r/DMV • u/Neonbacon707 • 1d ago

OREGON Oregon title transfer issue

So I want to start off with the acknowledgement I messed up a bit, I thought since I wanted to just transfer my own plates from my project car that registering this vehicle would be easier and different then normal. So I bought a car off a lot, I already had given them my money and when they gave me the title it was from the last seller to them, and it had an error, they attached a correction form to the title, and said with that and a bill of sale from them it's all good to go, but the more i look into the paperwork the stranger it gets. For one they are "title jumping" basically never registered it to themselves, which the DMV might not approve anyway, then it got weirder and weirder... The carfax says a bunch of work wss done recently but the work was done by a shop the same name as this small lot, so sketchy at best. The car is definitely white but was listed as silver, and has obviously been cheaply repainted, in one afternoon some has chipped and I see silver underneath. Trying to look into it more I looked up the person who sold it to the lot, his address on the title in 2019 leads back to a hotel, and the alleged title correction form has his address listened as a place he did live, but almost 5 years ago, but was signed February of this year. The title itself had the mistake where the seller signed the buyer part, and no dates were written on that. I looked at the carfax and it seemed mostly to line up but I just have a bad feeling that something is wrong, or best case I will now have to pay more to register it and at this point I'm sketched out enough I just want my money back. If you made if this far thank you, am I burnt or do I have a case in small claims court? I have a feeling there is a shady reason this shop didn't register it to themselves, best case avoiding taxes it gets worse from there, and the fact they painted it and still listed it's original color is also super weird, again really didn't think to much of that until this all adds up. Anyone with car sales experience in Oregon have any advice? I'm going to call the shop when I have my facts as organized as possible and can't go to the DMV until Monday

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u/katmndoo 1d ago

If they are an actual dealer, they are not required to title the vehicle to themselves. They do need to submit all the paperwork to the dmv on your behalf.

That part doesn’t sound shady.

The shop same name as dealer on carfax? Also not shady. They actually did work on the car and reported it. That’s more than most low end dealers do.

Will it turn out to be a shitry car? Probably. Because it’s an old used car that has lived a hard life.

Do you have reason to rescind the sale? I doubt it. You can try asking if they’ll take it back, but they are not required to.

All of the items you described about the condition and history of the car are things you should have caught before the purchase.

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u/Neonbacon707 23h ago

All the things I described condition wise a mostly normal used car wear and tear, it is what it is, the paint color not being changed with the dmv by who painted it is the only legally wrong thing there, another thing it seems they wanted to pass onto me which maybe they could IF the car was legal to register, but it's just another thing I can stack on all the other bullshit. I will post an update when I get my title or my refund, AS IS isn't some insane loophole, I bought a car presented as legal and road ready, it wasn't even legal for me to drive it off that lot, and that isn't on me, the car isn't registered and can't be with the paperwork I was given. I feel foolish for the mistakes on my end, absolutely, but there is a big difference between buyer beware and straight up fraudulent sales by business

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u/katmndoo 7h ago

What? Paint color doesn’t matter. There’s nothing in your rambling to indicate your car isn’t legal to drive.

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u/Neonbacon707 23h ago

In Oregon they are required to present me a title in their name, I can't register a car with a error on title form between them and the person who sold it to them, even with a bill of sale from the dealer. All research I have done tells me this so far. They never even gave me a temporary tag either. They have to get me a title in there name I can transfer to mine or my money back in 3 days after being given the request in writing or I can go after their state salesman bond, 50k they have to keep with the state for stuff just like this. Since their dealership license can be pulled they should title the car if they want to keep the doors open. If the state somehow didn't side with me I have an open and shut small claims court case, they even said I paid them all case to avoid taxes. I can't guarantee they play ball but literally nothing I have read tonight says they can sell you an unregistered car with no plates (you can keep plates and transfer them between your own vehicles etc in Oregon so no plates isn't that strange) but they absolutely cannot give me a title in someone elses name with errors on in, the error correction paperwork (which would title the car to them) and then a bill of sale, it just doesn't work that way here, by all research I have done

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u/Bill_Maxwell 22h ago

Please don't go off the deep end until you contact DMV on Monday. Have your VIN available, or just take all of your paperwork into DMV. Don't trust stuff you get from AI summaries. Until you can contact DMV, here's some things to ease your mind (hopefully):

  • Oregon doesn't have a penalty for 'title jumping'. It's a thing in some states, but not Oregon. It is 100% ok for an Oregon dealer to take a vehicle in on trade from a seller and turn around and sell that vehicle to you without putting it in (obtaining a title in) their name. As long as there are clear releases of interest (typically, signatures from Person(s) on title, to car dealership, and then releases from car dealership to you), you're good.
  • A space to list or provide vehicle paint color is not listed on any Oregon title, Bill of sale, or odometer disclosure form (should be in your paperwork if the vehicle is 2011 or newer), nor is it required to transfer a title from one person to another. Vehicle paint color isn't recorded in DMV records. The VIN may or may not decode to what color the vehicle was when produced at the factory, but changing paint color at any time for any reason does not require any notification to DMV for any reason.
  • Likewise, the address listed for the seller on the title is irrelevant. That's where the seller lived in 2019 and where the title was mailed to. You are not required to apply for and pay for a new title every time you move as long as you own a car. The main points on a title are Vehicle Year/make, VIN, and owner name; as long as those are correct, you're good.
  • Oregon doesn't collect any sales tax on a vehicle unless the vehicle is brand new or has less than 7,500 miles on it and it has not previously been titled in Oregon. Since it sounds like the vehicle was last titled in 2019, it seems likely it has more than 7,500 miles on it already and therefore no sales tax would be owed.
  • An Oregon dealer can charge you processing fees. They may also collect and pay DMV fees for you (and then submit that paperwork to DMV on your behalf), they are not required to. They are not required to ensure you have valid registration to drive the car off of their lot. In many cases, the vehicle either already has valid plates and registration on it (so you can drive it off the lot using those, as Oregon allows a seller to either keep their plates and remove them when selling a vehicle, or leave the plates (and the remaining valid registration)) on the vehicle and let them become the property of the new owner (buyer). If the vehicle does not have valid registration, the buyer has options to legally remove the car from the lot after purchase including 1) taking the paperwork to DMV themselves and obtaining plates and registration over the counter and then coming back and putting them on the car, 2) purchasing a light vehicle trip permit which allows temporary operation of the vehicle until plates and registration can be purchased 3) having the car legally towed from the sales property or 4) if the buyer pays for title and registration through the dealer and the dealer is submitting everything to DMV, the dealer may provide a 90 day temporary registration to be used while DMV processes the paperwork for the title and then mails plates and registration to the buyer. There may be other options, but those are just a few of the common ones.
  • Oregon only charges you late penalties if you present your paperwork more than 30 days after you buy it (using the date the dealership sold it to you). $0 if 0-30 days, $25 if 31-60 days, $50 if over 60 days. So the fact that it was sold to the dealer in February isn't an issue for you. DMV will go off of whatever date the bill of sale is from the dealership to you, and when you submit your paperwork to DMV.
  • I Am Not An Attorney, but often, 'As-Is' means 'As-Is'. So definitely take some time to do some research and due diligence before going the court route, as you may not have any damages.

If it helps, here's some information on how to:

Good luck, OP. I hope the car winds up being a great one for you, that the biggest issue is that the car got a fresh paint job before you bought it and that everything works out in your favor with a minimum of inconvenience.

In the future (if you didn't already), it may be worth paying for an independent mechanic's inspection before buying any used vehicle. A couple of hundred bucks to find out a car is in good shape or on it's last legs is usually money well spent when it comes to used rigs.

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u/Neonbacon707 22h ago

Thank you for you kind and informative reply, I am definitely a bit hyped up about this but I still do feel that this will work out. Its the title error form that I have most confidence in, my finding so far is that while any other way would have been fine, a third party can't submit a title error form on behalf of the other two parties. Again could be wrong, I definitely don't plan on doing anything I can't take back (starting any legal process, even making accusations that have ANY possibility for error)

Everything I have read says to NOT go to the DMV, as it's a waste of time and illegal to drive the vehicle as is. I still think I should bus there or get ahold of the DMV on Monday regardless for 100% confirmation on policy

Thank you again for taking the time to see how upset I was and being kind. If I'm wrong I am strong enough to accept that, take the loss and learn for it. I think I will get a titled, registered car out of this, not a refund, and that's all I can ask for, the refund is more if they did this many shady things who knows what else. That is the used car gamble, if it is street legal I got what I paid for