What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey/Connecticut
I purchased a car back in 2006 from a Connecticut auction. The seller of the car is a very well known car dealership in the area. Their title clerk filled out all of the sale and registration documents for me on the spot, all I provided was my name, address, phone number and $3180 cash for the purchase. About a month after I bought the car, I noticed that I had not yet received the title in the mail. I just assumed that it might have been lost in the mail and that if I needed the title for anything, I could just apply for a duplicate through the DMV. Until recently, I had been able to renew my registration, pay my yearly taxes and keep my car insured with no problem. Fast forward to January 2013, I moved to a new state (New Jersey) and tried transferring my registration. One of the documents you need to provide to the NJ DMV is your title, so I requested a form from the CT DMV to apply for a duplicate title. I filled out the form once it arrived and mailed it out along with a check for the fee. A few weeks later, I received the check back along with a letter stating that they could not provide me with the duplicate title because it was not in my name. Around the same time, my current car insurance company (Nationwide) notified me that they were going to cancel my insurance because they do not operate in the state of New Jersey. I began searching for a new car insurance and was able to obtain a policy from Geico. About a week after recieving my new insurance cards in the mail, Geico notifies me that they too needed to cancel my insurance policy because they could not insure a "salvage titled" car. At this point, I cannot transfer my registration or get insurance on my car. I pulled up a Car Fax report and noticed two very important details; The car was still listed as having only one owner, and in 2005 (one year before I purchased the car) the salvage certificate was issued.
From what I have researched, when a car's title has been deemed a salvage, the vehicle cannot be sold, operated, or registered in its current state. I believe that the car dealership knew it had a salvage title and rebuilt the car to sell it via the auction knowing full well that they could not sell it through their dealership and can sell it for more through the auction if they didnt disclose that the car was a salvage (none of the original documents on my car say that the car had a bad title).
The most recent registration expired in mid 2013 during this entire ordeal and I have not been able to do anything with the car. I cannot drive it, I cannot sell it, I cant even junk it because most scrap yards want a title for the cars they take.
Do I contact the car dealership to ask them to transfer the title to my name, even though I did not directly purchase the car from the dealership? The purchase was through the auction and it's going on 13 years since I bought the car. I do still have all of the original sale documents showing the dealership as the seller, myself as the buyer, purchase price, ect. Is this something worth bringing up to a small claims court if they dont comply with my request?
Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated. I've been at my wit's end with this ordeal..
I purchased a car back in 2006 from a Connecticut auction. The seller of the car is a very well known car dealership in the area. Their title clerk filled out all of the sale and registration documents for me on the spot, all I provided was my name, address, phone number and $3180 cash for the purchase. About a month after I bought the car, I noticed that I had not yet received the title in the mail. I just assumed that it might have been lost in the mail and that if I needed the title for anything, I could just apply for a duplicate through the DMV. Until recently, I had been able to renew my registration, pay my yearly taxes and keep my car insured with no problem. Fast forward to January 2013, I moved to a new state (New Jersey) and tried transferring my registration. One of the documents you need to provide to the NJ DMV is your title, so I requested a form from the CT DMV to apply for a duplicate title. I filled out the form once it arrived and mailed it out along with a check for the fee. A few weeks later, I received the check back along with a letter stating that they could not provide me with the duplicate title because it was not in my name. Around the same time, my current car insurance company (Nationwide) notified me that they were going to cancel my insurance because they do not operate in the state of New Jersey. I began searching for a new car insurance and was able to obtain a policy from Geico. About a week after recieving my new insurance cards in the mail, Geico notifies me that they too needed to cancel my insurance policy because they could not insure a "salvage titled" car. At this point, I cannot transfer my registration or get insurance on my car. I pulled up a Car Fax report and noticed two very important details; The car was still listed as having only one owner, and in 2005 (one year before I purchased the car) the salvage certificate was issued.
From what I have researched, when a car's title has been deemed a salvage, the vehicle cannot be sold, operated, or registered in its current state. I believe that the car dealership knew it had a salvage title and rebuilt the car to sell it via the auction knowing full well that they could not sell it through their dealership and can sell it for more through the auction if they didnt disclose that the car was a salvage (none of the original documents on my car say that the car had a bad title).
The most recent registration expired in mid 2013 during this entire ordeal and I have not been able to do anything with the car. I cannot drive it, I cannot sell it, I cant even junk it because most scrap yards want a title for the cars they take.
Do I contact the car dealership to ask them to transfer the title to my name, even though I did not directly purchase the car from the dealership? The purchase was through the auction and it's going on 13 years since I bought the car. I do still have all of the original sale documents showing the dealership as the seller, myself as the buyer, purchase price, ect. Is this something worth bringing up to a small claims court if they dont comply with my request?
Any advise would be GREATLY appreciated. I've been at my wit's end with this ordeal..