• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The CarGurus Blog

Daily coverage of the world of cars.

  • Cars for Sale
  • Car News
  • Tech + Cars
  • Industry Insights
  • Research
  • Video

selling cars

What Happens When a Buyer Never Registers a Car You Sold?

Last updated: Oct 22, 2019 at 1:40PM
Published on: May 27, 2015 by tgriffith

car title transfer

It’s a good rule in life to expect the best but prepare for the worst.

Most humans on Earth are good people who want to live the best life possible, but a few are set on breaking the rules for their own benefit.

Selling a car can be a profitable venture, but it can also provide opportunity for unscrupulous humans to use the seller’s good name in a crime. It’s rare, but it can happen.

When you buy a vehicle from a private seller, you take the transferred title to your local DMV and register the car in your name. All the paperwork is taken care of for you if you buy from a dealer.

Sometimes a private seller will sell his or her car, but the buyer won’t ever register it. Any parking tickets or driving infractions caught on camera will be under the seller’s name. If any crime is committed in the car, it’ll be the seller in the crosshairs of law enforcement.

Here’s how to make sure this doesn’t happen to you. Continue reading >>>

Filed Under: Car Shopping, General Chat, United States Tagged With: car buying, Car Minded, car sales, selling cars, What Happens When a Buyer Never Registers a Car You Sold

Primary Sidebar

Cars for Sale

Screenshot of CarGurus.com homepage showing search functionality, menus, and imagery.

Footer

Copyright © 2005 – 2021 CarGurus, Inc. All Rights Reserved

CarGurus, 121 First Street, Cambridge, MA 02141

Read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

 

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in