I saw this article this morning and thought it worth bringing to your attention. Our neighbor bought a car from CarMax that was stolen, and clearly didn’t have a clear title. Looks like CarMax sold one they bought at wholesale auction before they received the title from MA. Always ask to see the title be for buying and make sure that the owner is selling the car.
I think it depends on the state. I sure as ■■■■ wouldn’t buy one without a clear title.
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Don’t they have to present the car title when you go see “the finance guy”? It’s been a while for me, but it seems like I have to sign the back of the title during that process.
Totally agree on the need for a present and clear title. I’ll pass on the whole deal otherwise.
I would guess that legally it is like a contract for deed. They just have a contract that a title will be delivered at some point. Breach of contract if they don’t deliver. Pretty risky for the buyer. But there are issues such as a pay off of a bank balance and dmv processing that could cause legitimate delays.
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I have bought and sold many cars without a title. New York State did not start issuing titles until 1973. If you have a 1972 or older car you can still sell it in NY state without a title.
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Interesting article but since you can’t legally drive it away without registration and tags I find it hard to believe that anyone would be foolish enough to hand over the cash to a Dealer without them.
And before anyone jumps on this, of course when buying from a Private Seller, especially when buying a Haul Away / As Is / Barn Find it may be a little different but in these cases the buyers are typically more experienced than average and less likely to hand over the cash.
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States are different. In Minnesota the plates stay with the car until they expire. In Wisconsin, The plates stay with the person not the car. I bought a private party car in Wisconsin. He left the plates on but asked that I send the plates back to him when I registered the car in Minnesota and got new plates. Seemed a little strange to me but whatever you get used to I guess.
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It’s been so long since I bought a car from a dealer, but I’m not sure that a dealer would necessarily have the physical title on hand to show you. A private owner, of course would have it (assuming they own the vehicle and there is no finance debt). Regardless, the laws protect you if the dealer is unable to obtain clear title in a timely manner.
Depends on the state.
Due to privacy laws, the dealer cannot present the title showing the name/address of the previous owner. Vehicle titles are generally not transferred to dealer names prior to reselling the vehicles as that would delay the sale of the dealer’s inventory.
Also, some states offer electronic title service and dealers do not have printed titles.
I don’t believe this is unique to the state of Nevada, dealers here do not issue vehicle registration or license plates. Dealers offer a temporary permit, it is up to the buyer to apply for vehicle registration at a DMV in their state of residence. A buyer living in Arizona, California or Utah would have no use for Nevada license plates.
Last August when I bought my truck, they issued a drive out tag (“temp tag”) and a piece of paper as my bill of sale (bank has the title) so I can prove it was not stolen, this is done for every vehicle sold through any dealer, they call you when your “real” plate comes in, since I lived in another county, I had to take it to the DMV in my county and pay them for the registration and county taxes… The dealer does take care of ordering the new plates, and in the past I just ran out of county plates for the 1st year and then when renewal time came around, I get them in my county…
Tthe dealers we’ve bought from all handled the process for a doc fee which is capped at $150. Local Ford dealer only charges tax and title , no. Doc fee
We bought mom’s 2010 prius from a dealer that charged the registration fee for that city and gave us a $230.00 check for the difference when the plates arrived.
Classic car dealershp that i admire their transparency charges $50 doc fee in state and $100 for out of state. The only used car from out of state had the title in our hands before the car arrived from Hawaii by boat.
But New York State does require the seller to sign over the Registration and the buyer needs the signed registration to take legal ownership of the vehicle. NY then issues a “transferable registration” to the new owner. Without a signed registration, there are other ways to get ownership, but it’s not so straight forward…
A coworker from New York bought an old car years ago accompanied by only the registration slip. In the state of Nevada, the registration is not proof of ownership, a title is required.
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When I lived in MA, it was such a PITA, most places had runners that would go to the RMV to get plates and registration for you. Lines out the door and grumpy employees working at a snail’s pace. When I moved, I had a stack of plates to turn in. After an hour wait, a guy comes from in back asking if anyone just had plates to turn in. The guy immediately starts complaining about how many plates I had. It took all of 5 minutes to log them into the system and print out the forms to send to insurance. As far as a job that suited him, he chose poorly…
Except during Covid when you had to sit in your car and wait for a call, I have never had a problem. But we have contract private vendors. Handle all dmv tasks. Not sure how it works but well staffed, helpful, and friendly. A guy I worked with at the hvac plant runs it. They get a dollar off most transactions. I had to renew my drivers license and was out of there in about ten minutes including eye test.
In Minnesota, the owner keeps the title document, but if there is a lien, it is printed on the document. Once you get the lien release card, you can just attach it or for $10 get a clean title doc.
As has been mentioned, in New York State, they did not start issuing Titles until 1973. Any vehicle 1972 or older will not have, nor ever be issued a title. All vehicles 1972 and older are issued a “Transfer Registration” where all sales are documented on the back.
If by chance, you have a 1972 vehicle and you bought it new and still proudly own it and drive it, you would still only have a Transfer Registration and no title.
I do not know why they decided not to issue a title to vehicles older than 1973 since they accept the Transfer Registration as proof of ownership…
My so moved fron NY to WI and got new plates in WI. . NY pestered him for 5 years wanting his NY plates back before they gave up. He told them he had thrown them out but they persisted.
You can get a registration or title, depending on the year in NY for a car that has been abandoned on your property with out any paperwork in your possession. You need the vin number and have to sign an affidavit.
How long ago was that? My wife and I moved to NH from NY in the early 80’s and registered our cars here. Never heard a word from NY about the plates.
Maryland doesn’t have that problem. You can’t cancel your car insurance until the plates are returned. The insurance companies are all on board, of course. The state and insurers coordinate the work to make sure you can get insurance cancellation when you actually sold the car if you do it in a timely manner. That gets you retroactive savings.