Trading in a car with two owners (attorney, buying)

[saucystargazer]

Hi all,
I was looking for some help on trading in a vehicle title that has two names on it...both my husband and his dad (he was a college student at the time so they did it jointly). We are in SC now and our dealer down here is claiming that both parties have to be present during the trade in but from what I understand NC law allows a notoriety and or power of attorney to sign the title over. So does anyone know the real story? This dealer has been a headache to deal with and I have a feeling they are lying to us for whatever reason as it wont be the first time during this process. It is creating quite the headache because my husbands dad is going away for 3 weeks right around the time our car is suppose to come in and our dealer will only hold it for two weeks.

[GCharlotte]

Originally Posted by saucystargazer

Hi all,
I was looking for some help on trading in a vehicle title that has two names on it...both my husband and his dad (he was a college student at the time so they did it jointly). We are in SC now and our dealer down here is claiming that both parties have to be present during the trade in but from what I understand NC law allows a notoriety and or power of attorney to sign the title over. So does anyone know the real story? This dealer has been a headache to deal with and I have a feeling they are lying to us for whatever reason as it wont be the first time during this process. It is creating quite the headache because my husbands dad is going away for 3 weeks right around the time our car is suppose to come in and our dealer will only hold it for two weeks.

You could check with the DMV. Trading in a car is the same as selling it. Thing is, even if the state allows power of attorney that might not mean your dealer will accept it.

Call around to other dealers and see what their policies are. The issue might be that you have to (usually) sign a power of attorney to the dealer which allows them to do the title work. That might be where you are stuck.

You might be able to get one party off the title by signing it over to one person first then get a new title and trade with that. Check with your DMV though first.

[frisch]

If you are that worried about the dealer lying to you then your best bet is to find a new dealer. Good dealers don't lie.

[arbyunc]

You need to check the requirements of the SC DMV--this doesn't involve NC laws at all. Some states require that the title signature be notarized, while others don't. If SC requires notarization, simply have the two owners sign in the presence of a notary, who will stamp the title to notarize it (this can be done wherever the owners live). Then take the signed title to the SC DMV to register the car in SC. There's no need for the owners to be present at the time of trade-in. If that's what the dealer is telling you then I'd say you need to find another dealer.

[saucystargazer]

Originally Posted by arbyunc

You need to check the requirements of the SC DMV--this doesn't involve NC laws at all. Some states require that the title signature be notarized, while others don't. If SC requires notarization, simply have the two owners sign in the presence of a notary, who will stamp the title to notarize it (this can be done wherever the owners live). Then take the signed title to the SC DMV to register the car in SC. There's no need for the owners to be present at the time of trade-in. If that's what the dealer is telling you then I'd say you need to find another dealer.

Thanks for the help everyone! I agree about the dealer but its been such a long process at this point I just want to be done with it. We aren't financing with them and the reason we are still been using this dealer is we had to order the car and have already been waiting 4 weeks with at least 3 more to go. We can't afford to go longer as our trade in is going to start having problems come up (which is why we are getting rid of it). Its only the finance manager thats been a PITA. The whole reason I'm not financing with them is because of him. I'll be calling both nc and sc dmv and the dealer tomorrow (anonymously) to get the real story. If I find that the FI guy was lying about this too I'm going to file a formal complaint with the manager and corporate. This is my first car buying experience and aside from moving its been one of the most stressful things ever.