I think I've been ripped off... what can I do about it?

I recently bought a used car from a body shop that supposedly sells cars. I was looking for a specific kind of car and I had a very limited budget, so I didn't have many cars in town to choose from. I would always prefer to deal with a private seller but this body shop seemed to have the right car, at the right price. Their sign and business card says "WE SELL CARS" so I assumed they have a dealer license. Well the paper plate that came on the car has now expired and the DMV says they have no records of them filing for the title or registration. I tried to call the body shop but I'm not able to reach anyone. The only person I got on the phone claims to no longer work for the body shop. The shop is all the way across town and now I don't have a legal car to drive.

Do I have any recourse or am I completely screwed? All I have is a bill of sale and the car.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have no money to hire a lawyer and without a car I have no job or anything.

 

you are in a bind. You need to get to DMV office and see if you can file for a lost title. The law is pretty clear that the person with the title owns the car, regardless of who has possession of the vehicle itself. If the title is in someone else's name you probably do not own the car after all.

 

I would call the DMV headquarters in Austin & ask them what you should do - (512) 465-7611 - they're actually pretty helpful there, I've found... I had some questions about car titles awhile back, and while my local office didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about, the Austin folks did.

I would also report this to your local police & ask them if there's anything they can do to help you out. This is also going to help cover your butt if the car is/was stolen or anything nefarious is going on.

 

Send (PM) me the VIN and I'll pull a carfax to see if there's been any recent activity.

 

PM sent

 

I went to the place that I bought it from and they gave me the run around. They gave me another paper plate but no proof they they filed for the title transfer. Afterwards I contacted the DMV again. They told me that these guys don't have a dealer license, so I guess I did get screwed. The DMV recommended that I get a lawyer.

 

PM sent...

When did you buy the car?

 

Mike, sorry to hear. You might be screwed, or you might be really screwed. Did you pay out of pocket? Or go through any financing? Trade-in? And most importantly, where's the title?

I'm up North, so if the location is up here, let me know and I can always drop by.

 

I bought it on 11/10/10

 

Paid cash. They say they have the title but I haven't seen it. I guess I made a very poor choice to buy from them.

 

Did you get any other documentation besides a paper plate? Bill of sale, anything like that?

 

I have a contract that says "Buyer's Order" at the top. I guess it's the same as a bill of sale. It shows all of the basic info, including if there was a trade in and if there are any liens against it. I also have the paper that shows that I'm buying as is with no warranty.

 

If they charged you for "Tax, Title and License" then they should have handled the "transfer"......that said it's titled to SOMEONE..( you surrender the old title to the State in exchange for a new one)

TxDot cannot look and see if there's a pending transfer, or more likely, tell you who the car WAS titled to?

There's also a "Seller's Notification" that should be sent in to TxDOT to get your name OFF of the car, see if the previous owner did one of those...that is their responsibilty to the State..

That document, and your Bill of Sale might get you to a Lost Title Application.

 

All they would tell me was that the title transfer had not been filed yet. The body shop said they would do it in another 2 weeks because they can only do 10 at a time. The dealer enforcement devision of the DMV said that all that was BS. They said that they have to be licensed for every location where they sell cars. He searched the business name, the address & the owners name. He couldn't find a dealer license affiliated with any of those.

 

I hope so... if that doesn't work I don't know what I'll do. I'm truly at rock bottom at this point.

 

That "10 at a time" IS BS, here it's like three max, even at the Dealer Window.

That's a County Office they can make the rules.....whatever.

Take the offered second Temp Tag, and tell them to get their **** together, as you are gonna drop a time on them, not having a License...the State will be on them like white on rice......

 

I have a color Xerox machine............

 

Mike-
Check your PM and call me at the number in my sig...

 

*thumbs up* Keep us updated Mike!

 

Depending on when the body shop got the title themselves as to when they can transfer it. And it could be a salvage title if they bought the car as a total wreck and rebuilt it. The title would have to go back through the state and then back to them. And we all know a salvage title is usually a kiss of death on a cars value.

One thing to check on when you do get the title is where it was previously. If it came through Arkansas, Georgia or Alabama the title could have been salvage but when run through their title office it could be washed and show clean when registered back in Texas. It happens a lot with flood damage cars to erase the salvage stigma they are given.

I wish you luck. I am always very wary about the cars that body shops sell. Too many things can be hidden by the magic they can perform.......

 

Thanks for the info James. Lot's of what you said is probably going on here. It did come from AL but it still has a salvaged Texas title. I can't find out who bought the car from the auction and who currently has it. Of course the body shop says they have it but I don't have any proof of that yet. I have proof that they rolled back the odometer. I also know that the temp tag they gave me today is a complete fake. I'm hoping he would rather give up the title or money, rather than going to jail. I'm currently looking for a very large Spanish speaking man to do some translating for me.

 

Yep Mike Jail time there... Push it. I am surprised the DMV did nothing, the guy is curb-stoning acting like a dealer.

I would push it there too. Call them back.

Might want to call the cops too.

Good luck..

 

Based on what information I acquired today for Mike; this body shop doesn't want the cops called and snooping around.

Fake temporary tags; Rolling back Odometers; Acting as if they have a Dealer's License; and the list goes on.

I have a call into the Supervisor at the auction facility where it was actually sold at to see if I can get the title through a different route.

I do hope this all turns out for the best and Pettit and I are doing everything we can to help.

 

Damn man sorry to hear about all this! If you need me to I can have a DMV run to see who the car was last registered to. Did the body shop buy it at Manheim or another auction? Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

 

In the meantime you can take your bill of sale as well as proof of insurance back to the DMV and have them issue you a temp tag, usually cost $25.00 for 21 days

You get the tag right then from the DMV, that at least lets you drive the car while this is all working out.

The last thing you want right now is to be pulled over with a fake tag on a car that might or might not be yours

GL , you have alot of guys behind you on here.

Steve