Anyone had this happen?

[GFORCE]

Payed for car,got car two months now, No title! Just stories,Anyone know a good lawyer for this kind of thing?Maybe someone could send me info in my private messages,Thanks.

 

[jaxgt]

I think you will need a lawyer in the state of vehicle purchase. There are actually some attorneys who specialize in vehicle law, I unfortunately, do not know of any. John Draneas (based out of Oregon, I believe), who writes for Sports Car Market Magazine, has written some nice articles on legal issues pertaining to the car hobby.

Last cars I bought, I had the seller either physically show me the title, or email me a scanned copy of it, to confirm it was in his possession, before sending money.

Good luck - sorry to hear about your troubles.

 

[BlackICE]

Sign of the times. Caveat emptor! :thumbsdow

I have read of title issues from people buying cars from new and used car dealers as well, where the dealers selling the cars didn't really have title to transfer!

I wish you luck in resolving your problem.

 

[shelbyelite]

Did the vehicle come from a dealer or individual??? NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER send money to an individual without HARD PROOF that they have the title free and clear. If it has a lien, pay the lien amount directly to the lien company and then you dont have to worry about the vehicles payoff being made by the owner. I have told many people this many times, but you REALLY have to be careful in this day and age buying anything from someone over the internet. Many people learn this the hard way. If you want, call me and we will go over what you know and maybe I can offer some advise. ph# 1-870-931-8004

 

[Nardo GT]

Sad, but my rule is DON'T trust anyone about anything until YOU feel comfortable doing so. Takes several hoops to jump through before I trust, and even then with one eye open.:frown

 

[TO AWSUM]

Agreed. I've been screwed by past friends and family, so why trust a total stranger?

 

[Kayvan]

Call DMV

 

[Spirit]

Exception To Nardo's Rule

Takes several hoops to jump through before I trust, and even then with one eye open.:frown

I 'm your ONE EYE OPEN exception to the rule.:biggrin

 

[Howard]

Yikes! Good thing I didn't see this before I bought mine (NJ). It took about 6 weeks after I took delivery of the car to receive the title from the exotic car store I purchased it from (also NJ). I suspect the car was on consignment and the seller had to go after the title. In retrospect, I should have never put myself in that position, but it all ended well.

Howard

 

[GFORCE]

I flew down to FLA.

Checked the car everything looked on the up+up dealer said the right things
I have a Retail Buyers Order,Saying how much i payed showing paid in full
DMV card of odometer reading A tep tag for the car witch is not valid in MA
so i cant drive or insure it in the eyes of the law i don't own it Ive got check
showing its payed for.Im going to call shelby he said he have a tip for dealing with this.

 

[dbk]

PM PeakCompletions.

 

[gtinmyblood]

I had this happen on a new car from a dealer once. It turned out that DMV lost the paper work. Dealer was accomodating and we got it worked out with DMV.

 

[GT38]

Before you spend $500/hr.

I would pen one last letter, delivered by registered mail to said seller for $2 postage.

Set a deadline of 10 business days for documented proof of Title or steps to secure Title.

note at bottom of letter:

Pending cc:

Letter to File
Attorney
State Authorities below

Next, after deadline refer said tranasaction as a "complaint" to State Attorney General, Dept. of Motor Vehicles, Dept. of Banking, Insurance, Financial Service Dept. Most States have a website, where you can cut paste summary, attach doc scans, and a case file will be created and reviewed at no charge. This is not a lawsuit.

Engaging in sale of "untitled" property or fraudulent conveyance breaks numerous trade laws, dealer franchise obligations, state dealer licenses, and banking laws (if liens are incurred).

Might seem harsh, but will surely get his attention.

Be careful what you say in such a letter. You cannot say something like, "If you don't do XXX (whatever it is you want to happen), then I will call the police (or file a complaint with the attorney general, etc)." As strange as this seems - and as right as you are in the dispute - this is extortion and YOU could find yourself in legal trouble.

I'm not a lawyer, but as P/R of my Mom's estate I was faced with recovering checks which were literally stolen from her mailbox (by other heirs, no less!). I was told in no uncertain terms by the estate's attorney that such a demand phrased like my example in the first paragraph could land me in more hot water than the relatives who stole the checks! As he explained it, extortion is threatening to do something to someone if they don't do whatever it is you want them to.

The analogy my attorney gave was that if I caught someone in my driveway stealing my car, just call the cops - don't threaten to call the cops if he doesn't leave. If you declared that you are calling the cops, that's OK - you just can't threaten to call the cops if he doesn't stop stealing your car. It doesn't matter that he's in the act of committing a crime, and that you have every right to call the cops - it's that you can't threaten to do it if he doesn't comply with your demand. Yes, I know this is sometimes an upside-down world we live in! Perhaps an attorney can weigh in on this - I know it was quite a shock to me when I learned this.

Realistically, would a crime victim ever be prosecuted for something like this? I would hope not, but stranger things have happened. In any case, it might make things more difficult if you have to sue the seller and he produces such an "extortion" letter and then tries to claim that he's the victim.

This is an example of why sometimes paying an attorney for advice is the best way to go (although you might not like what he says). Plus, sometimes the attorney can do things that you can't do - or in a manner that you can't.

Good luck - I hope you get this sorted out quickly and satisfactorily.

 

[roketman]

Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[shelbyelite]

Again, give me a call and I will do some research. Titles can take a long time to get on ocassions. If the selling dealer has prrof of why they are waiting, then all should be OK. If they cant provide proof, somethings probably not on the UP & UP

 

[Triheart7]

What he said(GT38)!

 

[Sinovac]

Be careful what you say in such a letter. You cannot say something like, "If you don't do XXX (whatever it is you want to happen), then I will call the police (or file a complaint with the attorney general, etc)." As strange as this seems - and as right as you are in the dispute - this is extortion and YOU could find yourself in legal trouble.

I'm not a lawyer, but as P/R of my Mom's estate I was faced with recovering checks which were literally stolen from her mailbox (by other heirs, no less!). I was told in no uncertain terms by the estate's attorney that such a demand phrased like the example above could land me in more hot water than the relatives who stole the checks! As he explained it, extortion is threatening to do something to someone if they don't do whatever it is you want them to.

The analogy my attorney gave was that if I caught someone in my driveway stealing my car, just call the cops - don't threaten to call the cops if he doesn't leave. If you declared that you are calling the cops, that's OK - you just can't threaten to call the cops if he doesn't stop stealing your car. It doesn't matter that he's in the act of committing a crime, and that you have every right to call the cops - it's that you can't threaten to do it if he doesn't comply with your demand. Yes, I know this is sometimes an upside-down world we live in! Perhaps an attorney can weigh in on this - I know it was quite a shock to me when I learned this.

Realistically, would a crime victim ever be prosecuted for something like this? I would hope not, but stranger things have happened. In any case, it might make things more difficult if you have to sue the seller and he produces such an "extortion" letter and then tries to claim that he's the victim.

This is an example of why sometimes paying an attorney for advice is the best way to go (although you might not like what he says). Plus, sometimes the attorney can do things that you can't do - or in a manner that you can't.

Good luck - I hope you get this sorted out quickly and satisfactorily.

In a nutshell, it's a no-no to threaten arrest or criminal prosecution to gain an advantage in a civil dispute.

 

[Nardo GT]

If the dealer will answer phone calls, had a legitimate place of business when you went to LA I would feel "somewhat" better. If he is not returning your calls or is very difficult to contact..... NOT good. You can *69 your call and block your caller ID, you can buy a calling card at WalMart and they sometimes have an out-of-state caller ID (mine was CO and I'm in TX), you can borrow a friend's cell phone with a different area code than yours, someone in LA could make a "local" call to him, or you can find a business ( restaurant etc) in the proxmity of his and ask about him. Call the current registered owner of the car. You CAN find this info out fairly easily....might take a buddy in law enforcement or the local DMV.....but it is relatively easy to get if you know someone. A CarFax might tell where the last sevice or registration was done. Call the local Ford dealers in that area and "presto".

 

[jaxgt]

Please keep us posted to the outcome. I wish you the best.