Tips on Buying Cars: Should I be worried about buying a car from a private seller who has not transferred the title?, first time car buyers, red flags

Question
Except for small scratches, this 2007 VW is in great shape. This has been confirmed by a mechanic. I also ran a report on AutoCheck. Everything checked out fine. Here's the story: The seller has only owned the car for a month, and is selling it because some personal problems have put them deeper in debt. They just paid off their loan on the car (with another loan), and have the title in hand. BUT the title has never been transferred to their name, so there is no record with the DMV that they owned the car. The seller said that they called the DMV who said it would be fine. The seller nicely offered to accompany us to the DMV and transfer the title to make sure it was ok.

Our story gets complicated too, as we are financing the car through friends that are dealers in NC. They've offered to help us, so they're going to purchase the car then we will buy it from them. (As first time car buyers, we've had difficulty getting a loan.)

Red flags? What should I do? AND: we're moving in 5 days!

Answer
Joe,

What a complex situation you have here.  Lets see if we can figure something out.  I would call the DMV before you trek up there and make sure that what the seller is telling you is correct.  Second I would get your friends involved in the situation and see what the DMV says about what needs to be done on your friends end to get everything handled smoothly.  You obviously need to act fast because it will take a day or so.  It shouldn't be that complicated, but i would make sure that your friends buy the car from the seller and get all of that handled then you can have some time to get everything situated with the dealer.  Hope this helps.

Thanks - Jb