In 2015, after years of health problems, I bought a used motor home in the hopes of traveling while I still had time. I cashed in my retirement account to do it. No sooner had the ink dried then I was sick again. Bought online (never again, lesson learned) paid in full. The title, after being delayed all summer, was supposed to be given to the driver - it wasn’t. The dealer stopped returning my calls. The motor home sat in a rented site since then and I spent most of my time too sick to care. In fall ‘18 a mechanic picked it up to give it a full checkup and inspection so it would be ready to travel at last.Then I found out I was stuck. I have insurance on it, but no inspection without a Registration and I can’t get that without the Title.I am in Pennsylvania, I bought the vehicle from a dealer in Florida, and the motor home may (or may not ) have been owned by someone in Georgia, but I don’t have their name.PA told me to talk to Florida DMV- FLDMV said there was a temporary registration in 8/15 but no Title was ever created, so I should go back to the dealer. Dealer said the salesman doesn’t work here anymore and stopped returning my calls. Now what? I’m feeling rather hopeless. I don’t know if my health will hold out for a legal battle, but I’m disabled and every penny I had is in that used motor home.Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Tracey

Which Florida dealer was handling the transaction?It does not matter if the salesman has left. If you have a VIN, a search can be made to find out the current title status.

The dealer was John Greer auto sales in Bradenton, FL . I contacted them in January or February and was told someone would call me back before close of business... ha! When I called them again they said the salesman didn’t work there anymore and acted like it wasn’t anything to do with them. Now I don’t get a call back at all. They advertise being in business since 1957, but I don’t see how with this work ethic.

The Florida DMV searched on the VIN. It was never titled in Florida, only activity was that temporary registration before my hired driver took it for delivery

On your Contract/Bill of sale, you should have a VIN. Here is a website that will give you a history report, including who it was/is last registered to. This may give you a place to start. VIN History

The vehicle history report can fill in the blanks. In other words the last owner that was registered, whether it was the dealer or someone in Georgia. From that point, and with your temporary registration, you should be able to make some progress. If you find the previous owner in Georgia, you can contact them and find out what their deal was with the dealer and whether or not he ever got his funds from the sale. If it is still registered to him, he can then issue you a title if you can prove that you bought the coach and bypass the dealer completely.

Dealer never put TITLE in my name, am I stuck??

doxiemom11
Explorer II
Apr 08, 2019
We were going to purchase a car in another state. The dealer in that state did not have a reciprocal agreement with our home state, so we would have been given a temporary registration to drive the vehicle to our home state. We would then have paid sales tax and done the paperwork for registration in our home state. I'm thinking maybe you were supposed to go to your DMV in PA when you got there and do the registration yourself for a title in your home state. If they collected tax from you in FL, you would then show proof of that and only pay the difference if your home state is higher. Have you checked with them?
westernrvparkow
Explorer
Apr 08, 2019
Time is of the essence in most transactions. The OP bought the vehicle 4 years ago and is just now attempting to track down the title. The dealer will likely claim they sent the title years ago. I agree with several of the previous posters to run a title search using the VIN and find out where and how the vehicle is currently titled. The next step should become apparent once that information is known.
mikim
Explorer
Apr 08, 2019
Since the dealer is located in Florida, I would contact the DMV in the state of Florida and file a complaint against them.

https://www.flhsmv.gov/safety-center/consumer-education/fraud/motor-vehicle-fraud/
JaxDad
Explorer III
Apr 09, 2019
Cut to the chase!

If you bought in ‘15 you’ve had it legally in your possession for 4’ish years.

File a storage lien and take title for unpaid storage fees. Dozens of company’s will do it for you, should be $200 to $300 Done.

No use making it more complicated than it needs to be.
lap527
Explorer
Apr 09, 2019
mikim wrote:
Since the dealer is located in Florida, I would contact the DMV in the state of Florida and file a complaint against them.

https://www.flhsmv.gov/safety-center/consumer-education/fraud/motor-vehicle-fraud/

I had the same problem here in Fl and went to the DMV. It wasn't long before the dealership was contacting me to straighten things out.
mobilefleet
Explorer
Apr 09, 2019
Somebody mentioned the police. The police won't do anything as this is a civil matter and they will direct you to hire a lawyer and/or file a claim with the court. Problem is, you generally have to file in the county where the defendant does business. Not feasible. Instead just get a bonded title through a local insurance agency or suretybondsdirect.com where you can get an online quote. The cost will be based on book value and how good your credit is, but will usually be anywhere from $100 to $500. This process is easy and much less hassle than court.
valhalla360
Navigator
Apr 09, 2019
dodge guy wrote:
Since you have the bill of sale, file for a lost title. The DMV will do a search and if it comes back free and clear they can issue a new title.

Probably your best bet...3-4 years later, the dealer may not even have access to the info and doesn't see much value in spending hours tracking it down.

I don't see this as much an issue of buying out of state as not following up during the purchase. Even though your illness takes precedence, if you came back to me 4 yr later, I can see the appeal of just not calling back and hoping you don't follow up for another 4 yr.
MRUSA
Explorer
Apr 09, 2019
The FL DMV is very strict. If the dealer did not act properly he could lose his license and his livelihood. I would contact FL DMV
schlep1967
Nomad
Apr 09, 2019
You should be able to take your out of state bill of sale to the PA DMV and get it taken care of.
tropical36
Explorer
Apr 09, 2019
MRUSA wrote:
The FL DMV is very strict. If the dealer did not act properly he could lose his license and his livelihood. I would contact FL DMV

Yeah, best for going through the FL DMV before calling any lawyers, I guess.
In fact, I was instrumental in putting a car dealer out of business some years back, by working with the DMV.
This clown was robbing peter to pay Paul, by not paying off the trade ins and then for not issuing a new owner's title within the allocated time, set forth by law.
Meanwhile, people who traded in, were getting notices of non payment, while the new owners, who paid cash, weren't being issued a title.
Seems that this guy, that came down here from out of state, had a history of these type shenanigans. Last I heard, he left in the middle of the night, back from whence he came.
I did get my title pretty quick, once I started making phone calls and showing up at the dealership.

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Dealer never put TITLE in my name, am I stuck??

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