Out with the old, in with the newish?
So, the clutch on our old car died. As the car is 15 years old and the repair is costly, we decided we'd rather sell it for what it's worth and upgrade to a newer car. After a few days of car hunting, we chose a car (2003 Kia Sentra with 74k miles on it). The girl who was selling the car said she'd have to look for the title (said she had just moved), but suggested I take the car and she'll get the title to me in a few days. Knowing that was a terrible idea, I told her I'd wait until she goes through her papers and finds it to pay for it. So the next day she calls and says that she has it, and that she'll drive it to our place. She gives us the title, we get the car, and we pay for it.
Here's where the story gets interesting. I take the car into the DMV, and the woman tells me I can't register it; the title is void because the owner had requested a newer copy of it in 2009, and the copy I had was from 2006. When the DMV issues a new copy of a title, they void the old one. Makes sense to me; the DMV can't have two valid copies of a title roaming around. Obviously annoyed, I asked the DMV if there is a way to avoid this type of problem in the future as a car buyer. She said no, because the title I was given was once valid and there's nothing on it to indicate that it's not the most current copy. The DMV woman said that I need to go to the person I bought the car from and ask for the current copy, and she gave me a thirty-day temporary registration until the title issue is resolved. She said it's probably a matter of the seller simply grabbing the old one on accident. So, I left a message on the seller's phone that the title she gave me wasn't valid and that she needs to get it to me.
She called me back about an hour later. She said she called the DMV in Virginia (where she moved from) because she never actually got the newer copy of the title from them and had forgotten about it. The title needs to be issued from Virginia because they've voided the original Utah title (the one I had) and put the new one on hold because the girl never showed them the Utah title (stupid, huh?). They can't issue a Virginia title without seeing the Utah one. She says she needs the copy of the title that she gave me to get the current title. Obviously unhappy about this, and unwilling to give up the only proof I have that we paid for the car, I only let her take it after she signed a bill of sale. I typed it up myself and got her to agree in writing that she'll have the title to me within two weeks, and that if she doesn't she'll give me all our money back, including taxes and registration that we've paid for on top of the sale price (and any legal fees if we have to fight for our money back). She overnights the title so that the Virginia DMV will get it quickly. She calls them the next day to be sure they got it, and they have. Then this DMV person tells her it takes about three weeks for them to process the title, and 7 to 10 days for it to be sent via mail to her. So she calls me to tell me that it'll take more than the two weeks she had said it would. Every time she talks to me, she's really apologetic. But this means that our temporary registration will expire before we get the current title.
If worse comes to worse, we'll sue to get our money back and give up the car. In the meantime, we think we'll fix the old car just to have a back up and sell it after we have the title for the newer one. It's hard to decide how patient to be about this whole situation. Legally, when the two weeks have passed, we can demand our money back and give up the car. The dad of one of the kids I tutor is a mechanic and sells cars; he told me that the woman's story is plausible and really sounds like it could be an honest mistake. And apparently it's not unusual for Virginia to take three weeks to process a title. Grr.... Drama, drama, drama.
The lesson: Call the DMV when you are buying a car and make sure the title that you are getting is valid! I had never heard that advice anywhere before, but I'm doing it from now on.
Here's where the story gets interesting. I take the car into the DMV, and the woman tells me I can't register it; the title is void because the owner had requested a newer copy of it in 2009, and the copy I had was from 2006. When the DMV issues a new copy of a title, they void the old one. Makes sense to me; the DMV can't have two valid copies of a title roaming around. Obviously annoyed, I asked the DMV if there is a way to avoid this type of problem in the future as a car buyer. She said no, because the title I was given was once valid and there's nothing on it to indicate that it's not the most current copy. The DMV woman said that I need to go to the person I bought the car from and ask for the current copy, and she gave me a thirty-day temporary registration until the title issue is resolved. She said it's probably a matter of the seller simply grabbing the old one on accident. So, I left a message on the seller's phone that the title she gave me wasn't valid and that she needs to get it to me.
She called me back about an hour later. She said she called the DMV in Virginia (where she moved from) because she never actually got the newer copy of the title from them and had forgotten about it. The title needs to be issued from Virginia because they've voided the original Utah title (the one I had) and put the new one on hold because the girl never showed them the Utah title (stupid, huh?). They can't issue a Virginia title without seeing the Utah one. She says she needs the copy of the title that she gave me to get the current title. Obviously unhappy about this, and unwilling to give up the only proof I have that we paid for the car, I only let her take it after she signed a bill of sale. I typed it up myself and got her to agree in writing that she'll have the title to me within two weeks, and that if she doesn't she'll give me all our money back, including taxes and registration that we've paid for on top of the sale price (and any legal fees if we have to fight for our money back). She overnights the title so that the Virginia DMV will get it quickly. She calls them the next day to be sure they got it, and they have. Then this DMV person tells her it takes about three weeks for them to process the title, and 7 to 10 days for it to be sent via mail to her. So she calls me to tell me that it'll take more than the two weeks she had said it would. Every time she talks to me, she's really apologetic. But this means that our temporary registration will expire before we get the current title.
If worse comes to worse, we'll sue to get our money back and give up the car. In the meantime, we think we'll fix the old car just to have a back up and sell it after we have the title for the newer one. It's hard to decide how patient to be about this whole situation. Legally, when the two weeks have passed, we can demand our money back and give up the car. The dad of one of the kids I tutor is a mechanic and sells cars; he told me that the woman's story is plausible and really sounds like it could be an honest mistake. And apparently it's not unusual for Virginia to take three weeks to process a title. Grr.... Drama, drama, drama.
The lesson: Call the DMV when you are buying a car and make sure the title that you are getting is valid! I had never heard that advice anywhere before, but I'm doing it from now on.
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