What is the process for quickly selling a car willed to me?
February 7, 2011 12:01 PM Subscribe
What is the process for quickly selling a car willed to me?
My mother recently passed after a long illness. I moved in with her to help with her affairs and to take care of her several years ago. She left me a (to me) relatively expensive sports car (it's paid for).
I'm not the sports car type, and I really can't afford the high cost of maintenance, premium fuel, and insurance. I'd like to sell it. But I don't understand the exact procedure in this situation once the title is in my name:
1. The registration is in her name. In fact, it was just renewed. Do I need to register the car in my name before selling it?
2. The insurance is in her name. She paid in full and it has another 4 months until it expires. Do I need to buy new insurance in my name immediately and before selling it? If so, what happens to the money she spent for the 6 month policy when she only used 2?
If I need to do both 1 and 2, in what order do they need to be done?
Sorry if these are dumb questions. I'm nervous about having to buy insurance before selling it. As a single man the insurance would be through the roof and would be difficult for me to afford.
My mother recently passed after a long illness. I moved in with her to help with her affairs and to take care of her several years ago. She left me a (to me) relatively expensive sports car (it's paid for).
I'm not the sports car type, and I really can't afford the high cost of maintenance, premium fuel, and insurance. I'd like to sell it. But I don't understand the exact procedure in this situation once the title is in my name:
1. The registration is in her name. In fact, it was just renewed. Do I need to register the car in my name before selling it?
2. The insurance is in her name. She paid in full and it has another 4 months until it expires. Do I need to buy new insurance in my name immediately and before selling it? If so, what happens to the money she spent for the 6 month policy when she only used 2?
If I need to do both 1 and 2, in what order do they need to be done?
Sorry if these are dumb questions. I'm nervous about having to buy insurance before selling it. As a single man the insurance would be through the roof and would be difficult for me to afford.
First, I'm sorry for your loss.
With regards to selling the car, I believe that the title is the only thing that's important. At least in my state (VT), it's the only thing that is. A car does not have to be registered, insured, inspected or even running to be sold, but the seller needs to be the holder of the title. Have the executor of her estate transfer the title to you, then you should be able to legally sell the car.
posted by brand-gnu at 12:04 PM on February 7, 2011
With regards to selling the car, I believe that the title is the only thing that's important. At least in my state (VT), it's the only thing that is. A car does not have to be registered, insured, inspected or even running to be sold, but the seller needs to be the holder of the title. Have the executor of her estate transfer the title to you, then you should be able to legally sell the car.
posted by brand-gnu at 12:04 PM on February 7, 2011
You can cancel the policy immediately and get a refund. That might not be a great idea. If the car has comprehensive coverage and it's damaged by the garage roof collapsing it would be covered. Cancel the policy after you sell the car, get the difference refunded. Sorry for your loss.
posted by fixedgear at 12:15 PM on February 7, 2011
posted by fixedgear at 12:15 PM on February 7, 2011
You also want to keep the insurance on it because potential buyers will want to test drive it.
posted by mareli at 12:23 PM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by mareli at 12:23 PM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sorry for your loss. Does the estate have an attorney/ executor ? That would be the bet place to start. When my mom's long time SO passed, it took quite a long time to clear all the hurdles due to his business, stocks, etc. It was almost a year before it got cleared up ( there may have been other issues I didn't know about). Was the car even part of the will ? If not, I would call the DMV and ask how to proceed. And nthing, keep the insurance.
posted by lobstah at 12:34 PM on February 7, 2011
posted by lobstah at 12:34 PM on February 7, 2011
I'm sorry for your loss. I have just been through this (w/o the long illness bit.)
I am in California where my Mom died intestate (no will.)
Take the copy of the title and the death certificate to my local AAA office after waiting 40days (not sure if the 40-day wait was necessary for the title transfer but it was for a lot of the other asset transfers.) AAA was great because they had all the forms and knew how to navigate the DMV bureaucracy. They filed the papers to get the title transferred into my name.
I did have to add the car to my insurance policy, but I only did that after her policy expired. I'm sure the specifics of auto-polices vary greatly by state, but call her insurance agent, they should be a good resource here.
At that point I called an locally based car broker that specializes in buying used cars (found a couple with a google search and went with the one that felt the best after an initial email and phone conversation.) Set up an appointment time and their buyer came-by and appraised the car then offered me nearly what I was hoping to get for the car in cash on the spot. Took it and canceled the insurance that evening.
I probably could have got a better price had I chose to list the car privately, but I just wanted the car gone and the mental and emotional drain it was causing me to be alleviated. The internet car broker was completely painless and worth the 10-20% discount in selling price to me.
I've just about finished dealing with all the "business" of my mothers passing, save for the final income tax filing. It took three months and a couple of years off my life, but if I'm getting through it. MeFi has been very helpful (so much so that I FINALLY joined so I could try and give back a little.)
Please memail me if you need any further advice or anything else. Loosing my mom has been more difficult that I could ever have imagined and I would be happy to help in anyway I am able.
posted by OctopusHat Jack at 12:45 PM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
I am in California where my Mom died intestate (no will.)
Take the copy of the title and the death certificate to my local AAA office after waiting 40days (not sure if the 40-day wait was necessary for the title transfer but it was for a lot of the other asset transfers.) AAA was great because they had all the forms and knew how to navigate the DMV bureaucracy. They filed the papers to get the title transferred into my name.
I did have to add the car to my insurance policy, but I only did that after her policy expired. I'm sure the specifics of auto-polices vary greatly by state, but call her insurance agent, they should be a good resource here.
At that point I called an locally based car broker that specializes in buying used cars (found a couple with a google search and went with the one that felt the best after an initial email and phone conversation.) Set up an appointment time and their buyer came-by and appraised the car then offered me nearly what I was hoping to get for the car in cash on the spot. Took it and canceled the insurance that evening.
I probably could have got a better price had I chose to list the car privately, but I just wanted the car gone and the mental and emotional drain it was causing me to be alleviated. The internet car broker was completely painless and worth the 10-20% discount in selling price to me.
I've just about finished dealing with all the "business" of my mothers passing, save for the final income tax filing. It took three months and a couple of years off my life, but if I'm getting through it. MeFi has been very helpful (so much so that I FINALLY joined so I could try and give back a little.)
Please memail me if you need any further advice or anything else. Loosing my mom has been more difficult that I could ever have imagined and I would be happy to help in anyway I am able.
posted by OctopusHat Jack at 12:45 PM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
First post and I muffed it all up...
that line should read: "What I did was take the copy..."
posted by OctopusHat Jack at 12:47 PM on February 7, 2011
that line should read: "What I did was take the copy..."
posted by OctopusHat Jack at 12:47 PM on February 7, 2011
Please let us know what state you're in, because that is going to make all the difference to the answer.
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:32 PM on February 7, 2011
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:32 PM on February 7, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Lucinda at 12:03 PM on February 7, 2011