DETROIT (WXYZ) — A Metro Detroit woman spent more than $4,000 on a used car, only to find out she could not register it.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
Marcus Kelley said his daughter, Taylor Kelley, was unable to register the 2015 Chevy Impala she bought at All City Auto Sales in Detroit for nearly a month.
"She bought it March 2nd. She tried to get the car legitimized, tried to go to the Secretary of State to get her, her plates, and insurance and stuff. They told her that she doesn't own the car, they couldn't do it. Uh, she called me crying," Marcus Kelley said. "We went up to the dealership, uh, where she got it from, All, All City. Uh, they said there was nothing they can do about it."
Kelley and his daughter later discovered a lien was on the title. All City Auto Sales denied that, saying they bought the vehicle free and clear from Credit Acceptance.
"To that I say that ain't what the police and the Secretary of State said. So if the Secretary of State says there's a lien on it and the DPD says there's a lien on it, I think I'm gonna go with my people that I'm paying, uh, that I pay my taxpayer money to to tell me that's something right or wrong," Kelley said.
I went to All City Auto Sales for answers. Derrick Hunter is the co-owner of the dealership.
"Well, the dealer registers the car by law, but sometimes the Secretary of State, they decline. If it's a missing signature, if it's any clerical error, they reject this; they can reject the title or the RD 108, and it has to be fixed and sent back to the Secretary of State," Hunter said. "The temporary plate is still valid and still good. It expires tomorrow. The issue will be resolved by the end of business day."
It was. But Steve Lehto, an attorney and auto law expert, said it should never have gotten this far.
"When you buy a vehicle in Michigan from a used car dealer, they should actually have possession of the title at the time that they sell the car to you. And so when you leave the lot, you should be able to go immediately and go and get it registered and, and, you know, apply for a title in your own name. And if that doesn't work out right away, that means that the dealership has done something wrong," Lehto said.
If this happens to you, Lehto said you should contact the Bureau of Regulatory Affairs, which oversees car dealers. https://www.michigan.gov/sos/industry-services/dealers
"It sounds like there was something going on here where the transfer didn't happen perfectly above board, and if a state inspector came in and started poking around and digging through paperwork, I bet they could get to the bottom of it very quickly," Lehto said.
All City Auto Sales did give Taylor $300 for the inconvenience of not being able to register the vehicle.
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