QuestionI traded in my vehicle about a month ago. At the time i didnt have the title, i had applied for a lost title. When i took the title to the dealer yesterday, he said that he wasnt aware that it was a rebuilt title, and that either i would have to give him $4000 cash or he would repo my new car. Can he really repo my car even though it is now owned by the finance company? I assumed that he had run a verification on my trade in already. This is my first time trading in a car, and i had no idea that it made a difference in value of the car. He has been calling my job and threatening me daily. By the way, i later found out that the car he sold me was part of a rental fleet which he never said, and also i paid $8000 more for my used car than the blue book value!! I was the one who was really scammed. I was told by a friend that me being a private party, i dont have to legally notify him of a branded title, but he being a dealer has to notify potential buyers of salvage, rebuilt, and rental fleet vehicles. What should i do now? I live in Texas.
AnswerI live in New York, and rules vary from state to state. Most likely, if you read the fine print in the purchase order, it states that you're responsible for providing a "clean" title for your trade-in, or words to that effect. It has nothing to do with notifying the dealer about what's on the title- if you agreed to provide a good title, then that's what you have to do (not all title problems show up through a title search through sites like CarFax, which is how the dealer covers himself in these situations).
On the other hand, the dealer is obligated to disclose on the buyer's order if the car you're purchasing is a former: driver-ed car, police or taxicab, demonstrator, or rental vehicle. If they didn't disclose that, then you should be able to use that bit of info to get the threats and phone calls to stop. If you want to take it further and maybe even get your money (and old car) back, then your next step is to contact an attorney.
