This is very risky because he can just take your check and not pay for the car loan then disappear. He let you drive the car in the meantime which you are not the legal owner and, without the real owner(bank's) permission, you cannot legally drive the car and be covered under an insurance policy. He said the bank will have a record of your cleared check which does not mean much. If he pays off the car loan and not transfer the title over you will need to sue him to recover your money which will cost you a lot of money, time and headache. Perhaps you can contact the bank who owns the car directly and tell them you want to buy the car and see what they can do for you.