Illinois resident; bought Mach 1 in Wisconsin - NIGHTMARE SITUATION

[dawued_is_me]

Hello ponies.

So I recently purchased a 2022 Mach 1 in June. 6/26 to be exact. I live in Illinois but found this Mach in Wisconsin, about an hour away from me. So I bought it. Seemed straightforward. I was given a 30 day temp tag from the dealer in Wisconsin, which was Summit Ford. I was issued a title in Wisconsin. Not sure why but I was like whatever. Excited to get Mach i figured I would deal with it later. Well, later has come.

I was told I would get needed documents in the mail in the coming week(s). I travel for work and have been gone since 6/29. So I came back to home to Illinois a few days ago and have certified letter from WI showing I own the car and yada yada. I figured I was good to go.

I took said paperwork to DMV. I was asked where is the title. Well, the bank, Huntington Bank, whom I have the loan with, obviously holds the title. Well, the clerk says, Illinois is a title in hand state, we cant register the vehicle without a title. Huh, I thought. I thought to myself.... so when i pay off the car and they send me the title is when I can register it? not a real question but something I was thinking. That makes no sense.

I said ooooh-k so how would one register this car. I am sure I am not the only human being in Illinois who bought a car from Wisconsin, I am sure there is a smooth way to do this. I am in a bordering city with Wisconsin, i am sure tons if Illinois people buy Wisconsin cars and vice versa,

Well, I was told I need to call the bank and have them overnight the title. I said ok I will call. So I call the bank and they said; oh we don't do that, we will send you a lien release letter in 10 days or so and you fill it out and mail it back to us and we will go from there.

Where will we go from there, I thought? To the DMV or Secretary of State....where will we go from there? I need the car registered!?!?!

I come home and Google till my eyes hurt. I read this is the way to do it and then after a few clicks I read that wasnt the way to do it. I used AI and at one point it was arguing with itself because it said I can just go to DMV and I told it I did go to DMV and was rejected and it told me the advice I received, from the AI itself, was wrong. hmmm ok.

So the next day comes and AI said try a different DMV, by law they must give you a temporary tag. I asked for the Illinois code that says that and I quoted it at the DMV. They said that is for new residents of Illinois, it doesn't apply to current Illinois residents. I was fuming, if this AI was a person, i would hurt him/her/they.

So this DMV rep was helpful. they used my cell and called the bank & the dealer and said you really screwed this Illinois resident because now his car is not operational. I should have been given a 90 tag and the dealer should have issued Illinois paperwork.

So here we are nearly a month after the initial 30 temp tag has expired and I am no closer to being able to register the car in Illinois.

I have read I need x,y,z forms and send it to Springfield directly. I then read if this packet of forms arrives with no title it will simply be rejected and returned. So i have no idea what to do next. I then read that i need to have the bank send the title directly to Springfield and the WI title will be converted to IL title and sent back to the bank and which time I should send the packet of x,y,z forms. I then read if the bank sends the title but there is no open application it would just be returned to the bank. I then read in order to open an application I need to have the title. So i am stuck in this crazy loop. I have no idea what to do.

I would love to be galloping on the roads with you all but looks like this pony is headed to the glue factory. I can't even sell it because I have no title...... I got a 2 ton paperweight in my garage.

So no one in Illinois should ever buy in a neighboring state and you should never get a loan from Huntington Bank, they could care less.

Will update you all if anything changes. if anyone has ever been successful at this, please let me know what I am/did wrong.

Thanks...... cheers.

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[RacingRoger]

Man, congratulations on getting your dream car!
Sorry about the government part....
I figure you have 1 of 3 options (and they all suck):
1) Move to WI.
2) Refinance at a CREDIT UNION (Banks suck, and maybe they won't jack around with the title)
3) Lawyer up (but then do you go after the bank or the car dealer? Or both???)
I agree with you that certainly you're not the only IL resident buying an out of state car. It really should not be this hard.
Please keep us informed on your progress!!!

 

[Mach2]

What does Summit Ford say? It seems like they screwed up by getting the Wisconsin title. I've purchased several cars out of state and was given the proper paperwork to get the title and registration in WA. The paperwork showed the finance company as the legal owner, so the title was sent to them.

 

[CrazyHippie]

In my experience, the dealer or your bank submits paperwork to the state to issue a title in your name, with them indicated as a lienholder right on the title. Then YOU are sent the title. Once you pay the loan in full, the bank sends you a release letter to keep with the title. Sounds like your situation was fubared from the start.

 

[RobZ71LM7]

This sounds 100% like your Ford dealer screwed up. I've bought numerous new vehicles out of state and this is on the dealer.

 

[EchoFiveR3531]

So I bought my car in Washington and had it shipped back here to IL. I bought it from a Ford dealer out there. They had to get the title and send it to my local DMV for me to register the car here in IL.

As you have discovered it was a pain in the ass to figure this all out. The dealership did this before they sent the title to the bank holding the lein.

I was all over this and it still took me 3 weeks to sort it all out. The dealer was waiting to get the title in hand because the car was a trade in. Once they had it and I had figured out everything it went well.

I agree that the dealer screwed this up. Buying cars from out of state can be tricky. You mentioned you are on the border so it can't be that uncommon.

The title was never released/mailed directly to me. It was overnighted with signature required to my local DMV and then sent to the bank. I understand why a bank wouldn't want to mail the title to the loan holder.

I would escalate this with the bank and try and explain that the title is being mailed to a goverment agency. You will never have possession of the title. There is a way to document and maintain a chain of custody for the title.

 

[Millarduck]

Dealer screwed this up. When you pay for the "paperwork" they are to title it in the state you are residing in, that includes collecting any taxes of that state, not their state. There are services that dealer's can use. I bought my car in N. VA and that dealer had it titled and tagged for me in DE. Any dealer withing a few hours of a state border should know how to transfer title and get a car registered in an adjacent state. Summit sounds like they are inept or lazy, I hope you did not pay fees for paperwork. If so, you should complain to the BBB or AG in WI.

 

[mitsuchris]

wow.. i have never received the title until the car was payed off. i did however buy a car in michigan where the guy had the title and the car was not paid off. different states do it differently. i wish i had more information. i do know illinois dmv is a mfer to deal with.

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