A car buyer who drives home in a new-to-them vehicle expects the paperwork to catch up within a few weeks, not months. In California, thousands of AutoNation customers waited weeks past the state’s legal 30-day deadline for their own vehicle title to show up in the mail, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announcement. Now the dealership chain is paying $650,000 to settle the consumer protection lawsuit that followed.
A Legal Deadline AutoNation Kept Missing
California law gives dealers 30 days after a sale to submit the paperwork transferring a vehicle’s registration and certificate of ownership to the new owner through the DMV. It sounds like a formality until the deadline passes and a buyer is left holding a bill of sale instead of a title, unable to properly register the car or, in some cases, resell or refinance it. Los Angeles County prosecutors say AutoNation’s California dealerships missed that deadline thousands of times, with violations stretching back to 2019, according to the DA’s office. AutoNation operates 42 dealerships across the state, according to Local News Matters.
District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman framed the case around a basic consumer right. “Californians who buy a used car have a legal right to own the car they purchased without the stress of not knowing if or when they will receive title and registration,” Hochman said in the announcement.
Where the $650,000 Goes
The settlement, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court and approved by Judge William J. Monahan, breaks down into $450,000 in civil penalties, $150,000 to cover investigative costs, and $50,000 earmarked for a statewide consumer protection fund, according to the DA’s office. Los Angeles County prosecuted the case jointly with consumer protection divisions from Santa Clara, San Francisco, Sonoma, Ventura and Riverside counties. AutoNation did not admit liability as part of the deal, Local News Matters reported.
What Changes for Future Buyers
As part of the settlement, AutoNation agreed to compliance changes meant to keep title delays from repeating. The company will halt vehicle sales when a clear title path isn’t already established, defer sales commissions on any transaction where the transfer is delayed, keep at least 10 employees dedicated specifically to title and registration processing, and assign a regional manager-level employee to oversee the process going forward, according to the DA’s office. None of that speeds up the wait for buyers who already spent weeks checking their mailbox for a title that should have arrived a month after they drove off the lot. But prosecutors say the new safeguards are designed to make sure the next California AutoNation customer isn’t left in the same holding pattern.