Here’s what to do if you buy a used car and don’t get the title

Congratulations, you bought a used car.

But you never got the title from the dealer. What do you do?

So far in 2018, Sedgwick County car buyers have filed 44 complaints about about not getting their titles. That compares with 40 last year and 35 the year before, said Avery Elofsson, the head of the district attorney’s consumer protection division..

“The dealership, it is their responsibility,” Elofsson said. “If they’ve engaged in the transaction, you purchased the vehicle from them, they have to make sure you’ve been provided title within 60 days.”

If they don’t, the sale is void and consumers may be entitled to a full refund.

“You can take the car keys back, and the dealership has to take back their car,” he said. “Because if they didn’t facilitate that transaction within the 60 days, it’s like the sale never happened, even if you drove it to and from work for two months.”

Without a title, it is illegal to drive a newly-purchased vehicle, and it can’t be registered by the county treasurer.

The situation can be resolved by the district attorney without going to court, but 60 complaints have led to litigation in the past two years, Elofsson said. Sometimes there is a reasonable explanation and the dealership can work it out, but other times there is a systematic failure and it’s just the way the dealer does business, he said.

Poor bookkeeping has kept buyers from getting their titles, Elofsson said, as well as dealerships selling cars while going out of business and not paying the finance company that has the title.

“And in some extreme cases, dealerships are holding onto the title as leverage because they essentially want to shake the consumer down for more money,” he said.

When buying a car, ask to see the title first, officials advise. If the dealer doesn’t have it, ask who does. It could be the dealership’s finance company. If buying from an individual, always have the title signed over and in your hand before driving away, District Attorney Marc Bennett said.

If you don’t get the title after 60 days, contact the consumer protection division of the Sedgwick County district attorney at 316-660-3600 or the Sedgwick County treasurer at 316-660-9110.

“The ultimate goal is to make sure that our consumers are protected, our citizens and people are not being taken advantage of,” Treasurer Linda Kizzire said.

This story was originally published February 20, 2018 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Here’s what to do if you buy a used car and don’t get the title."