BuckyThreadkiller

I posted this over in OT but I thought there might be someone with experience about Texas License laws here who could help.

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Back in November I traded my Jeep for a new car. Apparently the dealership turned it pretty quick because I'm now getting violation notices from the North Texas Tollway Authority saying that the car, which apparently still has my old plates on it, is busting through the toll plazas on the Dallas North Tollway.

I figure it's no biggie because I have a dated sales receipt and all the back up paperwork, but what a PITA. They mail you a nice little return mail statement with a picture of your car blasting through the toll booth and a listing of the violations for that week. It has been next to impossible to get through on the phone and finally after a week and a half they responded to my e-mail.

So far this mook with my tags has racked up almost $200 in fines. I hope they nail him to the wall.

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The guys over in Off Topic are berating me for getting rid of the car with the tags on it but every car I have bought and sold in Texas has had the seller's tags on the car and I understood it was the buyer's job to get the car tagged within 30m days. Am I off base on this?

SnowDale

Nope, you aren't off base. As long as you have the paperwork to back up that it's not your car, you are ok.

It reminds me of a few years back when my dad traded in his company car, then had a visit from Houston's finest about the hit and run his car was in. He had all the paperwork, so they went to go visit the dealer next.

Snowman

Tell the people in OT to mind their own business. Plates go with the car in Texas. Yes to what people already said about presenting the evidence. On the top of your title, there is a strip you are supposed to tear off and send in (with a 5.00 check) that tells them that the car has been sold. They don't care about selling price on that document only the date of sale. The car STILL stays registered in your name until the new owner files but at least you've notified the state. I prefer the system in other states where you keep the plates so no risk of this kind of trouble. But such are the ways in Texas anyway.

Doug :seeya


[Modified by Snowman, 2:44 PM 1/14/2003]

Godspeed

Just make sure you get things cleared up with the NTTA because they will report the violations to the DPS which will turn them into warrants. I had a problem with a defective tolltag last year which earned me 29 violations in 2 months which turned into 3 warrants. The problem was my fault for not updating license plate with the NTTA (I was using a tolltag from a previous car.) Once I straightened out the mess with the NTTA, they cleared up the warrants.

Luckily for your situation Texas does have some laws to protect you. Here is some more info on Form VTR-346 that Snowman was talking about:

From the Tx DOT web site




[Modified by Godspeed, 6:22 PM 1/14/2003]

C5 StockSwap

I don't know how this works in Texas, but in Arizona my dealer had to follow up on citations on a car I sold back to them. It might be a pain in the behind, but I'm sure you won't be liable.

PowerMad

Sounds to me like the dealership that got your car and resold it may have been negligent with the paperwork on the vehicle, leading to all these problems you are facing. Talk to a good attorney. He can easily straighten out the false charges against you. He may even be able to recover monetary compensation for the damages suffered by you (psychological stress, loss of time, tainting of your reputation, etc.).

sincerely,

dave

twincam47

By Texas Law the dealer has 20 days to transfer a title after a sale.
After the 20 days he would incur a tax penalty for late transfer. The dealer transfers the paperwork in the county in which the vehicle was sold and the county sends the records to the Texas MVD. I am not sure how long this process
takes to update Motor Vehicle Records for Police Department Computer Requests.
At any rate your plates would stay with the vehicle unless they were more than five years old. Then the County upon transfer of the title work would replace them with newer ones. You are safe...although a PITA with your buyers paperwork for the new car which shows your tradein in the negotiated price.

thefly

that happened to me but with a personalized license playe. they had bad data on a car i hadn't owned in 4 years when it happened. you think they would be able to do a decent trace.

TexasRedZ06

Gee, I'm glad that I bought my last car out-of-state in Louisiana!! I got to keep both plates, so no problems ever.

I would have to agree that its the dealer's responsibility to properly transfer title and registration....... that's what you pay for in the DOC FEE!!

movinlow

Dude, that is no good...but I wouldn't know how they could put a warrant out for someone who they do not have positivley identified...anyone could be driving the jeep,, not the buyer...anyway hope you get it figured out...it is a hassle you have to deal with... :(

mash557

I had that exact same problem when I traded cars several years ago. I called the Toll Authority and they send me a form to fill out that I had sold the car. Can't remember if they needed paperwork or whatever, but was no problem. Now if they would just answer the phone for you... Sounded to me like it happens to them quite a bit. Good Luck

ambitin

I had a worse problem! I traded in my 1985 fiero when I graduated from college. A few months later I got a call from a detective. He said that my car had been involved in a robbery of some sort and he needed to ask me questions. I explained to him that I had sold the car months earlier.

Scary that someone can "borrow" your identity just by buying a used car. Anyways, next time I sell a car I won't have that problem cause I now use personalized license plates :)

Lates,
Justin