–6 weeks for the clear title to arrive.
