Embarassing and unfortunate situation ive gotten myself into. I think I already know the answer to my question but im hoping maybe someone has a bit of info I may not know, or a solution to my problem.
Purchased a car from a member on here. Luckily it was just a decent beater and to-be rally-cross car, so the price wasnt crazy or anything, but it was still over a g, so its something. The deal went through just like any other: Had him drop off the car at the place I was going to be storing it at, he signed over the title and I wrote up a receipt and I thought that was that.
I didnt plan on registering it for a little, so a few weeks went by, but when it came time to put it on the road, the title and receipt were nowhere to be found. Ive torn up every single place it could be and the only thing I can think of is that I left them on the counter when I got home, and the ladyho threw it out with the junk mail. Its either that or the seller still somehow has it but I highly doubt that. Im typically pretty organized when it comes to documentation so in this case, I just cant imagine where else it can be.
Feeling like such an asshat, Ive swallowed my pride and have tried to contact the seller about requesting a new title, but he will no longer reply to my PMs. Ive even offered to just mail him a postmarked letter and filled out title request form with some cash for his time but no response. This thread is in no way a shot at him, this is my mistake and I understand he owes me nothing however it is a little disappointing knowing that a title request is the only difference between having a fun car I can use and still get a little resale value from should I decide to, and having a paperwight that id be lucky to get a few hundred bucks for as a parts car.
So basically im wondering: Assuming the seller will not get back in touch with me, is there any other way I can go about getting this car in my name, and if not, has it really just been relegated to scrap or is there something else I can do with it? Id really love to keep it because its actually in decent shape, but as of now its looking like im SOL right
I think you’re screwed unless you can get back in touch with the original owner. I know if I was the seller I wouldn’t have a problem helping another member out as long as they were willing to do the legwork and get the paperwork together I needed to sign and pay what ever DMV fees were involved in getting a new title.
Great example of why you should file the paperwork immediately and get the title in your own name even if you don’t want to register it right off.
Why is he not replying, a falling out? I think the short answer is the seller will have to request a new title and re-sign it over to you since you never went on record as owning the car.
Its such a shame, I can be pretty careless about many things but paperwork is one that I usually keep pretty tight tabs on. No doubt im kicking myself right now.
Thats what I was thinking.
And im not sure. Again, do not want this to turn this into any sort of a lash on him, but aside from me being pretty stern in my price demands, the deal seemed to go through fine and dandy. I drove him home, we chatted a little, everyhting seemed fine. He actually responded to my first few PMs about getting a new one and said he would request one but then a few months went by and he said he didnt get it yet, and then when I checked up a few months later again (several times) he just stopped getting back to me. I know hes still on here because hes still posting but im not sure. Hoping he’ll get back to me if he sees this but the car has been at my friends place for too long now and needs to go. I rather just sell it than have it towed home so I want to make a decision soon.
It was but thats not the seller. It fell into my hands a few months later.
From my multiple attempts to contact him, I get the idea he doesnt want to be bothered. I could man up and play the angry card but being at fault, I really just dont want to expect or inconvenience someone whos already done their part of the transaction.
From what I see here it would be a shame for them to not help you out. You manned up eating the blame for losing the title and you’re not demanding anything or bashing them.
I NEVER lose titles or paperwork, yet I recently lost a title and had to request a reprint. Not the same situation because I am the titled owner but…odd we may both be losing our minds these days. LOL
Call the dude out on this site. Mistakes happen and if this individual can’t assist you, the community needs to know who to be cautious about when buying items in the For Sale Section.
The PO should step up, do the right thing, and take the 10 seconds to sign the Lost title/title replacement paperwork, especially if you’ve done all the filling of it out and sent money along with it.
