[asphaltgambler]

In order to legally take possession of the vehicle, the lien holder would have already gone through many hoops to repossess and then offer the car for sale. At that point that entity wants their money out of it quickly and cleanly.

It does not matter what the prior owner / borrower owes at that point. The lien holder sells the car for what they can quickly then they go after the last owner(s) for the difference of what the car sold for plus balance of loan, plus fees , plus anything else they can (state by state) recoup their losses for.

If the car is very high dollar or rare there will be more effort and time spent getting the highest offer.

But beware!!!!!!! Buying vehicles at the impound lot almost always precludes any type of test drive, testing other than sitting in it and starting it. There is no warranty and typically the lot adds their own fees for the final transaction that you cannot opt out of. This is what buyers need to be concerned with

So beware............