Bought a lemon from a broker; 60 days and still no title

[rbea93]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TN

Two months ago we purchased a Saturn at a good price from an auto broker. It appeared to be in good condition, lots of work had been put into the vehicle. The broker assured us that all of his vehicles were guaranteed to pass emissions.
Less than 1 day later, the engine light came on, long story short we essentially had to pay several thousand dollars to rebuild the engine. I realize we probably have virtually no recourse as we didn't take it to our mechanic prior to purchasing the vehicle and we bought it as-is.
My problem is that 60 days later, this broker still has not furnished the title. He says the place he bought it from "lost" it, we had to take a photo of the VIN (that was a month ago), and we're still working with temporary tags. I'm beginning to wonder if the title even exists, perhaps it is some salvage title they are trying to somehow launder (there was a major flood here in Nashville in May...). However, they did provide the Carfax upon purchase and it was clean.
I just feel at this point, we have paid him for ownership of the vehicle and 60 days later he has failed to provide us that. How can I get this person to move faster? Do I have any options? Any thoughts? Thanks for reading.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Kiawah]

Yikes, you just may have put thousands in to a vehicle that you might never legitimately ever own and have to give back and unwind the deal, if you can't get that title. What was the purchase price of this vehicle, if you end up having to sue? Cash deal, or loan involved?

 

[rbea93]

Purchase price of the vehicle was roughly $2000 (cash) plus our old Honda. We put another $2500 in to fix various things after the engine light came on. It's a pretty solid car now, like I said a lot of other things had been replaced on it.

Here's the timeline:
10/1 - purchased vehicle, he said it would be 2-3 weeks before title arrived
10/25 - husband called him and said it still hadn't arrived
11/5 - broker called back and said he would look into it, sometimes it takes longer, blah blah blah
11/17 - broker called and said the original owner (Enterprise in Franklin, TN) lost the title and needed a photo of the VIN to get a new one
11/29 - husband contacted broker, who said it was in the works and we needed to be patient, getting mad wasn't going to solve anything - then hung up on him.

My problem is, I find it very difficult to tell what's really going on here. This guy and his family have a legitimate(looking) business with a garage, website, etc., and I suppose it is feasible that the original owner lost the title, and that would increase the time it would take us to receive the title. The problem is, he's either very unmotivated (it took several weeks to uncover the fact that the original owner lost it) or he's just giving us the run-around.

I called TN vehicle services and they sent me forms to make a claim on his surety bond and to file a complaint with the state. The woman I talked to recalled hearing of problems with them also. Do I just file the forms, or give it a few more weeks? Does his story seem reasonable?

I feel like regardless, I would like to take him to small claims court to try and recover some of the $2500+ we had to put into the car as a result of the engine light going on <6 hours after purchase. I realize we bought it as-is, but the fact is he said several times "I guarantee all my cars will pass emissions," which they won't in TN if your check engine light is on. We haven't said anything to him about problems with the vehicle, as we just want to have the title in hand first. Do you think I would have a case in small claims court? Is that a simple process, or would I definitely need a lawyer?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Zigner]

Purchase price of the vehicle was roughly $2000 (cash) plus our old Honda. We put another $2500 in to fix various things after the engine light came on. It's a pretty solid car now, like I said a lot of other things had been replaced on it.

Here's the timeline:
10/1 - purchased vehicle, he said it would be 2-3 weeks before title arrived
10/25 - husband called him and said it still hadn't arrived
11/5 - broker called back and said he would look into it, sometimes it takes longer, blah blah blah
11/17 - broker called and said the original owner (Enterprise in Franklin, TN) lost the title and needed a photo of the VIN to get a new one
11/29 - husband contacted broker, who said it was in the works and we needed to be patient, getting mad wasn't going to solve anything - then hung up on him.

My problem is, I find it very difficult to tell what's really going on here. This guy and his family have a legitimate(looking) business with a garage, website, etc., and I suppose it is feasible that the original owner lost the title, and that would increase the time it would take us to receive the title. The problem is, he's either very unmotivated (it took several weeks to uncover the fact that the original owner lost it) or he's just giving us the run-around.

I called TN vehicle services and they sent me forms to make a claim on his surety bond and to file a complaint with the state. The woman I talked to recalled hearing of problems with them also. Do I just file the forms, or give it a few more weeks? Does his story seem reasonable?

I feel like regardless, I would like to take him to small claims court to try and recover some of the $2500+ we had to put into the car as a result of the engine light going on <6 hours after purchase. I realize we bought it as-is, but the fact is he said several times "I guarantee all my cars will pass emissions," which they won't in TN if your check engine light is on. We haven't said anything to him about problems with the vehicle, as we just want to have the title in hand first. Do you think I would have a case in small claims court? Is that a simple process, or would I definitely need a lawyer?

Thanks for reading.

Did you give the dealer the opportunity to fix the vehicle?

 

[rbea93]

We wanted to take it to our mechanic who we felt was more reliable, in the event it was a small item to be fixed. He found it was the exhaust gas return valve, which ended up costing around $500. We told the broker about this, and he brushed it off, saying that was a "cheap, $70 fix" and that if we were being charged more, then we were being ripped off. Our mechanic has an impeccable reputation in the community. So, when the problems continued, we didn't have faith that the broker would address them properly.

 

[rbea93]

Looking online, I see a new EGR costs around $170 just for the part. The oddest thing was that my husband and father went to look at the car and took it for an extensive test drive, looking all over the car, testing the brakes, etc. Nothing happened, it ran very smoothly. Then shortly after we buy it, it starts shuddering and the engine light comes on. Our mechanic said that it is possible to put very thick oils, e.g. "engine honey" in a car to mask car problems, though this is obviously very difficult to prove.

Furthermore, after this issue was fixed, the engine continued to shudder as we drove it. After taking it to an associate of our mechanic's who specializes in engines, it turned out the 3rd cylinder was burning oil, which caused the EGR valve to go bad and misfire, gumming up spark plugs, etc. At this point it may have passed emissions, but the burning of the oil in the 3rd cylinder would obviously create recurring problems with the EGR valve, engine performance, spark plugs, and ability to pass emissions.

So my main questions are:
1. Should I continue to wait for the title, or file a claim against his surety bond and file a complaint with the department of vehicle services? Does his story seem legit or is this really too long? I don't know how long he legally has before he has to furnish the title.
2. Do I have any sort of case against this person, given that I took it to my own mechanic?

 

[sandyclaus]

:
1. Should I continue to wait for the title, or file a claim against his surety bond and file a complaint with the department of vehicle services? Does his story seem legit or is this really too long? I don't know how long he legally has before he has to furnish the title.
2. Do I have any sort of case against this person, given that I took it to my own mechanic?

This guy saw you coming from a mile away...

It's been 2 months, and still no title? And you still want to WAIT? No way, file that claim now and get the ball rolling. Either the title "magically appears" or you will get the claim processed, either one will put a mark in the WIN column for you.

And as for the repairs, when you chose to take matters into your own hands and hire your OWN mechanic, you took away the dealer's opportunity to make right with the mechanical issues. You needed to give him the chance to make the repairs on his own FIRST before taking them to your own mechanic instead. While you might argue that there was a trust issue (given the sale problems and the title), I'm not sure that will make a difference here.