should i get a title when i pay cash for the car? the dealer says he will mail it to me dont trust that. cash up from title in hand?

I was a dealer for a dozen years. For the first 5 years, I handed the customer the title when they bought the car. Then the law changed in my state. (My state was one of the last to change, so nearly every state is the same now)

The last 7 years, I didn't because IF I did, they would go to the DMV and realize they couldn't get a new title that I had to do it for them. I also had to collect tax & title fee. And if you trust them to do that, you should trust them to deliver the title. Why ? Because they are bonded. Dealers have to put up a $5000 bond that means if they screw anybody out of their title, the bonding company will make it right and then collect from the dealer. Not to mention the dealers license would be revoked and they would be out of business. So dealers have no incentive to not get you your title. Indeed, the opposite, they have every incentive to make sure you get it. They just don't hand it to you. They send it to the state on your behalf and the state sends your title. And 95% of the time, that happens quickly. In 1-4 weeks. About 5% of the time or less, there can be a delay but that rarely means fraud was involved. It often means there was a payoff or a lost title and it just means it was delayed.

Your bill of sale and title application is proof you paid for the car. And that will let you buy a tag. Your title will come from the state in 1-4 weeks.

If that's not ok with you, I guess you could buy from a private party or an out of state dealer. In those cases, they will give you the title.

edit...My answer was from the US. I have no idea how it works in Mexico. Call the DMV and ask.

I did sell one to a Mexican guy and he wouldn't pay me tax or title. So, I carefully signed the title and notated on the bill of sale how much tax & title would be and on his way he went. A few days later, he called when he found out I was right and he brought the title back and paid me the tax & title and I sent it off on his behalf. I had that same conversation with a lot of people but he is the only one who insisted he was right.

Don't confuse the bond for any kind of warranty. Its not. Its ONLY for title issues.

Not mechanical problems. Dealer bonds are very cheap because almost nobody ever defaults on one. Which means almost no legit

dealer has ever screwed anybody out of a title.

And in my 12 years as a dealer, I NEVER got a stolen car and never knew anyone who did. Its just pretty rare.

Unless you are dealing with a scammer pretending to be a dealer. In which case, the car is stolen, your money is gone and the chances of them finding him are small. And the chances of him paying you back if they do find him even smaller.

I was a curbstone dealer which means my customers had every reason to trust me less than most dealers. But I had bill of sales and business cards.

Private sale, I get the existing seller's title signed over to me. It's up to me to take that to DMV and apply for a new one in my name.

Form a dealer, I get a completely filled out application for a title (2 copies, one for me, one for the town clerk for registration). The third copy is sent by the dealer to DMV and the new title arrives by mail in about 20 days. If financed, the title is sent to the finance company (or bank, credit union, etc.) When the loan is paid, the finance company then sends the existing title, signed over to me.

If the dealer has the clear title on hand, then "yes".

BUT... sometimes (heck, often actually) they won't have it on hand. It takes a bit to get it from a lender or a DMV if a car is traded in without it.

He can give you the signed over title but it doesn't prove anything until you take it to the DMV and the state processes it. Once they make sure the title is clear and that all the taxes and fees were paid they'll issue a title in YOUR name. That's why he said he'd mail it to you. All that paperwork proving he legally purchased it, sold it to you and collected the taxes and fees required by the state take time. If you want to do the leg work then volunteer to do all that yourself and just hope you don't screw it up or gorget something that will cause the state to deny you a clear title.

Yip title in hand, pay cash

get some witnesses.

For sure. You need to get the title otherwise you legally don't own the car. It is a fraud waiting to happen if you give him cash and he says he will mail the title.

Damn straight you should. Don't give the a dime until they can place the signed over clear title in you hand. Period. You'd be a fool to do anything but.

Yes you should