Private Sale Without Transfer of Title

[nhpilot]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Florida

Hello all, this is my first post on this forum, and judging by the other posts I've read, it seems like a great place for legal advice.

My problem is this:

A few weeks ago I responded to a craiglist ad for a used car. We were in a time crunch so I agreed to buy; and here's how it went down (i'll try to be concise)

It was listed as a private sale, but when I agreed to buy, we drove to the seller's friend's dealership, so they could handle the paperwork (title transfer, bill of sale, etc.). We arranged for a wiring of the money from my account to the private sellers for the amount of 4500. The woman at this shoddy looking dealership had us sign all the paperwork, which were official documents. The women at the dealership handling all the paperwork insisted she needed to keep the title, and bill of sale so she could get us license plates. The DMV had closed for the day. We left without the car but with copies of the bill of sale and a copy of a signed agreement that the car would be delivered to us when plates came through. I paid an additional 500 dollars for registration fees. The copy they gave us of the bill of sale did NOT have the sellers signature.

Week later, car arrives with temporary tags. Now, the tags are about to expire but actual plates have not arrived yet. The woman is very difficult to get ahold of, but on the one occassion she answered the phone, she claimed the plates were in her posession and asked if we could drive to pick them up. Inquiry with the Orlando DMV indicated that the title had not yet been transferred into my name, and that without the title we cannot get new plates on the vehicle, which means it is illegal to drive the car.

Are we being scammed? or is this woman just being lazy? Do we have any legal recourse to get the title? Because I don't have the title and only a copy of the bill of sale without a sellers signature, can they report the car stolen and totally screw me?

Thanks in advance (and I know I made some big mistakes in the buying of this car)

[Mr. Knowitall]

If the seller cannot provide you with title, you can ask him to refund your money and take the car back or sue him in small claims court.

I am not sure if, when you say "are we being scammed" you are using the "royal we" ("Am I being scammed") or if you think this person at the car dealership is scamming both you and the seller. It doesn't much matter, though, as it's the seller's obligation to get you title and it's his obligation to make sure that his agents handle the transaction properly.