What Happens If A Dealership Doesn't Give You The Title For Your Car?
When you buy a car at the dealership, there's a lot of paperwork flying around between you, the dealership, the bank, and the DMV. One of the most important pieces of paper is the title. If everything goes as it should, and you paid for your car in cash, then you should get your car's title mailed to you. If you are financing your car, the title belongs to the bank until the car is paid off and the lien is released.
However, if not all of the i's are dotted and the t's are not crossed, the title could get lost in the scuffle of buying a car, and you might not be able to get your hands on it. If it's an honest mistake, then contacting the dealership directly is the best course of action. If the dealership doesn't deliver you the title after you buy a car, fortunately you have a few legal rights, and the dealership will likely be subjected to fines (or worse) if it's not rectified as soon as possible. Depending on where you live, the State's Attorney General office doesn't take kindly to shady dealerships.
The law doesn't take it lightly
While this isn't legal advice, you have a few places you can go to. For example, in the state of Tennessee, you can file a complaint with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. It has specific forms you can file for this very thing. In Maryland, the state imposes fees on dealerships that don't deliver the title after 30 days. Since money is the name of the game at dealerships, the heavy fines most likely ensure that you will get your title one way or another.
The state of Indiana has a fairly comprehensive result of you not getting a title. You can send a letter to the dealership, and if it doesn't comply within 10 days, you can legally return the car you bought for the full purchase price plus tax. Fortunately, in the United States at least, fines and the potential of legal action or losing a sale often guarantees you get your title without any hassle.