I am looking to purchase a mini from an individual. The mini s is a 2008 with an original purchase date of 3/20/08 and has around 10,000 miles. The person selling the car says he has the MSO and it has never been titled. He said I will be the first one to title the car. Can someone explain the difference between an MSO and an actual title? Will this cause me any problems when I try to register the vehicle? Thanks

 

I think the MSO is a "manufacture's statement of origin". I guess car dealers get MSOs with their new vehicles until someone buys it and gets a title. Why does the car have 10,000 miles, was it a demo?

 

Yes, an MSO is as stated. It's the document that the first buyer (or the dealer as a convenience service to the buyer) turns into the state which is used to start a title. Typically the dealer is the only one who sees it, but sometimes the first owner receives the MSO and does the title/registration paperwork on their own - this is often the case in the situation where a buyer buys a car out of state and will handle the title/registration on their own in their home state.

You can certainly register the car, but you may have to pay a hefty penalty as most states have a fixed amount of time after a sale before you need to submit the MSO and title/register the car. And if the car has never been titled/registered, sales tax may not have been paid yet. You may be liable for the full sales tax on the orgiinal price of the car.

You need to ask a lot of question on why the car was never titled. And since you can't typically register a car to get a license plate without a title or title application, how has the car been driven the 10K miles? Sometimes a buyer will just skip title/registration if the car is going to be mainly a track car. Or they might have done it to avoid paying sales tax and registration fees and have been running around illegally with a plate from another car.

Be very wary.

- Mark

 

Check into who owned or drove the car. Many times a wife or family member of the owner drives the car with a dealer tag on it. See what the warrantee is and the deal you are receiving and make your choice!

 

I agree with Markjenn above, something smells fishy...

 

He said he purchased the car for his wife and the car has had a dealer plate on it. He is not affiliated with the mini dealership. If you purchase the vehicle and have a dealers license don't you still have to title the vehicle?

 

I thing this guy is a "FRAUD"...sorry!! He wouldn't have a Dealer Plate if he wasn't "affiliated" with a MINI Dealer. Have you actually seen the MINI?? Have you done a CarFax on the MINIs VIN #?? Where are you sending the Cashier's Check?? AND Who's Uncle is going to take possession of the Title and Air Express it to you once you've Titled the Car in the 2nd Cousin to the Uncle's Brother's Wife's Name??

Get my drift??!!

 

I have not seen the mini. I have done a carfax on it and there are zero records on the vehicle. It matches up with a 2008 mini. So it seems as though things are correct. I have seen a few cars on ebay with an mso, but they are from a dealership. This car is on ebay and it qualifies for 50,000 purchase protection.

 

If he "bought" it for his wife why didn't he title it? It might be ligit but I think someone has to pay a fine or something for driving it 10,000 miles without a title. States have laws giving you a certain amount of time or miles to title a vehicle. Just make sure you're not sending the money to Nigeria......

 

run away! run away!

 

don't do it

 

If he really wants to sell it, just have him title the car and transfer it to you. If he doesn't want to, then it is either too complicated and expensive for him to do (and for you), or it's a scam of some sort.

Remember, it's only a good deal if it is real. There are many MINIs for sale and if this one is much cheaper, there's a reason.

 

The risk to reward ratio is too high.

 

Is he a diplomat or other foreign official who lives here in he U.S.? If so, it is possible that he could own the car without titling it here. Otherwise I'd say this sounds pretty dangerous to me. Check into this fully before handing over any money.

 

Unless he has a new car dealer license and the back of the MSO has been signed over from the MINI dealership to his dealership (not his personal name, but the dealership), then he has to turn that MSO in to the local DMV with a title application and pay any applicable sales taxes and penalties to title the car in his name. Some states are even more complicated, where only a franchised dealer can sell a car on a MSO (example: only the MINI dealership can sell MINIs on a MSO, so if a local Ford dealer buys one, it has to title the car before it can sell it).

Run from this deal unless the current owner titles the vehicle first... it sounds like it will cause you alot of headaches.