Auto Dealership Breach of Contract?

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jerdogg6810

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Hello,

I currently reside in California and recently purchased a Used 'As-Is' vehicle in Las Vegas, NV from an Auto Dealership. I located the vehicle on the internet and contacted the dealership to inquire. I had a very specific year, make, model I was looking for and it took some time to find. I could not locate it in California but was satisfied with the pictures and information I received over the telephone from the Nevada Dealership. I also contacted the CA DMV to calculate the fees that I would pay to register an out-of-state vehicle and associated time frames to register without penalties. Prior to purchasing I had secured a pre-approved auto loan with my local credit union because they had the best rates. I did allow the dealership to run my credit but the best rate they could secure was 4.9% 48 month term and my credit union was 2.49% 60 month term.

Upon purchase I traded in my old vehicle and agreed to a sale price of $750.00 that was applied to the purchase. I provided the dealership finance department with my Letter of Credit and contact information for the Loan Agent at my credit union (copy of business card). I instructed them to simply fax the purchase order with VIN to the loan agent for payment processing as I was previously instructed by my Credit Union. We verified there were copies in their paperwork prior to taking delivery and driving off the lot. I entered into the purchase contract on 05.25.2013. Today is 06.17.2013 or 23 days later and the dealership has NEVER faxed the purchase order to my Credit Union. My loan pre-approval is only valid for the 6 next days and will then expire.

I first contacted the Credit Union to ask if they had received a P.O. from the dealership and they have not. I've now contacted the dealership finance folks directly by telephone on two occasions and they cannot locate a record of my contract. The gentlemen I spoke with said he was new and did not know the system very well. He took my name/number each time and promised to have someone return my phone call but I've never received a call back. The temporary registration provided at the time of delivery was only good for 10 days and has since expired. I only had a period of 20 days to register the vehicle in California from the date it was first driven into California which was 05.25.2013. Again, this is the 23rd day.

I contacted the CA DMV again this morning and the late fees/penalties are nearly $300 at this point. DMV also confirmed that since we have surpassed the 20 day requirement the dealership cannot provide me with a second temp registration at this point so it is completely unlawful to operate the vehicle. The best I can do is beg for a one day permit at this point. The car is just sitting in my garage now completely useless and I'm paying full coverage insurance on it as well. Bottom line here is this purchase is requiring too much of my personal time at this point. The dealership is obviously incompetent and proceeding with this purchase makes me very uncomfortable. Apparently someone else had attempted to purchase this same vehicle just prior to me. How do I know this? The dealership left full copies of the previous owner's contract in the glove compartment which contains all of this persons' personal information including home address, phone number, SSN#, everything. I even know how much they were selling the car for and what interest rate this person secured. I signed an Arbitration Agreement as part of the contract so I know this is probably the route if I want out. I just want to return the vehicle and make my purchase elsewhere.

Do I have any legal basis to simply return this vehicle to the dealership under Breach of Contract?

* The contract states that they have a reasonable amount of time, as determined by them to secure financing however in this case I provided the financing.
* CA DMV said they have up to 90 days (but that's in California)
* I spoke to a finance officer at a local dealership. Normally they must contact the customer with any issues within 6 days then try to resolve from there.
* There doesn't seem to be any time frame attached to reasonable amount of time. All of the contract language assumes that the dealership is providing financing and they are not in this case.
 
Taken from the Nevada DMV website:

When a consumer buys a vehicle from your dealership, you are required by law to issue them the following documents:

Copies of any lease agreement, warranty information, and contracts.
Temporary license plate that expires 30 days from the date of sale.
Certificate of emissions compliance, if required.
Report on drive-train inspection if the vehicle is used and has more than 75,000 miles on it.
Dealer's Report of Sale (DRS).
You have 15 days to finalize financing on the vehicle, and the DRS doesn't have to be issued until that time. If you're not able to secure financing for the vehicle, you can cancel the sale and ask the buyer to return the vehicle. You can, at that point, offer a new contract with alternate terms if you wish, but the buyer will be under no obligation to sign the new contract.

* I was issued a 10 day temporary paper registration, this says a 30 day temporary license plate is required at the time of sale. Apparently they have 15 days to secure financing too. Still not sure how this all works since the vehicle operates (or did) in California
 
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