How do I deal with a car dealer that has not sent me title for my car?
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How do I deal with a car dealer that has not sent me title for my car?
I bought a car from a dealer a month ago and it came with a limited warranty. I filled out all papers and wrote him a check. He was to mail the title as soon as the check cleared. My temporary tag expires in 2 days and I still have no title. The check cleared 3 weeks ago. We have called the guy no less than 7 times asking about the title. Now I am facing penalties for not registering the car within 30 days. We have already put almost $1000 into fixing the car. What are my options? Also, I was told that the car was in great mechanical shape and had 4 new tires. However the alternator quit the day after we drove it home and 1 of tires was bad.
Asked on June 8, 2011 under General Practice, Missouri
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you purchased the car "AS IS" you may not have a whole lot of options. Terms in an ad are considered puffing unless they are so specific they can be construed as contract terms of an offer. Further, in terms of the title itself, the dealer probably did not have clean title. So you need to do the following: file a complaint with the attorney general and indicate this is what occurred. Go down to the dealership and explain that if you don't get your money back, you will sue for fraud. Have the dealership get you the money in cash, because you may run into a situation wherein the check could be stopped otherwise. If you are worried about going alone, contact the police department, explain what occurred and ask for a police escort if possible and file a criminal complaint of theft.
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