I want to list my car and sell it. If I find a buyer, what steps can I take to guarantee that I don’t get scammed with the payment? I have a loan on the car and it will take time to get the title after I pay it off. How do I handle this?

Jill, thanks for the email.  You are asking an excellent question - that has lots of pitfalls.  As you know, if you transfer title before you receive all the money - the ownership of the vehicle will have changed and you will be out the money.

The safest way is to sell your car to a dealer who will pay it off to get the title themselves - they will lay out the money to payoff the lienholder.

You can do the same thing with the buyer - have the buyer make the check payable to you and the lienholder.  This way - if the check is no good - they won't release the title.  If there is excess, the lienholder will return it to you; and if there's a shortfall, you can make up the difference.  Some buyers might be wary since they are paying off your loan before they have clean title.

So your third option is to pay off your loan yourself, receive a title back from your lender (with the lien release) and then transfer title to the buyer - taking a money order, cash, or certified check.

I hope this helps.  Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Regards,
Adam