I bought my vehicle out of state (MO) in oct 2023-it was initially registered to the owner’s dealership under his LLC. I live in Iowa and have spoken with the DMV and their out of state processing is 3-4 weeks; the owner keeps stating that he is waiting for his account to be closed with the bank and then the vehicle will be processed through.
My question is: 4.5 months to close an account? I have spoken to him every month when I am requesting temp plates to be sent. Not sure what or if there is anything I can do besides wait but considerin its almost March —not sure if it has anything to do with his taxes either lol
Ick man, ick, do you have a written contract or something, because ‘technically’ he still owns the car.
I do, I have a bill of sales, my initial down payment check copy and all other documentation. I am just getting irritated about the delay and do not fully believe it takes this long to close out an account. Just curious if there is anything I can do besides waiting
What kind of dealership was this ?
It typically takes a bank 1-3 weeks to close an account and get a title sent out. Add in a week or two for the post man to deliver the paperwork both ways and it shouldn’t take more than 5-6 weeks to pay off an account and get you/the bank a title.
At this point, there is some funny business going on somewhere. You should request proof that the account was paid off.
Also do you know how long the previous owner owned the vehicle? The only reason for taking this long is that he bought it recently without the title (either lost title or a payoff) and had to wait for the title. So 4-6 week there plus another 4-6 weeks for his bank to get a title issued to them. Now you are at 2-3 months just for the title to be in the clear and issued to your bank.
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https://www.stl-cars.com/ website-private owned.
@wam22
He got it new I believe-it was placed into service august 2023 (bought mopar warranty and they confirmed it) and he was using it as his personal vehicle (from what he told me). So next steps should include proff that he paid off the account and then asking if he ever owned the title or ever lost?
Get proof the bank was paid off and showing the balance is $0. Because if it is showing the balance is paid off, there is now a titling issue that needs to be handled.
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Looks like a dealer / reseller and whomever he got the car from didn’t give him title yet.
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Have you paid this in full? Btw, wow, the seller is crazy enough to be on the hook for this car insurance risk.
@9benua Nope, just half
Did speak with him again and stating that paperwork is coming in for vehicles that were sold around the same timeline as mine. Going to give him another week and see whats up. Glad to know I wasn’t crazy for thinking that the timeline involved is definitely not normal.
Thanks everyone!
Update: this guy still hasn’t gotten the replacement tilte from MO DMV which was supposedly lost in Oct 2024. I have contacted the state via their inquiry form and 3-4 week response time and planning on trying to call them tomorrow as well.
-wanting to pay off the balance but don’t want to deal with the title headache–not sure if they are correlated.
TLDR: purchased vehicle in oct 2023 out of state in MO, and still pending registration as dealership lost the title. Dealership owner making claims that MO state is taking forever and I have submitted an inquiry form to them --which they stated has a 3-4 week turn around time and will attempt to call them tomorrow.
I’m not a lawyer but I’m pretty sure this guy is committing multiple crimes.
Is this something getting the General Attorney could get involved in? Not sure if they even handle something like this.
This is personally where I would start - again I’ll emphasize I am neither a lawyer nor a Missouri resident, but these people can probably help you figure out what you need to do. You may also find out that this guy is not a licensed dealer which is probably a whole bunch of other crimes.
https://dor.mo.gov/motor-vehicle/dealer-complaints.html
Your employer may offer a free basic legal advice line as a benefit, also. Mine does.
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Thank you, not sure how fruitful this will be, but it is another avenue for me explore for sure, thank you again!
I have seen some DMVs take over 100 days to process title, and this was without it being lost.
Not disagreeing, but he told me it was lost almost 5.5 months ago 
@Bumboola title wizzard
Maybe in a place like CA or NY. Highly doubt the MO DMV has turnaround times this long.
OP, tell the dealer owner you plan on filing a complaint with the appropriate state licensing agencies and the attorney general by the end of the week if this isn’t figured out by then. He has no motivation to move his ass to help you when you’ve been letting him string you along like a puppet for 1.5 years
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Ty!
10char
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