Buying used? Check for liens

[David_Kb7uns]

Check here

https://fortress.wa.gov/dol/ucc/Default.aspx

David Kb7uns

 

[greasemonkeyok]

To expand on the above post, for Washington you can search the seller's name online:

WA State Licensing: Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)

That may not be 100% safe, but it would be the minimum. For other states, try Googeling the state name and "UCC central filing." Consulting an attorney is a good idea because teh UCC is not uniform from state to state according to Wikipedia.

 

[johnrex62]

I guess the simplest way to keep from being stuck is to require a receipt or paid statement from the seller showing the item was paid off before turning over money.

I know I have my original purchase documents on my tractor and when it is paid off I will have the paperwork from Kubota showing a zero balance. If I ever decide to sell my tractor instead of being buried with it, I will have that to hand over at the sale.

 

[herefromthere]

Thanks everyone. Appears that the WA DOL site is a search by name only setup, so there are several ways things might not show up or an unscrupulous seller could get around that. Seems really bass-ackwards to have the collateral be the financed item (ie: tractor) yet the required search criteria is the owner's name. Talk about a system designed to fail. It would make much more sense to have the collateral be the thing registered and searchable, since that's the security interest regardless of who has posession. I have no issue with the financed item being the collateral and that surviving different owners, but if it is, then that's what should be registered and searchable! Ok, I'll step off the soapbox now.

If buying a used tractor, then I'll have to allow for the risk of missing something like that, I guess. However, I will try to get as much documentation as possible and search the DOL and check the serial # with the appropriate dealer/manufacturer's finacing arm. I like the idea of buying from an owner who has receipts, including the payoff documentation. One of the tractors I was considering still has a balance, so if I bought it, I'd have to have faith in the current owner to pay it off. Sucks that it has to be such a crap shoot.

Buying new avoids this issue, but yikes, the sticker shock dang near knocked me out!

 

[bp fick]

If buying a used tractor, then I'll have to allow for the risk of missing something like that, I guess. However, I will try to get as much documentation as possible and search the DOL and check the serial # with the appropriate dealer/manufacturer's finacing arm. I like the idea of buying from an owner who has receipts, including the payoff documentation. One of the tractors I was considering still has a balance, so if I bought it, I'd have to have faith in the current owner to pay it off. Sucks that it has to be such a crap shoot.

Buying new avoids this issue, but yikes, the sticker shock dang near knocked me out!

Does not have to be a crap shoot at all. No trust either, verify.
The money does NOT go to the seller. The bulk of the money gets wired directly to the lien holder, the tractor financing arm, most likely.

Trust has little to do with it. Just take care of business. Dealers take in tractors with liens everyday. Folks sell boats and cars with liens everyday. Just realize you are REALLY dealing with finance corporation more than you are the seller. The finance arm is the true owner. The seller only "owns" the equity balance and that's all the money he should ever see.

 

[hosspuller]

It's like if you buy stolen merchandise. You may not have known it was stolen but you are still SOL if the real owner finds it and wants it back. The fault is with the crook not the legitimate owner (JD). What if the tractor was stolen off a dealer's lot? Or from someone's machine shed? It's one of the perils of buying anything used.

This post sums the issue well. It is NOT Deere or any other manufacturer. The seller is a crook. He stole the machine from Deere. The OP is warning us about buying things not covered by a registered title

I thank the OP for the warning. I never thought about a lien before when buying equipement from individuals.

 

[qstott]

I saw an ad on the local Craigs List for a JD 4320. The guy lived aout 30 miles away. I went to look at it, and he was in the field using it at the time. I was interested, but it had a lot of hours. He told me he ordered it, just like he wanted, from the dealer brand new. At the time he was living in Florida and in the landscaping business.

I got the serial number from the tractor, and called my buddy at the local JD dealer to check on the warranty history and such. He told me the tractor was sold new in Georgia, not Florida, and the registered owner was not the guy I was talking to. All kinds of flags popped up. I just just see buying a tractor in NC, sold in Georgia to one guy, from a different guy that said he bought it in Florida.

My buddy gave me the name of the original owner. I googled his name, and found he was part owner in a landscape business. I called him up and said, "I'm looking at buying a tractor in NC, that a guy says he bought new, but you are registered as the owner. Are you missing a tractor?"

The fellow says, "No I'm not missing a tractor. The tractor belongs to him. His credidt was not as good as mine, and we were in a landscaping business as partners. I took out the loan in my name, even though he has paid all the payments on it."

So, the tractor was bought in Georgia, just across the state line from Florida, financed in one fellows name, but paid for by the guy that had moved back home in NC.

The deal was legit, but I was very nervous until I got the whole story. It turns out, I decided to hold out for a cab tractor anyway.