Appellate Practice Attorney serving New York, NY
You already owned the car, just subject to a lien, like owning a house subject to a mortgage. The lien may have been wiped out, and you may now own the car free of any encumbrances, depending on why title is showing the lien as satisfied and whose fault it is that the mistake was made. However, that doesn't mean that you don't still owe money. The lien just secures the underlying debt, it is not the debt itself. Wiping out the lien doesn't wipe out the underlying debt, it just means it will be a little more difficult for the creditor to collect on it if you default.
Answered on Jul 30th, 2014 at 9:41 AM