Can a Car on Installment Loan Be Mortgaged to a Pawnshop?
2 Answers
A car on an installment loan can be pawned, but only its usage rights can be mortgaged, not ownership rights. Additional Information: Pawning: Pawning refers to the act where a pawner pledges their movable property or property rights as collateral to a pawnshop, or mortgages their real estate as collateral, pays a certain percentage of fees, obtains a loan, and within an agreed period, pays the loan interest, repays the loan, and redeems the collateral. Fully Paid or Cleared Loan Car: This refers to a car purchased by the original owner either with a one-time full payment or with a loan (which has been fully repaid). Later, if the owner needs money and mortgages the car to a financial institution but is unable to repay the debt and unwilling to cooperate with the transfer of ownership, the financial institution can legally sell the car to realize the transfer of debt rights. This situation is legal, and the car can be purchased.
I also bought my car through a loan, and later I thought about using it to get some emergency cash from a pawnshop. Turns out, it was impossible. While the car is still under a loan, the ownership isn’t actually in my hands—it’s held by the bank or the lending company. Only after fully repaying the car loan can I freely dispose of it. Pawnshops require verification of the ownership certificate and ensure there are no outstanding debts before accepting anything as collateral. If I had insisted, the pawnshop would likely have refused, and it might have caused trouble—for example, if the loan contract prohibits secondary mortgages, the bank could demand immediate repayment or even repossess the car. I even consulted a lawyer friend, who advised me to either find a way to pay off the car loan first or consider a small personal loan instead of recklessly trying a pawnshop—it’s too risky. If the car were to be lost, I’d still have to keep repaying the loan, leading to even greater losses. In short, handling a financed car requires caution—take it step by step.