Bought a car with title, but dmv says cannot give me tag.?

Question

Here's the situation, I just bought a car of a local man and I did get a title for the car. The problem is, that when Iwent to get a tag for this car, the dmv receptionist stated that because the price on the back of the title was changed, she could not give me a tag. What can I do? I know some of you say bring the title back to the seller and have him redo one for me, but I haven't been able to get in contact with him.

Answer 1

If you can't contact him, you have a problem. It was denied because the price was altered. Any alteration on the back of the title will cause denial. A notarized letter from the seller MAY help you out, but not in all states or all cases. Is any part of the price legible? If it is, the notarized letter from the seller stating he made the error may carry more weight at the DMV. The letter has to have the make model and Vin (serial number) and also state that there was an error with no fraud intended. I would also put what the original price was and what the corrected price is. Basically the more information you provide in the letter, the more likely it will be accepted. You could ask your local DMV if a notarized letter is acceptable. You may also want to ask them, what you can do if you can't contact the previous owner.
Good luck.

Answer 2

You must stop driving the car. There are two reasons for this. The first is because it is against the law to keep driving a car with an expired tag. The second is because you won't lose the car to the impound lot if you keep in on your own property, out of sight of the police, and do not drive it.

Answer 3

You will have to keep trying to contact him, or go back to his house directly.

Sounds like a rough situation there! Sorry to hear!

Answer 4

You need a lawyer and to see a judge briefly to get this taken care of.