Bet You Didn't Know That...

I have been involved with the car business my entire adult life, having worked in positions inside car dealership and for finance companies associated with them. For the past 10 years I have owned Consumers Auto Warehouse in Staunton, VA and have sold vehicles to over 3,000 people in the Shenandoah Valley. You would think that I had encountered about every wrinkle in the laws associated with the car business. But I was proved wrong today.

Here is the quick and dirty for you: If you trade in a vehicle in Virginia, it is YOUR responsibility to notify DMV that you have done so. Doing otherwise may mean you are liable for things that happen with or to that vehicle after your trade it in.

Here is what happened. We had a cusotmer trade in a vehicle a while back. A couple weeks later, we sold it. The customer that bought it wrecked it a few days later. The towing company sued the original owner and WON.

Now, we took care of our customer (bet your dealer would not do that), but it stills blows me away. So watch yourself and notify DMV when you sell or trade your car, even if you do it with a car dealer.