Hi everybody,
I bought my Airstream a few months after I began lurking on here and about two weeks before I started posting. I've had it for five and a half months now.
I've hesitated to post about this but need some advice.
I bought it from an RV dealership and have yet to get the title. When I bought it, the salesman told me that the title wasn't kept on the premesis and they'd either mail it or hand deliver it to me in a few days. Being my first RV purchase, I figured "OK".
A few days turned into two weeks and I never heard a word. I called them up and they said it had to process through DMV and would be a couple more weeks.
Two weeks later I called back and they became irate with me. Said they'd get it to me, just didn't know when. They needed time and for me to quit bugging them. OK, seemed kind of rude, but I waited a full month.
I called them after that month and the finance girl got irate with me, told me I knew what I was getting into with that trailer, and it was out of their hands. I said "What do you mean? Your salesman told me that he'd bring me the title in a couple days." She got all grouchy and handed me off to the GM of the place. GM comes on the line and starts saying that it was up to me to take care of the title. I said "Hold on here a minute, I bought it from you. It's up to you to get me the title. Nobody said anything to me about the title not being clear." He said he'd take care of it, it just might take a while.
It turned out that there are four parties involved. Party A owned the Airstream and sold it to Party B. Party B apparently didn't want to pay property taxes on it and so never registered it. After it sat in his possession for awhile, he decided to get sell it. He called up a buddy of his, Party C, who owns an RV dealership and asked him to sell it for him. Along comes Party D (Me) and buys it. C didn't bother to tell D that it was still in A's name. They tried to tell me it was between me and B, when I didn't (and still don't) even know who B is. Being in a different state (and a very persnickity one when it comes to vehicle titles) than me, C and B had to go track down A and get all the proper forms filled out that should have been done when B bought it from A. My understanding is that it was put into B's name finally, who would then transfer it to my state in C's dealership name, and C would give it to me.
I got a letter from the dealership in December saying that DMV in the other state had the title, was processing it, and would send it directly to the dealership once it was processed, where upon the dealership would take it to our state's DMV and get it processed into their name, whereupon they would then issue me the dealer title so that I could go register it in my name. I should have had it the third week of January at the outside.
Come the first of February I hadn't heard a peep. So I called up the finance/title girl and inquired. She then tells me that DMV sent it to "the other guy" and she couldn't give me a time frame because she was dependant upon the "other guy" to bring it to her when he gets around to it. The other guy, I assume, is B.
A couple weeks have since elapsed and I've not heard a word.
I spoke with my uncle, who is a lawyer, about this. He does title searches and real estate transactions. He was aghast at this. Said he's personally driven a hundred miles before to get a signature for a client. He said they should have done this too. Even though it's a convulted chain to get the title transferred, it should have taken three-five weeks, not five and a half months. He recommended I give them an ultimatim and then follow it up with a trip to the magistrate's court and contact the sheriff to look into the title/background of the trailer to see if it was stolen.
I drove over to the dealership last Friday to talk to the GM. They were supposed to be open until 6:00. What all the signs said. I got there at 5:30 and nobody was there. I left a note in their night drop off box to call me, that I was going to give them a week and a half to get me the title before I went the legal route. They were open Saturday, Monday, and today. Nobody has called me. I sent an email to the GM and the finance girl saying the same thing; enough is enough; I've waited five and a half months, either get me my title, come get it and refund my money plus some more for all the work I've done to it, or expect to hear from the magistate. No word at all.
I hate to be nasty like this. I really do. But I don't know what else to do. Any guidance on this? I've wanted one of these trailers for years. I finally get one and now it's useless to me as I can't even register it. From what I understand, there are no legal hurdles in the way. It's just that this bunch got my money way back(I paid them in cash) and now they have no motivation to go to the DMV to get it all processed.
Anybody else go through this? What else can I do?
I may become Airstream-Less again over this
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