I just bought a car on eBay from a used car dealer. When I picked up the car, I somehow allowed myself to be smooth talked into taking delivery of the car without the title. Basically the dealer said the title was ‘at the DMV’ and he would get it and Fedex it to me in a day or 2. I asked (being somewhat in a daze unfortunately) if is this was normal and he said sure, sometimes a dealer wont turn over the title for 8 or 10 days if the car was paid by check (I paid with a bank check). Pure bs, in hindsight. I’ve had the car a few days now and I am afraid he does not have possession of the title and I will be stuck with filing for a lost title, or worse, the car could have a lien or loan on it or even be stolen. I’m planning to demand my money back but I expect him to refuse. What is my recourse? Was it illegal for this New Jersey dealer to deliver the car without handing over the title? I’m also pissed about the car itself because it needs brakes and pulls left, but I’m really losing sleep over this title issue.
WAG: I don’t believe it is illegal to do what he did. Even though car salesmen have a bad rep, I think it helps it actually came from a business. This probably lowers the chance it is stolen.
What is the user feedback for this guy on EBay? Has anyone else had problems with it?
And you can always get another title.
Good luck!
I don’t know about NJ, but in California, the seller has 30 days to produce title after selling car.
Yes & check the forums & rules on ebay for this.
As asked above, how is the feedback? Maybe he just got the car & hasn’t got his title back yet–you know how slow the dmv can be.
In the interim, you may want to run a Carfax report on the car. The free report may or may not tell what you need, but the full report’s not horribly expensive.