Oh Where, Oh Where, Could My Car Title Be?

Buyer Pays Cash For Car, Still Waiting For Title

Hardeo Hariprashad was at his wits end last week.

Back on January 7th, 2010, he paid $ 21,354.71 "cash" to Toyota Parkway Dealers for a used 2007 Toyota RAV 4 and nearly a month later, he was still waiting for the dealer to provide the cars' title and registration.

Hardeo or "Hari" told Howard that Toyota Parkway had promised him the title and registration two weeks after making his purchase.

Hari did have a temporary 20-day registration card, but that had expired on January 26th, so he couldn't drive the car at all! Every day past the temporary card's expiration date, Hari called the dealer and each day they told him to call back the next day. Finally when Toyota Parkway advised Hari that he was going to have to rent a car, because the registration was still "on its way", Hari called Help Me Howard.

Howard and Hari headed out to Toyota Parkway Dealers, which is located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to hear their side of the story.

At the dealership they spoke with the salesman who handled Hari's car and the general manager. They said the problem stemmed from the fact that the title and registration were coming from Atlanta and had been sent via regular mail, instead of Federal Express. They apologized and promised to deliver the title and registration to Hari that night in person, which they did.

When you purchase a new car in New Jersey, the dealer should give you the title. In other cases (transferring cars within a family, buying a car out of the newspaper), follow the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission process for obtaining a title.

After obtaining your vehicle, you have 10 days to report to a DMV office and request a title. The actual vehicle owner must appear in person when requesting a title. There are 45 DMV locations within the state of NJ. When requesting a title, the Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin is required, and it must display a sales-tax paid stamp (taxes must be paid on the vehicle price). If the car was not paid for outright (if there is a loan on it), you must bring information to the DMV, including the address of the lender. You will receive a copy of the title; the lien holder will receive the actual title to hold until the vehicle is fully paid off. If you have purchased a used vehicle, bring the former title with you, with the assignment section on the back filled out appropriately and signed by the former owner.

Fees for titles can be paid via cash, check, money order, Mastercard, Visa or American Express.

If you are shopping for a used car, ALWAYS run a Carfax vehicle history report BEFORE you buy the car, to find out if the car was totaled, salvaged, stolen, flooded or rebuilt. Also have an independent mechanic inspect and check it for accident damage BEFORE putting any money down. Avoid high mileage used cars and have your own financing and loan approvals ready before you go shopping for a car.