hi everyone,
I purchase a car about a week ago, and I havent been able to pick it up yet because the owner is waiting for the titile however I left down payment .

the owner gave me an offer saying that If I want I can go to him pick up the car and he will print out a bill of sale paper and sign it for me and state that as soon as he gets he title he will give it to me.

my question is should I go with the bill of sale ? is it legit ? or I should just wait for the title ?

yes im very in need of a car at this point .

thanks,

 

As long as u have a bill of sale notarized ur good to go. He cant do anything with the title.

 

Thats how i got my title. I had to wait till he got it and then sent it to me.

 

awesome, thank you so much guys for scuh a quick reply.

 

and one last question...

a bill of sale is it only one page that he is gonna have to sign and give it to me ? or there are other papers that need to go with it when I go to DMV for registration ?

 

Bill of sale is just a receipt, basically. You want to make sure you include the purchase price so that the DMV can calculate sales tax.

 

WATCH OUT!!! Without the title, you don't own the car. Is this person reputable? Without official documentation from the DMV, a bill of sale is just a piece of paper signed by someone.

I don't believe you can register the car without the title, which means that if he never delivers it, you will have an ugly legal situation trying to gain ownership of the car.

Are you sure this "owner" actually owns the car?

 

Definitely get it notarized at the very least

 

If there's a lienholder involved then the owner wouldn't have the title. I'm not saying that's the case in this particular situation.

 

The best thing to do is get the information regarding proper procedure from your DMV. That way you have all the correct information.

Several years ago I paid cash for a car from a private party that still had a loan for the car (therefore, she did not have the title). I brought a certified check for the agreed upon price. We met at her bank where she got a certified check for the remainder of the loan (above and beyond the sale price). We both signed a bill of sale with the sale price on it and had it notarized at the bank. Both checks went in to an envelope to pay off the loan. I got the keys and left. In a week or so, she received the title, signed it over and sent it to me. With the bill of sale and the title I was able to re-title it in my name and register the vehicle. I had 45 days to drive the vehicle with no tags (a temp tag now) with only the bill of sale in my glove box.

BUT, that's my state. You need to find out how it works in YOUR state.

And BTW, I just came back from the DMV moments ago (had to renew my license). While I was there, I saw that they had standardized bill of sale forms. Your state may have somethings similar.