Bought a car from a private party : California (sales, loan)

[Garcia1815]

I bought a car from a private party, he posted on the ad that it was his car and that he wanted to get rid of it because he bought a new car, and that the car had no mechanical issues. We went to check out the car and everything seem fine, he handed me a bill of sale and told me to go to the dmv and that they would give me the pink slip and the registration along with it. Turns out the car was bought at an auction, Now when i went to go register it at the DMV it turns out he did not give me all the paper work that i needed. I tired getting in touch with him through facebook where i saw the ad and he deleted it along with the profile. so i looked at the paper work and called the auction they told me that he was a regular and the day he would be there i went and i found him i confronted him on it and he said he has a paper where i sign that stated that i bought the car as is. so I asked him about the other paper i needed "lien document" that the towing company would provide && that i had to pay 70$ i asked him to pay it since he was suppose to be responsible for the paper he refused. So I then went to go get it and the towing company said it would be awhile until they get it but that i would need his signature on it so that the dmv can process it. I then asked him if i can call him when the paper work is ready to meet up so that he can sign off the car to me he agreed. But then when the paper work was ready he never answer or showed up!
what do I do?

[Vic Romano]

How long have you been living in California? How can you buy a car from someone you don't know and not get a pink slip? I wouldn't be surprised if your car is gone one day. Then you will have nothing.

I noticed you didn't even ask about the smog check so you really didn't educate yourself about buying a car.

[(901)]

I would go to a legitimate used car dealer. Show them what you've got and see if they'll sort it out for a fee ($500?)

You really should be more careful making large cash transactions

[ryanst530]

If you have a bill of sale on the purchase, and both of you signed it, then you have legal evidence that the car is yours.

I would continue trying to get a hold of the guy -- be polite and patient (rudeness and impatience is the surest way to make flaky people even flakier). If he still does not respond to your requests, then you will need to take him to court.

You have the upper hand in this situation as you legally paid for the vehicle and he did not follow through on the transaction.

[Dunbar42]

I had a similar scenario happen to me. I bought a used car that had a loan with the manufacturer’s financing arm. The seller paid off the car (I wrote the check directly to the the financing arm) but the seller got the payoff amount slightly wrong so they didn’t mail me the title for like a month. I don’t think you can register a car at the DMV without a title and they only give you like 2 weeks to register it before they start charging penalties (because they want the sales tax.) It cost me like $200 in penalties. The DMV should be able to start the process without the title so you aren’t charged penalties. The problem was the first time I went to the DMV they told me they couldn’t do anything without a title (which I found out later was untrue.) That misinformed person at the DMV cost me $200.

[Returning2USA]

Originally Posted by Vic Romano

How long have you been living in California? How can you buy a car from someone you don't know and not get a pink slip? I wouldn't be surprised if your car is gone one day. Then you will have nothing.

I noticed you didn't even ask about the smog check so you really didn't educate yourself about buying a car.

And also use Carfax. com and check the VIN number before you buy.

[CA4Now]

Are you an Auto Club (AAA) member? If so, they could assist you with this.