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

I didn't know I could do that but I'll give it a try. I really wasn't sure how I was going to get to work (I'm pretty sure the bus doesn't go to Lakeway). I'm certainly not going to drive the car with the fake tag. It's been confirmed that it's fake by Jonathan & Pettit.

 

Could you tell them that the police and lawyers are getting involved and just try to convince them to reverse the whole deal?

 

I'm trying to consult with an attorney to figure out what the best way to go about this would be. I could bring all hell down on this place but all I really want is the title or my money back. What I don't want is to get the car impounded by the police. The price of storage during all the legal stuff would probably meet or exceed the actual value of the car.

It's a good car and I would like to keep it. I fell in love with it over the last 3 weeks that I've been driving it. Already had it all check out and had already started fixing little things wrong with it. If I can't keep it I'll try to find another of the same model.

 

Wow. Usually the DMV is all over rolled back odometers. And depending on the number of cars they have sold in the past year would also determine if they need a license or not. But to put on a fake tag is just inviting bigtime investigation into their business practices. Really stupid operators there.

After all the run arounds they have given you and then put you in line to get arrested yourself for driving a stolen vehicle or something else...................go for the throat. Do not let these guys off the hook. After being in the highline car business for over 20 years I can assure you that these are the kind of crooks who give straight dealers a bad name. Do not back away from them. There may even be an attorney out their who would represent you on this contingency......

What kind of car is it to want to keep it this badly since you have found out it is a salvage title with unknown mileage? It would have be a super deal to even consider something like that.

 

Honda Prelude.........nice condition.......cute lil' car......several friends of mine have owned them too.

 

Prelude didn't work out.... this is something different.

 

I bought it knowing that it had a salvaged title but he told me it was due to hail damage. I'll shoot you a PM.

 

So far I've reached nothing but dead ends. Today I tried to file for a lost title but they wouldn't let me do that since it's never been in my name. The ladies at the title company suggested that I contact USAA (the current "recorded" owner of the car & my insurance company) and nicely ask if they would be willing to file for a lost title and sign it over to me.

I also asked to get a temp tag and they couldn't do that either because it has a salvaged title.

USAA was very nice so far & I'm currently waiting for a call back from them. They are putting in a call to the auction house here in Austin. Hopefully they will have good news. Quite honestly I expected them to tell me to get lost when I asked them to help.

It sounds like my only other option is to file for a bonded title which I will do if USAA isn't able to help me secure the title.

 

USAA wasn't willing to file for a lost title since they sold the car and signed a bill of sale. However, they did tell me the name of the dealer they sold it to, along with the address and the phone number. It appears to be a person working out of their home rather than an actual dealership.

 

That's not good...

You should now call back the state and raise hell...

This dealer has to give you the title... Or he will be in hott water.

Do you want me to call?

 

I don't know what the connection is between the person I bought the car from & the person that USAA sold the car to. I guess I'm worried that they will try to say that they didn't sell the car to me and try to take it back. The people at the title company told me that the bill of sale isn't legally binding by its self. A bonded title would cost me more money but it is legally binding. From my understanding, they would have to take me to court to get the car back & I don't think the car is worth that much to them. At the moment I'm trying to investigate the person who bought the car from USAA to see if they are a legit dealer or not.

 

My bet Mike, this guy bought it salvage, sold it to this garage, and he is the hold up on the title...

If he has a state license, it is a big deal.

My advice, call back to the state, tell them usaa sold it to a dealer, can you get the dealer number and address of this dealer?

 

Yes, I have the address and phone number. The address is a house, not a dealership.

I spent the whole day today trying to deal with this. The only birthday gift I wanted was to get this resolved.

 

PM sent. IS today your birthday?

 

Yes sir. 31 & stuck at home with no car. I realize things can always be worse but I sure didn't plan on things working out like this. I swear if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.

 

Well Happy Birthday Mike. Sorry you have to deal with this BS.

 

Mike, got your email earlier and I think I can help.

Call me in the morning sometime around 10 and let's talk about it; you should have my number.

My bet is that one phone call to the right person will get this resolved quickly.

PS.....Happy Birthday

 

you cannot wash titles in Georgia anymore . Laws changed here two years ago, not that i did it, but i was aware of it and very careful to avoid it. I have had a few cars as a collector.

PS Mike, read the rest of the thread, I hope it gets worked out, curb stoning cars is a big deal, and is sometimes used to hide / launder money for drugs, ect. happy B day for what is worth, glad to see the guys there helping you as they can.

 

I'm curious to know what car you bought that is worth this much trouble...?

 

Never said it's "worth this much trouble". It's just that I have no other options. I have no money to buy another car and the guy won't give my money back for this car. The type of car really doesn't matter, but I'm sure you could relate.

BTW, I was going to shoot you a PM but you don't have that feature enabled.

 

Thanks John.

 

Thanks Michael.

 

Happy Birthday......I hope Jonathan can give you a nice present........

Keep us informed.......

I have been out of the car business since 2004 so I did not know Georgia had corrected their title washing. Good to hear.........

 

Thats weird... maybe try again? I have received PM's before and I'm not over my allotted amount...

 

That's weird. I was able to send you a PM by clicking on your username and then clicking on the link in the pop-up menu. But most people have three tabs in their profile with one of those listed as "contact info". You only have the statistics tab.
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