What Issues Arise from Not Transferring Ownership When Buying a Used Car?
3 Answers
Buying a used car without transferring ownership can lead to the following issues: Issues for the seller: For the original owner, if the car is not transferred, it remains under their name. In the event of a traffic accident or other incidents, the original owner will still bear corresponding responsibilities. Additionally, any traffic violations caused by the current owner will be tied to the original owner's identity information. If more than five violations remain unaddressed, the owner may be blacklisted, and the vehicle could be impounded. Issues for the buyer: For the buyer, if the vehicle ownership is not transferred, they may face difficulties in participating in mandatory annual inspections. Moreover, since the vehicle remains under the original owner's name, the seller could reclaim the car if they change their mind later. If authorities seize the seller's assets, the vehicle could still be subject to confiscation, leaving the buyer at a significant loss.
I've seen too many second-hand car owners get screwed over by not transferring the title. Last time, a guy in my neighborhood tried to save money by skipping the transfer, and then the original owner got into a hit-and-run while drunk driving in another city. The police showed up to impound the car, and he almost became the scapegoat. There are even worse cases—like when the original owner was drowning in debt, and the court straight-up towed the car away for auction. Even if you’re lucky enough to dodge these disasters, when you try to sell the car later, buyers will lowball you by half just because the title isn’t in your name—they’ll assume it’s a shady deal. And good luck passing the annual inspection if the registration doesn’t match. Seriously, don’t pinch pennies on the transfer fee. The lawyer fees you’ll spend fighting this in court later could buy you four new tires.
A personal experience tells you that skipping the transfer is definitely a ticking time bomb. I bought a used SUV and skipped the transfer for convenience. While driving, the headlight fuse blew. When I took it to the repair shop, they saw the name on the registration wasn’t mine and outright refused to touch the electrical system. Even worse, during the annual inspection, the DMV asked for a copy of the original owner’s ID—it took three calls to finally get it from the previous owner. The most frustrating part was last month when I got caught in a traffic restriction zone—the violation notice was sent directly to the previous owner’s phone, and he got so annoyed he blocked me. Now, when I tried to sell the car, dealers checked the records and found three months of unpaid fines, lowballing me so hard I wanted to cry. Had I known it’d be this much trouble, I should’ve just spent half a day to complete the transfer back then.
