Free preview · from the dealership side of the desk
You bought the car, drove home with a paper temp tag, and figured the plates and title would show up in a few weeks. Now the expiration date is close, nobody at the dealership seems to know where your paperwork is, and you’re wondering whether you can legally drive your own car next week. It’s a common post-sale complaint, and most of the time it’s a boring paperwork problem that resolves.
Sometimes it isn’t. A stalled title can mean the dealer never had a clean title to give you, or never paid off the loan on your trade, which can leave your old loan open in your name. From the dealership side, a title clerk assembles a packet for the DMV, and it helps to know where yours can stall. Below: how long is normal, the warning signs of a real problem, a 60-day worked timeline, what not to do, your general protections, and what to say.
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In the full guide
- How title paperwork moves after a sale
- How long is normal
- Warning signs of a real problem
- A worked example: the 60-day timeline
- What not to do
- Your protections, generally
- Private sales and out-of-state purchases
- Your game plan
- What to say
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