Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia
Purchased a car from a buy here pay here lot with my husband. During a separation between the two of us he paid off the car. No title was received but neither on of us really thought it was a big deal as the car was still going strong. This year the car has finally died. We tried to contact the place that we had bought it from and found out just one week before they shutdown and abandoned the place leaving no contact or anything. The DMV board suggested applying for a title. However it states we still have a lien on it. Concerned we tried again to reach them to find out what was going on. Once again there was no information and the lady at the dmv said it was in house financing and that she had no way for us to reach them. Is there anything we can do to get this settled? How would we find a way to reach them? If we applied for the title could we be in trouble without proof that we paid for the car?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You should see an attorney with experience in consumer law and you should probably check CARFAX and the DMV title history. Feel free to contact me if you need further help or a referral. Good luck.
Probably, easier now to just write off the old clunker and buy another car and
do it right this time, i.e, make sure that you get a valid title to the vehicle as
soon as it is paid off and all lien(s) on the vehicle are promptly released.
(And, yes, that can be a very big deal--as you're now finding out--and even if the vehicle is still running strong.)