Buying a Truck

[BlazersandWildcats]

I couldn't find the a General Forum besides for each generation model. So I had to release some steam and see if any of you have ran into similar issues. Most of you know I just put a lot of money in getting my 4.7 I just purchased back into decent condition and ran into an issue today with the title and registration.

In the state of Texas when purchasing a used vehicle we're issued "paper plates" or better known as "Police Magnets," while the dealer has the buyer sign the title. The dealer then takes it to the DMV office, where they transfer the tittle and send out the title, new tags, and registration sticker through mail to the buyer. Sounds easy enough right?

So after purchasing my truck, it's been a month and a half, no tags, title, or stickers. The "paper" tags are about to expire which would mean I either have to find a way to renew "temp" tags or just be stuck without driving the vehicle I paid cash payment for. So I figure, well DMV is slow, it's the holidays, they say 21 days to get you your stuff, maybe they're just behind because of the holidays. Not so fast. I called DMV today, gave them the Vin to find out what the hold up was. Needless to say, the dealer hasn't brought the title into the office to even be transferred into my name yet after a month and a half. So I called the dealer, raised the voice a little, asking why they haven't gotten the title to dmv, nor let dmv give me the title, registration, and sticker that I pad $300.00 extra for. They then proceed to tell me, their vehicles are consignments, they haven't received the title from the "previous owner" yet. So now I'm stuck waiting on the previous owner to get a title to the dealer, the dealer to get the title transferred to DMV, and then DVM issuing the title and the reg./sticker/and tags and then waiting on them to get delivered which takes (21) day as stated by the DMV. It was a mediocre frustrating thing knowing one has to wait two-three months to get the ownership title that you paid thousands of dollars for cash, not to mention wait several months to get tags/sticker that you paid an extra $300.00 for which was promised to be at my door in no more than 30 days. It went from a mediocre frustrating ordeal when learning from DMV the dealer had not even done anything. But it made it even more frustrating when I called the dealership, they had to make phone calls, and get back with me. (At first they told me they took 12 titles to DMV for transfer yesterday, and assured me mine was one of them. But then it all turned out to be that there was a delay because they didn't even have the title for my vehicle to give to DMV yet. So if I wouldn't have gotten frustrated enough that I started calling everywhere demanding to find out where the things I paid my hard earned money for, the dealership would have never known my paperwork or title was never taken care of, and would have still been running to the mailbox daily waiting to be the proud owner of my truck. After everythng's said and done, FINALLY, the previous owner of "Financing" company the dealership gets the cars from is suppose to be "over nighting" the title to the dealer and he's suppose to be taking it directly to DMV by hand, and calling me with the tags and letting me pick them up in person, rather than through mail. So maybe by the end of two months I'll be the proud owner of my truck that I paid my hard earned cash for, but it goes to say, if you don't speak up, you might never get taken care of.

I failed to mention I'm 3/3. Pulled over (three) times with paper plates. All being "Jerry Stops" pretty much just stops to make sure that my "paper plates" weren't forged. One of the officers stated the reason they pull over paper plates is because their often "forged." I wonder why? Not because crime rates of car thefts are so high, but because I'm sure people purchasing cars, paying hard cash, and they're temp tags expiring, while Texas gives us a hard time about renewing "temp" tags more than once, because the dealer is suppose to have 30 days for the paper work, before catching major fines. Hence, our temp. tags shouldn't be expired. Hope you guys have better luck than me.

 

[Blackram]

Did the dealer have anything in the paperwork stating that they were selling the vehicle as a consignment?

 

[BlazersandWildcats]

That's an excellent question. I believe legally you can sell vehicles here as a consignment, but I don't believe you can sell a consignment without informing the buyer.

I'm reviewing the contract again, but I've yet to see anything so far. The day of the purchase the dealer (small business owner) should I say, showed me the vin number ran through an app on his phone, what appeared to be a clean title and continued to state he had a clear title. However, when we got to the paperwork he stated that he was required by law to do the title transfer himself as a dealer through DMV now and that it would be mailed to me. Which sounded right, because I've had titles mailed to me in the past.

On another note, from my understanding of the Texas laws, a dealer has 30 days to file the title transfer or he's subject to penalties and fee's from DMV. I'm going to take his word that the title will be over sighted, and give it until Wednesday, considering mail had already ran today after I spoke with him. I pretty much told him I understand there are delays and holds between titles and DVM also sometimes. However, he hasn't made any kind of communication with me telling me there was an issue. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt until Wednesday. I instructed him to call me when he gets the title in, when he takes it to DMV, and he told me he would allow me to pick up the paperwork and plates from his office rather than waiting for DMV through the mail. So if I hear nothing in two days, I'm shooting him a certified letter and also a copy of a Form ENF-CC1 Dealer Complaint forum with the Dealer Enforcement Department considering he had 30 days to file the transfer. How does that sound? I'm pretty sure he's gonna get it to me. He's an individual where him and his buddy are both licensed and legit and purchase vehicles through a "Finance company" from my understanding. I feel as if he will get it taken care of, but it's not on his time to take care of it by his deadlines and dates when he's got my cash and I don't have what I paid for.

 

[BlazersandWildcats]

BlackRam, what do you think about this? From my understanding if he doesn't obtain the title or transfer the title to my name before 30 days from my understanding he's penalized. However, I found this under the DMV's Regulations. He just told me today he had to get a hold of the previous owner to obtain the title? But does this not state below that he should have a copy of the title for my vehicle? If it all adds up by my understanding he should already have a copy of the title and thus be able to sell the vehicle and take it to the Tax Assessors for the title transfer.


4.3 Consignment Sales.

2. A copy of the title should be at the dealer's licensed location for inspection by buyer or a
TxDMV representative. It is recommended that the copy of the title be attached to the
consignment agreement.

 

[BlazersandWildcats]

Update;

Got a hold of DMV today and spoke to someone in consumer relations and explained to them my issue. They pretty much told me I stood correct, with the exception is that the Dealer had 20 working days or 30 calender days, whichever falls first to transfer the title into my name. Not only have they passed this and are now going to be penalized a fine, but from my understanding the fine will be re-occuring which means they will be fined each day past the final date. She told me since they stated the title was getting over-nighted I could wait until Tomorrow (Wednesday) to see if he received it and if not to go ahead and fill out an ENF-CC1 form and file the complaint and they will take it into their hands. I don't mean to be an **** about it, but I run a Landscaping company and I always go out of my way to my customers to be a man of my word and fulfill my promises and I don't expect people to do the opposite with me when spending thousands of dollars in hard earned sweaty money, not to mention paying $300.00 extra to the state to have a my vehicle titled, inspected, and registered, for the state to tell me they can't even do their part by registering the vehicle, when the dealer hasn't done his part.