I purchased a new Prius from a dealer out of my state. I was given 20 day temporary plates but not an MCO. I basically have nothing that's going to prove I own the car and when I contacted the dealer they said they need to mail me something but I don't have it yet and my plates will expire! I'm not expecting a pleasant interaction with the dealership if it's anything like my presale experience. The dealers expect a markup are they going to ask me for money for an MCO to prove I own the car? Thanks
If you let us know which state you bought the car in and which state you live in, people on here from those state will likely be able to offer advice specific to those states. As for the stealership giving you trouble, don't put up with it one bit. You gave them a huge amount of money and they are legally obligated to provide you very specific documents. Don't let them push you around and let them know if you don't get results your next phone call is going to be to their state attorney general's office to report them for not providing the legal documents that they are required by law to provide you.
in ma, i wasn't allowed to purchase the vehicle until the dealer got the mco, which came a week after the car arrived. i would call the dealer and the rmv. consumer affairs if necessary. i doubt the dealer is looking for more money,you already signed a contract
In NY a car has a title that shows who owns it. If you are making payments to someone, it shows in the form of a lien which is listed on the title. If you have no title, you don't quite own it. Not familiar with MCO's.
Basically, the paperwork the car maker generates in order to transfer ownership into the form of a proper title. And if a Toyota Stealership can't even handle that task honestly... What are they good for? Evidently, they're also behind the breaking of anti-trust laws to prevent/limit the sale of EVs: Electric vehicles are hitting a road block: Car dealers
I was fortunate enough to get my bolt from a Chevy dealer who knew as much about ev’s as gassers. Which is to say, virtually nothing
Temporary plates expired. I have a 30k+ paperweight at this point. Getting frustrated. Correct, the dealership can't handle even their basic functions.
Sounds like it's time to go over their head and call corporate offices and work your way up their customer service ladder. The dealership isn't the manufacturer, and they're preventing the sale from being completed because they haven't delivered what they're legally required to deliver under their contract with the manufacturer. I'd also get your bank involved and find out how they can go about putting pressure on the stealership by filing a claim for a fraudulent transaction or try to reverse the payment for the vehicle. Also if you have full coverage auto insurance you might want to discuss with your insurance carrier how to file a claim because I'm certain your insurance carrier understands the significant liability of agreeing to insure a vehicle that isn't legally owned and registered. I'm sure their treatment of you will change real quick once you successfully pull all three of these levers.
PriusCamper said what I was going to say, only better. You can also tell them that while they are working on it you need a dealer plate so you can drive their car legally, and that you'll be there lunch time to pick it up.
If I can't register my car next Monday or Tuesday, I will have to get a dealer plate or something, demand a rental or loaner. It's been 2 weeks I can't use the car already. It's getting really old.
If I were you I'd be this Stealerships worst nightmare and the owner of said stealership would have their personal phone as well as their office phone blowing up with messages about how you're talking to Conneticut State Attorney General's office to have their Business License suspended if they can't provide the document they're legally required to provide at the time of purchase. What's more I'd get on the phone to both of these numbers and tell them your situation and ask to escalate to a supervisor and keep asking to escalate even if they say they can't until you're on the phone with an executive: "You can contact Toyota customer service by calling 1-800-331-4331. Their hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM–8 PM ET, and Saturday, 9 AM–7 PM ET. You can also submit an online request. You can also contact Toyota Financial Services at 1-800-874-8822. You can also email them using the Mail Center function after logging into ToyotaFinancial.com."
I have been thinking about it and I believe this dealership may be setting a new land speed record for abusive dealership behavior, New England Region, showing themselves to be first in a highly crowded field. Which dealership is this? Is this a car off the lot or a custom build?
Paperwork arrived over the weekend. My name's misspelled. Fingers for DMV. I'll update with additional info once I am registered. Car was off the lot. Prior customer walked from the deal... maybe it was the missing paperwork?
Final update on the MCO. I visited the DMV in New York City yesterday and received plates and a temporary registration certificate! Anecdotally, it took supervisors to clear the MCO. I'm guessing that most new cars are titled directly through some back office/ processing service with banks and handlers involved. Unfortunately I won't be able to drive the car until Thanksgiving day because it has been parked outside NYC since the temporary plates expired! All in all that means 13 days of loss of use of a car in less than a month of ownership. I wrote a message to Toyota North America and I'm awaiting there response.
I'm sure in a month or two, the pain this whole mess was will be replaced with how grateful you are for a car that's going to be good for you well into the 2030's.
