Help & Support
Vehicle Title Help | Leasing Help | What is a VIN? | Required Documents | More Helpful Pages
UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS A VEHICLE TITLE (Pink Slip)
In the United States, the certificate of title for a vehicle (also known as a car title or pink slip) is a legal form establishing a person or business as the legal owner of a vehicle. Vehicle titles in the U.S. are issued by the state DMV.
While not standardized from state to state, the certificate of title normally specifies:
Identifying information about the vehicle, normally at minimum its vehicle identification number, make, and year of manufacture.
The license plate number.
Technical information about the vehicle to define its taxation regime, e.g., its gross vehicle weight, motive power.
The name and address of the purchaser or "registered owner" who would normally possess and use it.
If money is owed on the vehicle, the name of the lienholder or "legal owner" to whom this money is owed.
Lien-free title: Position of a vehicle title does not establish legal ownership of the vehicle. Title must be in the name of seller and be free of any liens by a bank, person or company. When a vehicle is financed, the certificate of title is normally held by the lender who must release it to the purchaser once the balance is paid off. In some states, the transferred title is sent directly to that individual, but the name of the lender or lienholder appears on the title as well. In order to release the lien upon full payment, the lender sends a notarized release or other complementary document to the individual. Only then is the vehicle considered to have a lien-free title and is valid to sell or change ownership..
When a car is sold from one owner to another, the title must be transferred to the new owner. This is achieved by requesting approval by the state DMV.
In some states the title is referred to by a different characterization. For example, the name "pink slip" is a reference to California certificates of titles before 1988, when they were pink; current California titles have broad vertical stripes of teal, yellow, and pink with a green border; while Illinois titles are blue, pink, and blue with a purple border; and Pennsylvania titles are blue with a blue border.
LEASING: UNDERSTANDING YOUR OPTIONS (Termination, Early Exit, Maturity)
By design, leasing is one of the most complicated contractual obligations that a consumer will enter into in their lifetime. As you probably already know, getting out of a car lease is not as easy as getting in. Exiting a lease means backing out of an original agreement that provided for low payments over a fixed number of years. Those low payments are only possible if the lease is completed as agreed and the vehicle is in pre agreed-upon condition. There seems to be a common misconception that, to get out of a lease, one simply returns the car, pays some kind of small penalty fee and it's all over. Not true. This is not the way it works, unfortunately. The actual cost of early lease termination can be thousands of dollars, depending on how much of the lease remains and excess wear and tear.
So what do you do if your currently in a lease and would like out.
Break or Terminate your Lease?
(Pros & Cons) One thing you don't want to do is just return the car and refuse to pay. Your credit report will be negatively impacted, and the whole transaction will be listed as a repossession on your credit. In many cases, there are more attractive and viable options then returning the car and paying all of those extra fees, or taking a hit on your credit.
Swap your Lease?
(Pros & Cons) This option is to transfer your lease to a third party. This is called a lease assumption and another individual takes over your lease. They handle the remaining payments and return the vehicle at the end of the lease. However, there is a variety of paperwork involved, and everything needs to be handled correctly for the lease assumption to be valid. Your leasing company will need to be involved, and approve every step of the transaction. Usually a middleman or fourth party have to get involved to ensure the transaction is done properly. They will process the paperwork and guide you through the transfer process, but of course there are high fees involved for the service, and the process can take weeks or even months to complete.
Sell your Lease?
Selling your leased vehicle to vOffer.com is the best way to maximize value. Why? There are significant advantages for this method. It is fast (less than 24 hours) and relatively easy (no penalties, no transfer fees), and it does not affect your credit score. Best of all, you avoid any extra end-of-lease expenses.
Many consumers are anxious about leasing's 'Judgment Day' — when you return the vehicle to the dealer and have them inspect its condition for extra charges. Usually the charges are assessed because of excess wear and tear or additional miles on the odometer that is above the agreed-upon figure in the contract. These fears are not unfounded. As the leasing market tightens up, banks are looking for a way to make money from returned cars. They will be more critical about wear and tear and any deviations from the lease contract. What's the Bottom Line? If your cars condition is not above and beyond "average wear and tear" you will incur penalties.
By selling your leased vehicle you’ll avoid having to do the following:
Making sure you have serviced the vehicle at all required intervals.
Keeping up with all maintenance records.
Having the vehicle serviced just before you turn it in.
Fixing things such as windshield chips before returning it.
Spending money on any needed repairs yourself.
Incurring penalties for not staying within your mileage limit.
Repairing any dents at a local body shop rather than turning it in with the damage.
Sell you leased vehicle to voffer.com and prevent dings to your wallet as you say goodbye to your leased vehicle.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS A VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (vin)
The VIN, or Vehicle Identification Number, can be considered to be a vehicle’s birth certificate, with each component of the 17-digit encrypted alphanumeric sequence representing something significant about the vehicle’s origin. Info such as: where and when it was made, the manufacturer, model, assembly plant, and other important authentication information. Playing a key role in validating the authenticity of a vehicle – car, truck, van, SUV, motorcycle – the VIN provides critical information for investigative purposes and data that an astute buyer of a used vehicle can employ to trace its history, from the assembly line to the scrap yard.
Background -
Since 1981 every vehicle manufactured for use in the U.S. was given a unique
I.D. number, much like a fingerprint. The Vehicle Identification Number [VIN]
is usually found on the lower right corner of the dashboard, as seen through
the front windshield. In addition to this location, the VIN can also be easily
found on the driver side door post as part of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Certification Standard Label, also known as the EPA Label. VIN's may also appear
in other less obvious locations.
Although the exact locations of Vehicle Identification Numbers may vary between
different vehicles, the following locations are most frequently used:
Late Model Vehicles
Possible Locations For Additional Vehicle Identification Numbers
Although
U.S. auto manufacturers began the process of providing Vehicle
Identification Numbers, or chassis numbers, as they
were earlier called in the mid-1950's, done by
stamping or casting the identifying numbers on both vehicles and certain
parts, the identification process was left mostly to the
initiatives of manufacturers.
The program didn't become standardized and integrated into a viable
national system until the early 1980's, when the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration
[NHTSA], part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, ruled that all
vehicles used “on the road” must contain a standardized 17-character
Vehicle Identification Number. With this action, NHTSA set in motion the
VIN system that
is in use today by all major vehicle manufacturers for vehicles coming
off the assembly line.
As an investigative tool, the VIN opens a window to the history of any vehicle,
allowing an investigator or even a party purchasing a vehicle to learn a
great deal about the origin of the vehicle. Specific information about the vehicle is found when the specially encrypted 17-digit VIN is decoded. Such as its year and place of manufacture,
model, body
style, engine type, and much more.
UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE IN ORDER TO SELL YOU VEHICLE
In most cases the following documents are all that is required for us to complete the purchase of your vehicle. The type of documents required is based on the status of your vehicle lien. Contact our support team if you are having difficulty getting together any of the documents listed or would like clarification of the requirements.
Lien-Free Vehicles (paid-off) |
Vehicles with Lien Outstanding |
|||
|
|
|||
| If all owners of the vehicle cannot be present at the exact same time, let us know, we will try our best to accommodate everyone's schedule. In some cases, a Power of Attorney can be accepted, allowing someone else to sign on the absent titleholder's behalf. Contact our support team for details. | ||||
