What happens if the buy here pay here lot goes out of business?

Your loan doesn't disappear — it gets sold. The debt is an asset, so when a lot closes, a bank, another dealer or a debt buyer typically purchases the loan portfolio and takes over collecting from you. You still owe the balance, on the same terms.

What you should get is written notice telling you who now holds the loan and where to send payments. Until that arrives, do not stop paying and do not assume the debt is gone. Missed payments during a handover still count as missed, and the new holder can repossess exactly as the old one could.

The real risk is the title. The closed lot held it, and if the paperwork isn't transferred cleanly you can end up having paid off a car you can't prove you own. That's the part worth acting on early.

So keep every receipt and payment record you have — during a transition those are the only evidence of what you've paid, and portfolios have been sold with incomplete records. If the new holder claims a different balance than yours, your receipts are the argument.

If nobody contacts you at all, don't treat silence as a gift. Put the payments aside rather than spending them, and check with the South Carolina DMV about the lien on your title. If you finish paying and can't get a clear title, the SC Department of Consumer Affairs handles exactly this.