The car I am interested in was posted over three months ago on the listings online. Within the next couple of days, however, the postings expired and had been taken down, so I thought that the car had been sold because the ad was never put back up. But at the beginning of this week, I saw that same exact car up on the listings again. I asked my dad to call the familiar number and so he did. The guy he talked to--he said sounded like a teen, so he meant he was young-- said upfront to my dad that he didn't have any papers for the car. I honestly don't know what this means and my mom said that that could be why the car hasn't been sold yet... after almost 4 months. It seems like a really good car-- low miles, pretty good-looking...and the guy even said that we could go and take a look at it...so what do you think? I have no clue what to think so thanks for any advice or input you have. I appreciate it!
2006-11-18 07:30:00 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
If he doesn't have papers to the car, that means you cannot register it, put license plates on it, buy insurance for it, or get it inspected (if your state requires inspection).
The car is probably not stolen, but if you cannot prove it's yours (and without the papers, you can't), you'd be in serious trouble if you were caught driving it.
Another thing to think on: he doesn't have the papers, either, so he can't prove it's his to sell.
Run - don't walk - away from this deal.
2006-11-18 07:40:09 · answer #1 · answered by Stuart 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm assuming you're in the USA, where you need a Title to own a car in every state.
I'm sure this guy has the papers somewhere, but I would suspect that there is a lien-holder that he is trying to hide. Either way, you can't buy and register a car without the title. You could probably check for the title information on-line by going to the DMV website for your state (you'll need the vin#). If he says the car wasn't originally from your state, tell him "fine, where was it from", and check there.
By the way, here in New York it costs like $20 to get a duplicate title. So this "kid" is definitely trying to pull a scam!!
2006-11-18 16:20:36 · answer #2 · answered by MALIBU93 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. Don't even get yourself into that mess. You are better off spending a little more and finding someone WITH papers.
There are many poss. why he doesn't have papers (i.e. Lost them, stole the car, etc) Although one would like to think the car is not stolen. It is to much of a hassle. Find a duplicate car, or spend a little more. It sounds shady and illegit.
2006-11-18 15:53:08 · answer #3 · answered by Fanatical 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
most likey he does not have the title to the car-Don't purchase something like this, it could really be a problem--Tell the kid that he needs to get the title before selling it. He can apply for a lost title--Get the title first!! The car could be stolen or something else bad-Nothing good about purchasing a vehicle without a title.
2006-11-18 18:30:18 · answer #4 · answered by thansen080972 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He doesn't hold the title. It would be a nightmare. You wouldn't be able to register it. It may not even be his to sell - what if it belongs to a deployed soldier and he stole it or something? If you wanted to buy a subscription to Carfax, you could get the vehicle i.d. number off of the dashboard and see what's up.
2006-11-18 15:33:08 · answer #5 · answered by Kacky 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would be very leary about this one,if you do go to look at it look for the VIN, write it down And check public records in your state to see if the car has been reported stolen.
2006-11-18 16:29:34 · answer #6 · answered by Brian R 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If he doesn't have the title, don't fool with it. For all you know, it could be stolen, or a salvage or flood car. Keep looking.
2006-11-18 16:34:32 · answer #7 · answered by Papa John 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋