Looking at a car, title is not in sellers name. No sale ?

[Annisman*]

2001 buick, car is nice seller seems like a decent guy but title is not in his name. Bought it a few months ago from a lady, title is still in her name. I'm guessing it's a big problem ?

 

[evident]

red flag... only case where i would let it fly is if that person whose name is in is present at the time of sale. in pa both people have to show up to a notary anyways so situations like this can't really occur.

 

[NutBucket]

Worst case you could contact the person on the title...not sure what is necessary to transfer a title in NY.

 

[twinrider1]

Agreed, the lady is the legal owner and needs to act as the seller. Otherwise, walk away.

 

[Annisman*]

I asked him who this lady was and was hoping he was going to say his gf or ex wife or something but sounded like it was a random woman. I won't be calling him back.

 

[Ketchup]

Go figure. You'd think that he would have at least tried to make up a story about it. Oh well, maybe he is glad you asked so he can have a better chance of conning the next person that comes along.

 

[Annisman*]

I just don't get it, where along the way to acquiring this vehicle did the guy decide that he didn't care about the title ?

 

[razel]

Like everyone else, leave it alone. I've seen enough People Court to safely assume that the person's name on the title, is the one who owns it.

 

[Ramses]

If she signed it, and he signed it, and he just never registered it and got the title sent back in his name, you both go to the DMV and they do the paperwork, in most title states I've dealt with. It's not black magic, you go with him to the DMV, with the money in YOUR pocket, and they either do the deed or they tell him he has to do x or pay x. No big deal other than potentially some wasted time. I've seen this most often in states where the plate stays on the car, people buy them, insure them if they are smart/nice, and drive on the plate/registration till it expires. Saves money, dumb and silly and illegal usually, but it's cheap.

Now, if the title is still in her name, she never signed it, he never signed it, and/or no notary witnessed and stamped it if that is required in your state, that is a problem unless you want to get
creative. Odds are that isn't the case.

 

[Raizinman]

I buy and sell cars all the time. About 1 out of 5 titles have a lien on them that the owner was not even aware of. I've also had occasion where someone was trying to give me a title where the VIN# did not match. They had a stolen car and a junk yard title of a similar car. Lesson: Always check the title carefully BEFORE you purchase.

 

[Thump553]

I've run across this several times, usually the seller has a story about seller for a relative. At a minimum make sure the title is endorsed by the lady and bill of sale from her as well, as well as a bill of sale from the seller.

Personally I'd run. The one time I bought a car like this it ended up having lots of hidden damage-in retrospect probably intentionally concealed damage.

 

[Virge_]

Small claims courts are riddled with these around here. Scorned ex-boyfriend sells his previous girlfriends car on CL for cheap with no title. Ignorant people buy it. Lawsuits ensue.

Generally speaking, the most recent buyer (see: possibly you) is the target of the lawsuit, rightfully so by the actual owner - if it ever gets that far. Without the title in your name you can't even register the vehicle here, so you'd hit that wall in <30 days.

 

[spaceman]

prolly wants to avoid paying sales tax/excise tax
i dont blame them
it wouldnt preclude wheels for me neccesarily

 

[spaceman]

quite a racket for gov to have sales tax over and over again on a used vehicle

 

[papadage]

It's probably curbstoning. The guy is an unlicensed dealer, and is selling cars without transferring the title to himself first. If he sold them in a legit manner, he would be on the hook for any state required warranties and any false statements, which would be fraud.

With no paper trail to him, you would have no real recourse.

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's probably curbstoning. The guy is an unlicensed dealer, and is selling cars without transferring the title to himself first. If he sold them in a legit manner, he would be on the hook for any state required warranties and any false statements, which would be fraud.

With no paper trail to him, you would have no real recourse.

What recourse would you have with a 2001 Buick anyway?

 

[DrGreen2007]

Ive run into this as well.
My neighbor buys and sells cars for a living, but after selling a bunch with his name on the title, the state came back and told him to get a dealers license.
(he would buy, have seller sign over to him, then he would sign the title when he sold it)
So now he buys the car, has the seller sign it, but he doesnt sign it when he sells it, so to the state, it looks like the original seller sold it to the current buyer, he isnt the 'middleman' or 'dealer'

 

[Ramses]

Ive run into this as well.
My neighbor buys and sells cars for a living, but after selling a bunch with his name on the title, the state came back and told him to get a dealers license.
(he would buy, have seller sign over to him, then he would sign the title when he sold it)
So now he buys the car, has the seller sign it, but he doesnt sign it when he sells it, so to the state, it looks like the original seller sold it to the current buyer, he isnt the 'middleman' or 'dealer'

In a lot of states, the buyer and seller have to both sign in the presence of a notary public, who signs and stamps that they witnessed such. Places that don't require that have a lot of muckety muck going on with titles, I'm not sure how they get along with it all on the honor system so to speak. Even California with all it's myriad automotive laws and fees dosen't use witnessed title transfers, kinda weird.

 

[papadage]

NJ doesn't either. That's why you should only deal with sellers present and verified. When I helped my ex-gf's mom buy a used Mazda 3 a couple of years ago, the seller's fiance showed the car to us, but when it came time to meet again to do the transaction, we met the actual owner and had her sign in person after verifying her identity with her drivers license and registration. The fiance then drove it to mom's house, took off the old plates, and I gave him a ride back in my car. We also drew up a bill of sale and had them both sign a copy to keep for themselves, with payment on the document specified in cash.