Mechanic's Lien, Should I buy? Options

[thomasotten]

I have a lead on a car that I want only for the parts. It is a stripped down 911, but it does have a nice motor. I can get the car pretty cheap, but the only problem is that they say it has a mechanic's lein on the title. So what does that mean? In other words, what can I do with a car that has a mechanic's lien on it? Can I part it out?

[SLITS]

The lien has to be paid for before the car can be sold to you or the lien is paid out of the funds you pay for the vehicle....

or


You can get it cheap, because the price is the mechanic's lien (he held a lein sale and took possession of the car).

No problems..........

That said, I thought in Tejas that all it took was a 6 gun to take possession of anything.

[Brando]

If it's just a parts car to you, check the width of the fender-flares front and rear. They're worth something to me.

[Dave_Darling]

It's a lot easier to get a mechanic's lein on a car than a title. Remember the whole flap about (dare I say it?) "number four"? That car had two conflicting leins on it, and the posessor of one went after the posessor of the other for auto theft...

I'm not saying to not get it, and I'm not saying that sort of thing is common--but a lein is not a title, and there is some possibility for crappy stuff to happen!!

--DD

[jsteele22]

Do you know the amount of the mechanic's lien ? Do you know who the mechanic is ? I imagine for a 911, the amount might be a pretty substantial figure.

Basically, somebody put (possibly a lot of) parts and labor into the car, and the owner never paid. More than a few mechanics have had this happen to them, and man does it suck. Imagine if your boss said, "Hey, I decided not to pay you for the past 3 months..." Anyway, one option for someone with no scruples would be to buy the car for cash and a handshake, keep the engine, and sell off the parts. Mechanic is totally screwed. I would hope you don't go that route.

OTOH, the mechanic already knows he's more or less screwed, so would probably appreciate getting even a fraction of his cash and/or labor paid back. So depending on the numbers, you could contact him, and talk it over. As long as he signs off on the lien as being satisfied, it's all free and clear. The seller doesn't even need to know you've made that deal; I don't think it's at all unethical keeping this info from him/her.

[Verruckt]

An infamous former Porsche racer, turned shop owner, here in town had a nice 914 with a lien on it for some work they did. They kept telling me that they just wanted their money that they had into it. Several months went by, and then they finally got the title (the owner turned it over). Suddenly their price doubled...

I would be careful about that stuff. You never know what you're getting into with that.