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

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...

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.......

 

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