If you’ve been in the car sales business for some time, an incorrect title is probably nothing new to you. Even the smallest of errors can halt a car sale dead in its tracks as the title must be corrected before the vehicle can be sold. Thankfully, the solutions for a corrected title are fairly simple. Consolidated Automotive Services of Indiana has handled thousands of incorrect titles. If you ever find yourself in one of the situations below, our team can take care of them quickly and efficiently.
Title with an Error
Mistakes can happen, even when documents like vehicle titles are double- or triple-checked before they’re given to car owners. Perhaps you’ve accepted a trade-in vehicle from a customer and you realized there’s an error on the title. It could be a misspelled name, the wrong VIN, or incorrect lien holder information. If you discover an error, do not cross it out with ink or white out. It’s best to have the car owner take it to the DMV and have it corrected before accepting it as a trade-in.
Title Signed by a Different Buyer
Maybe your customer was going to sell their vehicle to someone else and then decided to use it as a trade-in towards the purchase of a new car. If they signed the title over to the prospective buyer and then decided not to sell it to them, this poses a problem for your car dealership. You cannot accept this title until the current owner has it corrected by the DMV. It’s much more challenging to fix these types of errors once you’ve finalized the sale with your customer.
Title with Previous Owner’s Name
Another reason you’ll need to have a customer correct their title is if the title is still in the previous owner’s name. This is called “Title Jumping” and is actually illegal. It may have been a harmless mistake or an overlooked part of the car-buying process, but it needs to be taken care of quickly. There’s no possible way the current owner can sign that title over to you if it’s not in their name. They will need to visit the DMV office and have them correct the error.
Serving Automotive Dealers in 50 States
Whether you need a corrected title, transfer of ownership, replacement title, repossession title, or any other title services, contact Consolidated Auto today at (812) 988-8300. We serve automotive dealers and finance companies across all 50 states.
Source: Dake, Justin. “How to Fix Car Title Errors.” Blog article. Dirt Legal. Web. 09 Oct. 2022.