Not received title from dealership after 3 weeks

The rules make sense to me and I've lived in Ontario and California.

Car is on consignment with a lien
Buyer wants to buy the car either by cash or finance. If finance then bank gives approval to dealership and dealership allows customer to have the car with temporary registration (most states work that way).

Bank funds it a few days later and sends it to lien holder. Lien holder processes it and signs over title. Title is then sent to State for processing and it is sent along with plates to dealer or new owner. Complicates the process when the parties are all in different states.

btw; most ppl in california have plates they just choose to use the temporary registration sticker instead of the plates (ultimately a $25 fix it ticket (which is going to go away I believe in 2017).

 

What a bunch of bureaucracy nonsense. If a car has a lien on it one check goes to the bank for that amount and the remaining goes to the seller. Lien is immediately removed. Plates are available immediately.

 

52 postings on a thread for something that is pretty standard when a car has a lien on it.

 

Just read this thread.

As a dealer, I can say this is a very normal situation. As has been said above, the dealer probably had the car on consignment, and the consignor (owner) had a lien on the car. The lien can't be paid off until the car is sold and the buyer funds. Then, you wait for the bank to process the loan payoff. If it's an electronic title (meaning the bank doesn't have title in hand, which is very common these days), the state then has to be notified that the lien is released, which takes time, and then the title has to be printed and sent by the state, which also takes time.

For those of you saying "no title, no sale", that's just not possible in some cases. Having said that, the dealer should either have a copy of the title as part of the consignment, and the buyer should inspect this title before purchase, or the dealer should have the loan info, and the buyer should have the dealer contact the bank to verify title.

What makes it fun for a dealer is when the buyer wants to finance as well, and they are using a bank (usually a credit union) who needs to see the registration receipt showing their lien on the title before they will fund. Well, you can't register a car without the title, so that means the dealer has to payoff the lien, without being funded by the buyer, wait for the title, then go register the car (and pay all of the taxes, etc.), before they can actually get their money. So, the dealer is floating those funds for many weeks. I don't do this anymore: if there is a lien on the car, and the buyer or their bank cannot fund at the time of sale, then unfortunately I have to pass on the sale of the car. It usually gets worked out on the buyer side, though.

 

Checks take time to clear. Forged cashiers+certified checks are common. When large amounts of money are involved,payees tend to be prudent.

 

this is what a dealer is supposed to do... have full docs ready at time of payment... to earn their commission... at least there is no floor plan or other inventory costs... no commercial buyer ( dealer ) would stand for waiting for docs after paying for a car... yet the retail buyer is treated like a sucker, in paying for a car without docs... the retail buyer should refuse to pay and take delivery of car without docs... failing that buyer assumes the risk ...
it is kiting of funds... in banking it has been prohibited when clearing checks

 

Well, good thing that you don't live in Texas. If you are a retail buyer who lives in Texas, buying from a Texas dealer, you don't get title at the time of the sale anyway. Period. The dealer collects tax, title, license, etc, and then has 30 days to go register and title the car at the tax office. You get the title mailed to you by the state.

And, I have sold cars that are on consignment with me to other dealers. Yes, any competent dealer would want to see a copy of the title, but if there is a lien, it is understood that the lien will be paid off with the funds from the sale and the title will be sent to the buying dealer once received from the bank. Happens all of the time.

 

Very good advice from an insider for everyone of us to remember on how things really work in the car world.

 

I buy and sell a lot of stuff as I own a business with a fleet of trucks and equipment. I always have the buyer meet me at my bank with his bank draft. My bank scans it and sends it to the buyers bank for confirmation of its validity. Once approved I hand over the signed transfer papers and keys at the teller. A lien check can be done instantly up here.

 

Normal

 

Yep, pretty much how it works with me.

 

As another data point, I bought my car 6 weeks ago from an used car dealer, and still don't have the title. At the time I bought it, they assured me they had the clear title, but I didn't press them to see it since the dealership has been around almost 20 years and has a decent reputation. They told me it could take 3-6 weeks for me to get it. This has been my experience in the past here in WA state, so I didn't think much of it.

Got the permanent plates and registration 3 weeks ago from them, but now after 6 weeks, I still don't have the title. Called the dealership, who referred me to the licensing department in the state capitol. Called them, gave them the VIN, was congratulated on the car ("we don't come across a lot of Ferraris"), and was told that they just started processing it last week (?!), and I should be seeing my title within another 6 weeks or so.

I'm mildly annoyed, but glad it's in process.

 

Bought mine from a dealership in Tennessee and the Title came with the car when he shipped it.