Bought used car from dealership - what if they don't file our registration paperwork before current registration expires (vehicle, windshield)

[Freebird]

Bought a used car December 14th from a dealership - license tags are on the car.

We paid registration fees to the dealership at the time of purchase, with the understanding that they would submit the fees and paperwork to the DMV and we would receive the stickers and registration in the mail. There is a 90-day temporary registration on the windshield.

The DMV does not yet have our paperwork or fees from the dealership - called them today and they have nothing.

Called dealership and then went by to talk in person because the answers by phone were not concrete. Dealership says they have thirty days from the sale date to submit the information and that ours is "in the stack to be processed" - will not give a definite date when it will happen. Current registration (from previous owner) expires January 16th, after which there will be fees for late renewal.

* So, because the dealership collected our registration fees and told us they would take care of everything, are they responsible for paying any late fees if they do not submit the paperwork for our registration to the DMV before the current registration expires on January 16th? *

[camaro69]

Think you need to call the DMV and ask them.

[Electrician4you]

All the paperwork you signed in there there was a piece giving them POA to do the registration transfer. But ultimately you are responsible for registration. Since you do have the temporary window sticker that should cover you.
From what I know the dealer goes and does a bunch of transfers at once every x amount of days. Did you buy from a real dealer or Joe Bobs Fly by Night car dealer

[usafracer]

Here is an idea...Call the dealer and ask them!! If you don't get the answer you like ask to speak to a supervisor. And keep doing that till you are comfortable.

[jeepman91919]

That happened to me before. My temporary plate expired. I tried contacting the dealer a few times, he would make empty promises but never deliver. So I went down to the DMV, and said Hi, my plate expired, and I don't know what to do - I explained the situation to them, and they gave me an instant temporary plate on the spot, to get me by for another month while they contacted the dealer on my behalf. Within 2 days the dealer contacted me and said everything was taken care of. Problem solved.

[Freebird]

Originally Posted by Freebird

Called dealership and then went by to talk in person because the answers by phone were not concrete. Dealership says they have thirty days from the sale date to submit the information and that ours is "in the stack to be processed" - will not give a definite date when it will happen.

It was a real, established dealership - not a corner lot with flags where we might expect more of a runaround on this. The guy with whom I spoke when I went in to the dealership (after not feeling comfortable with the answers I was given on the phone) was actually the finance manager.

He said they do send the information out to the DMV in batches and that they are behind on processing because they had sold more cars toward the end of the year - said ours should be processed within the 30 day window they are allowed.

Both of the finance guys with whom I spoke almost seemed insulted that I would call the DMV to check the status of the registration process (that's how I found out they hadn't yet sent it through) - also that I would ask the dealership for a timeframe of when it would happen instead of just accepting that "it's in the stack to be processed" - but we had an experience in the past with another "real" dealership NOT sending any information to the DMV even though they had said they would, so it seemed prudent to try to sort this out and not just trust them.

So, we paid the fees to cover the registration and the dealership promised us that registration papers and stickers would arrive in the mail and that the temporary registration would cover us until then. The dealership kept talking about the 90-day registration on the windshield and that we were ok as long as we have that. I trust that - the real question is whether the DMV will register the vehicle for the fees we paid or if there will be additional late fees because the dealership dragged its feet in submitting our information to them.

When the paperwork does make it to the DMV, they will be able to see that we paid the registration fees to the dealership on the purchase date and know that the dealership had the fees, title and paperwork all this time. My thinking is that the DMV will know there is no way we could register the vehicle ourselves without this - so it seems unlikely they would penalize us. Will they go ahead and register it - and wouldn't the dealership have to cover the late fees, if there are any?

I couldn't get a straight answer out of the finance manager about when anything would happen or whether they would cover the fees, just that "we were good" and they've never had a problem with the DMV.

This is in California.

Thank you very much for your responses so far, I really appreciate it !

[Rynldsbr]

Based on a lot of experience, you are fine. Legitimate dealers will get the paperwork done because they do not want to jeopardize their standing with the state. They have entered into a contract with you to provide this service as part of you purchasing the vehicle, and the responsibility lies with them to make this happen in accordance with all time frames required by the DMV. If you do not have your registration approximately a week prior to the 90 day window, then contact the DMV and ask that they ensure you are taken care of.

Fees for registration expiring will not apply to you if you have proof that the vehicle transferred ownership. In the meantime, keep a copy of your sale paperwork with you in the car in case you are stopped for any reason, you can prove the payment was made to the dealer at the time of the sale and that you are legally authorized to drive the car for 90 days while it is being processed.

[wankel7]

"There is a 90-day temporary registration on the windshield. "

It would seem like you have 90 days?

[SoCalCpl2]

And since this is in California.. Just because the dealership does their part doesn't mean DMV will get them to you in a timely manner...

I have many times been without current tags or plates on my cars because DMV is slow.. Never gotten a ticket either.....

And even if the dealership is lax on getting the info to the DMV, the DMV will not charge you any fees... IF any fees are due the dealership just pays them....

So stop worrying about something you have no control over and just wait for you plates or tags....

[jeffrow1]

Not uncommon at all, don't worry. Many times the dealer may not even have cleared the inbound transfer if it was a trade-in with a payoff when they sell it to you. Once a car is in dealer inventory the clock stops on registration expiration penalties so really nothing to worry about.