Advice for getting title from dealership

[Dhilbe]

I purchased a used RV from a dealership in California. I live in Texas. When I purchased the RV, the dealership said they will submit paperwork to California DMV and I should receive title in 6 - 8 weeks. 2 1/2 months later, I get a call from the dealership. Appearantly the folks that traded in the RV I bought are Canadian. The dealership said Canada only has a registration document, not a title document like I’m used to seeing. California DMV rejected the paperwork submitted by the dealership - California requires the original Canadian registration. Appearantly now the dealership needs to track down the original owner and get an original registration. In the meantime, I’m here n Texas unable to register or pay taxes on the RV. I have the bill of sale documents from the dealership and a copy of the Canadian registration. I have an email in to my local county tax collector to see if they would let me register with those documents - I doubt it. I got to believe the dealership is in violation of some kind of California law on timely delivery of title after the sale. In fact, I kinda think they sold me the RV without holding proper title - I suspect that has to be a legal no no in California. I’m still being patient - no need yet for threatening letters to the dealership yet or contacting an attorney. If the dealership is violating any California laws, I do have a trump card - my brother-in-law is an attorney in the California Attorney General office and might be willing to write a letter. Thoughts, advice?

[Mr_D]

If they can't get a title the dealer will have to buy it back and you get the joys of finding another one.

[azpete]

have b.i.l. write a letter, with a reasonable time limit. they knew what they were doing when they took the coach in, if there was a problem, its their problem. insist they solve it in a timely fashion. canadian trades happen all the time. maybe call a secretary of states office in one of the northern border states, maybe they would have some advise. just my opinion.

[96Bounder1st]

On the back of the Canadian registration it reads that the registration when signed is a transfer of ownership document. We do not have Titles per se in Canada.
Surprising that the dealership did not have a person at DMV that they dealt with in regards to registering it properly .

Sorry for your troubles.
Terry

[rbpower]

in FL we can not put a unit on the lot for sale if we do not have the title in hand

[barmcd]

Texas won't register it without a title. I bought a coach from out of state and registered it in Texas and even with the PO with me and all the required documentation, it proved to be much longer process than I would have thought. Even after I thought it was finished it hit a snag when it turned out I gave them a copy of the state inspection form instead of the original. I'd made a copy for my records and I guess someone at the state took a close look at the signature and saw they had the copy and not the original.

I wouldn't use your brother in law for this--you have legal recourse through the California Attorney General's office without his intervention. There should be an on-line form for submitting complaints and this should be a slam dunk win for you. Unfortunately, there will be some pain as you work through the process.

[DanKathyC]

i do hope this is a legally responsible "dealership" and not a sammy on the back corner lot guy

[beenthere]

we never run to lawyers.. you can still drive it and have the temp reg. and dealer just sends new ones every few days before due, email and print. now your lender should be the one getting on there case as they have more pull, maybe..

heres is a funny story of when I bought my current MH. I had bought the trade in from the same guy. my wife seen the walk in closet and separate bath on the Alfa Gold and said this is it.. so while negotiating with him I told him to go look at or MH as it has damage from me running over sign and the sign stayed on outside of basement and ripped the doors up... he said NAW just the doors...after we agreed on value and signed papers ect. i again asked are you sure you don't want to look at it, i could even drive you as i live short ways out of town.But no again..well when I could finally get the MH out of parking spot as it was still snow .. I drove it to there shop and next morning he called and said I have to bring my new MH back and take mine back... now my wife had fallen in a relationship with this ten yr sold MH, and didn't want the 20 yr old one back, well i didn't either...i asked him what the problem was and replied that its more damage than he expected and he did acknowledged i told him but, but couldn't imagine that from a sign,,but.....i tried to take to him ect. to see it and after three months my lender didnt have title yet. so i call and asked the guy who wrote the contract and he said talk to salesperson. well he finally said ok he will send it..well then lender called me and said it had a second security payee on it.. and dealer and slaes would not correct it.. so i talked to the DMV and he said get a lawyer and i said no do your job.. its not like i can just put myself on a car title as second payee just cause i wanted to ...so talked to att. gen. and they did there job and got the title.. the thing is they had the due diligence of making sure there deal was acceptable. and by not seeing it its theres...i bought that one for 35g and they gave 30g trade in and STILL sold it for 17g.. it was a London aire.. they didn't lose anything.. i mean he had said things to me i should have recorded, he was more than serious

[Waiter21]

See if they will send you one of their Dealer Plates to use until they get your title issue resolved..

[Alan_Hepburn]

California's DMV has a form called "Statement of Facts" that is used to cover sales with no title. You fill it out, describing the circumstances, and they will issue a new title. The dealership SHOULD be aware of this...


Texass DMV possibly has the same, or a similar procedure for handling transactions such as this.

[txcpl]

We live in Texas, and purchased our current MH from a dealership in Arizona. I too thought that I had to have it titled in Texas in order to register it. I was wrong.

In our case, the MH is titled in AZ, and the bank will not change the titling state because of the way the loan papers are drawn up. However, I was still able to register it in Texas, even while it is titled in AZ. Your dealership should have provided you with a Bill of Sale which you take to the DMV along with your current inspection receipt and insurance card. The only difference is that the title stays in CA and is not transferred to Texas. This is not done often, and most clerks are not familiar with the process. Be patient. If you have all of the needed paperwork, you should walk out of the DMV with tags in hand.

Also, if your MH is a diesel, make sure they DO NOT charge you the additional 1% diesel fee, as RV's are exempt!!!

This process is no different than when a company which is located outside of Texas has vehicles which are used in Texas and those vehicles have Texas tags.

On another note, the dealership you purchased the vehicle from is responsible for providing you with a clear title. If they are unable to do that, then you may have to pursue legal help.

Good luck on your quest.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Wow, don't go off the deep end (at least not yet)! The dealer has a "proper title" for a Canadian vehicle if the registration document transfer section is signed per Canadian legal requirements. California must have a way to process that sort of legal paperwork, so the dealer needs to get the right people at the DMV involved and "git 'er done".



In the meantime, the dealer owes you whatever extra help you need to enjoy the use of your purchase. His failure to complete the legal process of sale in a timely manner is grounds for a lawsuit (a civil suite) if necessary. If you need a temporary CA registration or whatever to be able to use the RV, demand that he provide it.


Yeah, it's a hassle - I've been through it myself when I bought an ex-Canadian vehicle in NY and took it direct to Florida. DMV clerks often don't know how to deal with exceptions to SOP, but someone in the chain of command will and things go smoothly enough once that person gets on the case.

[Sherpa Vern]

If you live in Texas, why would you want California DMV involved in the title transfer at all?

You can take an out of state delivery for a purchase from a California dealer. Doing so will avoid paying California sales tax and put the sellers registration/title in your hand to register and title the vehicle in you home state.

California dealers have the form necessary for the out of state delivery that has to be filled out and notarized in the state in which the vehicle was delivered. This proves that the vehicle and a representative of the dealer actually made the delivery out of the state of California. It also requires the dealer to purchase a one way trip permit in California to the delivery destination.

Did you pay California state sales tax?

[Dhilbe]

An update...the dealer called me this week and said they have the original Canadian registration document in hand. So, I'm now hopeful that I will soon receive the needed documents to register in Texas. I did check with our local tax collector/registration office and they said there is indeed a "bonded" process in Texas to title a vehicle without having a previous title - hopefully I can avoid that process. And a previous posted....even though I purchased the RV from a dealer in the Palm Springs area, I took physical delivery just inside the Arizona boarder - so avoided California sales tax. That was a new process - following our newly purchased RV in a rental car to the Arizona boarder. Thank you for all the suggestions....I'm hopeful this will now go the right direction when I receive documents from the dealership. Dave