Can a KS dealership sell a traded vehicle before getting title? <Details follow>?

Question

My husband & I were on the title for a 2000 vehicle. I went car shopping to replace this vehicle and in the end, the dealership sold me a new vehicle, trading in the 2000 vehicle. I informed the dealership at the time my husband was also on the titlework, and that did not seem to matter.

The next day, I had "buyers remorse" for not involving my husband in the deal, and there were several things I did not like about the vehicle that I could not determine until I drove it at night. I tried to return the vehicle to the dealership, but they refused to take the vehicle back. I thought there was a 3-day window of opportunity to get out of a contract for any reason, but they denied that option.

They informed me to wait until I got the paperwork from them before getting the plates transferred. Once I received the paperwork, I sent my husband down to the DMV to register the vehicle, with a Power of Attorney signed by me.

Now, the dealership is finding out that the titlework is joined by "AND" and needs my husband's signature. What's worse, they had already sold the trade-in vehicle to another individual! How can that happen?

What are my options? I've had the vehicle now for 30 days, and it's an error on the dealership's part with the paperwork. One of the stipulations where I could return the vehicle and void the deal is if there was a problem with the paperwork, but now they've turned around and sold my trade-in!

Answer 1

You&#039;re in quite a predicament. Let&#039;s start with the more important problems and work our way through this. In most states there is NO cooling off period when you buy a car. Once you drive it off the lot, it&#039;s yours. You need to read your contract. There should be a disclosure in it specifying this, which you would&#039;ve signed when buying the car. There also should be notices posted in the finance office explaining that there is no cooling off period. Again, please check your state law.

The fact that your trade-in title has an &quot;and&quot; instead of &quot;or&quot; means that both you and your husband need to sign off on the title. If it were an &quot;or&quot;, then only one signiture is needed. Until your husband signs off on it, they do not have a clear title and should not re-sell your car.

But the fact that you signed the contract for the new car negates any chance of your husband refusing to sign the old title to void the deal. The deal has been recorded. Now they can go after you for your husband&#039;s signiture.

&quot;Problems with the paperwork&quot; does not mean not getting your husband to sign off on the old title. What that actually means is if they cannot get your contract approved by any of the lenders they deal with, or if they could not get it approved at the interest rate they told you, the contract can then be voided. And you return the new car.

They must have gotten an immediate approval and began reconditioning your trade-in to re-sell it the following day. However, a reputable dealer will not re-sell a trade-in until title has cleared. Most new car dealerships will refuse to re-sell it until they get transfer of title to them to avoid such problems that may turn into legal headaches.

Also, in many states it is ILLEGAL for a dealer to re-sell a car they do not have clear title to. They have to hold onto it until the transfer comes through. Once again, check your state&#039;s laws on this.

Buyer&#039;s remorse is a symptom EVERYBODY goes through after buying a new car. You&#039;re not alone. The reason for it is simple .... a car is a major purchase. It&#039;s not like buying a toaster or a TV. This is a huge purchase that will bind you to a contract for 60 or 72 months. And the amount financed can be staggering to you.

Buyer&#039;s remorse tends to make new owners look for things that will cause them regret rather than looking for things that will give them ownership pride. After a few days to a week, it wears off. And you begin to enjoy your car. But you&#039;ve had yours for a month.

I recommend that you contact your state&#039;s attorney general&#039;s office and inquire on the laws regardring any cooling off period and re-selling of your trade in if you want to pursue this matter. I wish you the best.

Answer 2

the way i look at it the new car is yours cant do anything about it.

as for you old car  even if all else fails and they have to return you old car to you,  you would still  need to keep the new car. and because the dealer did not get your trade  the price differance would have to be made up by you.