First time buying a car I need help?

[Anonymous]

I brought a car from someone private (friend) but he still didn't give me the title. I feel dumb because this is my first time buying a car. So I decided to go to the place where he brought the car and the dealership asked for my insurance and gave me a 30 day temporary tag. Can I get in trouble for getting temporary tags? And how can I get a title for the car?

[MrOracle]

Possessing the car isn't ownership of the car - the TITLE is what bestows ownership. Not only do you not own this car (at least, not yet), but there's a good chance that your "friend" didn't own it either. It's not at all uncommon for, ahem, "less ethical" people to steal or borrow a car and then sell it to someone for cash, even though it wasn't theirs to sell.

You need to stay on him to get that title, and if he refuses to give you the title, or take back the car and return your money (good luck with that), then it might be possible to file a claim for a title transfer with your state's licensing department/DMV.

In the future, whenever you buy something more valuable than a Happy Meal, you need to get the appropriate paperwork, whether that is a cash register receipt (for smaller retail items), or a title for anything of substantial value. The vehicle itself is of zero value if you can't prove it's yours, and there's nothing preventing him from reporting it stolen, which can get you sent to jail, or from repossessing it from you.

You have the entire world's information in your pocket - 2 minutes worth of Google searches would have told you what you needed to do to buy a used car. Again, if you're buying something worth more than a meal, it's worth doing a few minutes of research before you buy.

[joeldalton]

Who has the title? Your friend? He needs to give it to you or you won't be able to get the car in your name. Do you have a bill of sale?

[Anonymous]

If you have a bill of sale for the car you can request the title from the state probably through the DMV. It's his job to sign over the title to you, not your job to have to chase it down.

[Fireguy17]

Ya, you really need the title.
A temp tag is just what is says, temporary, good for 30 days.
You should have gotten the title at the same time you paid for it, if it had a lien on it then you both go down to the bank and get it cleared.
You have no idea if this car is stolen, flood damaged, so no title, scrapped then repaired, no title if it was junked.
But if it was sold at a dealership it would have had a title on it.
You can try to do a lost title for it, meaning the former owner can not find the title for it, so a new one is issued, but if there is a lien on it you won't get it in your name until it is paid off.
If you know anyone that works in law enforcement have them run the vin number to see what comes up.
You might have some work to do to get a clear title for it.
If there was a lien on it, and he used the money for something other than paying it off, the finance company still owns the car, and you are screwed.
Lawyer?
Good luck!

[In_Trance]

you need to get the title