What needs to be done to change car ownership from a car that has been impounded and hasn't been paid off yet?

Question

My friend's car was impounded by the police after he fled the country. He said I could keep the car. He was still making payments towards the car. He does not owe much. I was wondering what I need to do to finish paying the car and become the owner of the car. Do I need to go to the car dealer or the bank where she is paying off her car to change everything to my name? My friend is not planning on coming back and I don't know if I need to have him present to do the change of ownership. Please help out. Thank you....

Answer 1

There are several transactions that need to take place first.  The important thing for you is, DO NOTHING unless there is a valid and clean title...no leans.

At this particular hour, you need to wait until all the legal wrangling is over before you get involved.  The destiny of the car is probably an auction.  When it goes to auction, all of the 'snakes nest' of paperwork has been cleared.

Answer 2

If they have abandoned the car at impound, I doubt if it is still there. I also doubt if your buddy is still the owner. My guess is that the lender took it back.

Even if your buddy is still the owner, he can't just "change ownership". He doesn't own the car, the bank does. So, you would have to get your own loan (or pay cash), and "buy" the car from him.

At this point, though, I would give up on owning the vehicle. If he fled the country and left it to be impounded, it's probably already gone.

Answer 3

You need to stay out of that mess.  The other problem is how much will the impound fees be?