What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Connecticut
I was looking for a very specific model of car... one of the older Volvo 240 wagons that haven't been made since 1993. I found one two states away, although only 150 miles, that looked to be in good shape and was very cheap ($800; these cars are very, very cheap usually).
I live in Connecticut, and drove up to New Hampshire to look at it. My wife thought it looked good, we drove it, etc. So we decided to buy it. I paid a $199 "documentation fee" and a $25 title fee, and they asked for my address on where to send the title. I gave them the info. I also told them I'm brand new to Connecticut and am just needing a second car and was going to take it back and register it there. They explained some of the issues with taking a car to Massachusetts, as far as getting it inspected in the other state instead of in NH, etc., so they knew some differences.
I went to register it in CT to get the temporary registration while I did the emissions and vehicle inspection to get the permanent registration, and was told I could not register it even temporarily without a title.
I called back to ask them if they'd applied for the title, because the New Hampshire DMV FAQ says it only takes between 3-5 days to get a title issued.
They said, "There's no title for that car. New Hampshire doesn't require titles on cars more than 15 years old." The DMV site confirms that and also says under the duplicate title section, "If a vehicle model year is 15 years or older, the vehicle is Exempt and no Duplicate Title can be issued."
So now I'm wondering: What is a documentation fee if the dealer is not registering the vehicle (since I'm in CT and they're in NH), what is the title fee for if they're not ordering a title? And to make things even more complicated, the DMV says I can't register without corrected paperwork anyway because the Bill of Sale lists the car as a 1988 car when the VIN shows it's a 1987. All of the ads online list it as a 1988 also. They also used a U instead of a V on the VIN on the Bill of Sale, so I have to get that corrected also.
The car is fine for $800. but right now I'm trying to figure out if I'll even be able to register the thing here.
I understand "buyer beware," but they assured me they'd help me out if any issues arose, and I have talked to the folks there twice in the past four days and they haven't called me back with any information on correcting the errors.
Is there any room for recourse if nothing budges?
I was looking for a very specific model of car... one of the older Volvo 240 wagons that haven't been made since 1993. I found one two states away, although only 150 miles, that looked to be in good shape and was very cheap ($800; these cars are very, very cheap usually).
I live in Connecticut, and drove up to New Hampshire to look at it. My wife thought it looked good, we drove it, etc. So we decided to buy it. I paid a $199 "documentation fee" and a $25 title fee, and they asked for my address on where to send the title. I gave them the info. I also told them I'm brand new to Connecticut and am just needing a second car and was going to take it back and register it there. They explained some of the issues with taking a car to Massachusetts, as far as getting it inspected in the other state instead of in NH, etc., so they knew some differences.
I went to register it in CT to get the temporary registration while I did the emissions and vehicle inspection to get the permanent registration, and was told I could not register it even temporarily without a title.
I called back to ask them if they'd applied for the title, because the New Hampshire DMV FAQ says it only takes between 3-5 days to get a title issued.
They said, "There's no title for that car. New Hampshire doesn't require titles on cars more than 15 years old." The DMV site confirms that and also says under the duplicate title section, "If a vehicle model year is 15 years or older, the vehicle is Exempt and no Duplicate Title can be issued."
So now I'm wondering: What is a documentation fee if the dealer is not registering the vehicle (since I'm in CT and they're in NH), what is the title fee for if they're not ordering a title? And to make things even more complicated, the DMV says I can't register without corrected paperwork anyway because the Bill of Sale lists the car as a 1988 car when the VIN shows it's a 1987. All of the ads online list it as a 1988 also. They also used a U instead of a V on the VIN on the Bill of Sale, so I have to get that corrected also.
The car is fine for $800. but right now I'm trying to figure out if I'll even be able to register the thing here.
I understand "buyer beware," but they assured me they'd help me out if any issues arose, and I have talked to the folks there twice in the past four days and they haven't called me back with any information on correcting the errors.
Is there any room for recourse if nothing budges?
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