Well considering my wait for my new gtrs loan/lien to clear I figured I'd make a thread about peoples experiences on buying a car with a lien on it .. Last time I waited a month for the shelbys titke to get mailed to me!
I've never purchased a car that had a lien on it personally, but have sold cars with liens on them. It really depends on the institution that has the title. The vehicles I've sold had all been through credit unions that had title on location. I gave them the pay-off, they handed me the title and I handed it over to the new owner.