Seller of car not same as name on the title - Is that legal?

[HilbillyHomeboy]

Originally Posted by Sin'sVr4

I bought my 300zx in wisconsin, Im in colorado. The guy didnt have the car registered to him so i made him register it first. The vr4 i bought was in albuquerque NM, and it was still titled in the previous owners name in Tenn. It was signed by the previous owner, and I filled my info in the buyers. So, the guy I bought it from basically was middled out you know what I mean?

Its called title jumping and is illegal in most states if your caught. Just make sure the car runs good and your fine.

There ya go. Perfect explanation. People certainly do this all the time, albeit 100% illegal.

Jeremy

[RealMcCoy]

this is pefectly legal if there is a proper paper trail.. (legal bills of sale from each owner to the next) It's quite common for a car to go through several dealerships between wholesale and retail levels before being licenced..

It's only illegal If someone buys a car, then resells it and to third party, leaving themselves out of the paper trail completely..

[thestealth]

In Kansas, the signature on the bill of sale has to match the name on the title.

[HilbillyHomeboy]

Originally Posted by RealMcCoy

this is pefectly legal if there is a proper paper trail.. (legal bills of sale from each owner to the next) It's quite common for a car to go through several dealerships between wholesale and retail levels before being licenced..

It's only illegal If someone buys a car, then resells it and to third party, leaving themselves out of the paper trail completely..

In a dealer situation, sure. Private party, no way. It's called title jumping and is completely illegal for reasons of tax evasion.

Jeremy

[Nando]

Originally Posted by talskinyguy

I do it all the time with stuff.

Buy it, fix it, sell it

And my name never goes on the title. It saves me money and time. But it someone wants me to title it before them I have no problem doing that either if they pay the fee to do it. So far that has only happened once.

Does anyone know how long it takes to have the title transfer under a new name. The seller said it would take at least 30 days if i wanted to do that. Does that sound right?

[shadow334485]

Yes should be around 30 days... and the car would be fully registered to that person... then have to do it all over again.. pretty much paying tax on it twice.

Best bet if if there is a full paperwork trail.(bill of sales)... and the car was never registered, or anything could call the DMV..

other question is how long ago did he buy the car?

[Stealthee]

If everything on the car is legit there shouldnt be a problem. You are basically in the clear as the buyer. The seller just never swapped titles so he avoided paying taxes on the sale. Thats the only illegality of the situaion.

[Vital Velocity]

I would just check references ( previous owner ) and if its a go and you like the car go for it. Now i would suggest that you ask the person you are buying it from to drop the price even more.....bring up the fact that you are saving him money from having to title it ( he also seems in a hurry so i would bet he will go for it )


But to answer your question, yes it is illegal in most states. When i was younger i did it a few times to save on taxes, until i looked up what the penalty was :-o ....... appearantly uncle sam wants his cut!

[chrisincobb]

bought mine the same way from a repair shop. they had a lein on it cuz the owner never came back for it since the repair bill was too high. picked it up for $2200 and it already had the 120k service done.

[Nando]

I contacted the original owner. He was very surprised that the car is up for sale again so quickly but other than that everything checks out.

The guy bought the car and then 2 days later he is trying to resell it. No profit are being made and the car is in the same condition. Its been over a month since the original sale took place. The car is still not registered.

There is already a bill of sale from the original owner to the guy selling it now. The title is signed by the original owner but no names anywhere on new buyer area. The lien document has been signed off by a lien clerk.

My new question is what do we do for bill of sale? Do i get one from the original owner (he doesnt really want to get involved though) or do i get one from the seller and because there is already a bill of sale to him, the paper trail shows im the new owner?