So I'm trading in my mini... Sad... It's too small and i got a great deal on a Subaru forester limited.

I did my financing through mini select, and I currently owe about 14000. The dealership is taking the trade and is paying off the loan... My question is-

Does MINI have my title? I can't seem to find it, despite having all the original documentation all bundled up nicely. Since they are the lien holder, I'm guessing they still have it.

I could just call them tomorrow, but it's eating me up and I figured that someone here would know the answer!


Im in NY, btw.

 

Who ever loaned you the money has *their title. If you had payed off the car you would then own it and the title would be transferred to you.

 

Just curious, were you ahead on the deal? I owe almost exactly that amount on mine but the car is only worth $13500 now if I traded it in.....I feel stuck.

 

I'm still upside down as purchased mine only about 2 months ago... Obviously it always sucks to take a loss but if you have to you have too. I would highly recommend seeing if your finance company will allow you to sell the car privately as you will always get more for your car that way. Before you switch cars figure out your future plans because sometimes it makes more sense to lease. And naturally make sure you get a low apr.

 

I was NOT ahead on the deal... I rolled almost 5000 of negative equity into the mini from a crappy Mazda with a dead transmission. Fortunately, the dealer was desperately trying to move this used forester and knocked 4 grand off and offered 11500 for the trade... So I got the deal I was looking for. I'm no longer upside down because I paid a few grand under bb value for the new one.

 

Different states do the title thing differently, in Kansas the owner has the title from day one, with the lien holder shown on the front, once the loan is paid off the lender sends a lien release.

In other states the lender holds the title till the loan is paid, then sends it along to the registered owner. Check with your state's DMV to see how they handle it.