Selling car to dealership without name on title

Submitted by spectacledninja t3_z1cxr8 in massachusetts

I have bought my car lease out and looking to sell it to a dealer. I was under the impression that once I receive my title I'm supposed to get it transferred in my name before I sell the car. However dealers (more than 1) are telling me I don't need to do that and can directly sell to them. Is this some sort of shady business practice or illegal or just some loop hole I'm unaware of?

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ncgbulldog1980 t1_ixahfyu wrote

I am pretty sure I've done this before. Car dealerships have a "Dealer licenses" granted by the State. They are allow to do things with titles that a regular citizen cannot.

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/dealer-information

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tobiasrfunke t1_ixal0ng wrote

How does this work for tax purposes? Isn't the OP technically responsible for the sales tax on the buyout (normally paid at the time of registration/titling)?

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tobiasrfunke t1_ixaan27 wrote

I'm interested in the answer to this as well because I am also under the impression that you would need to register it and receive a title with your name on it before transferring the vehicle to a 3rd party.

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spectacledninja OP t1_ixaayrf wrote

That's what I was thinking but when I asked them about it they said its ok to just have the title without it being under my name. Either they're misunderstanding something or I got the wrong idea. Im trying to verify what they would have to do exactly in order to buy it from me without a title transfer. If I get a clear answer I'll put it up here.

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bubalusarnee t1_ixd8zdw wrote

They don't really want you on the CarFax. They're gonna sell it as a lease to used, and do not want a private owner added to the list. Private owners are the worst.

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spectacledninja OP t1_ixd9oro wrote

Ahh ok. But by skipping the sales tax on it I'm putting myself in harms way right? Or is that typically how it goes?

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