The $54,000 Paperweight (Registration problems)

[rdunniii]

All Nevada requires

• Nevada Evidence of Insurance Card
• Invoice or Bill of Sale, and one of the following:
  Title
  Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin
  Security Agreement
  Lease Agreement
• Nevada Emission Vehicle Inspection Report
  (if needed)
• VIN inspection
• Application for Vehicle Registration (VP 222)
  (If a third party registers the vehicle on behalf of the owner)

It's the MSO that is the sticky part. The owner is never supposed to have possession of the MSO. It is the only legal proof that the vehicle exists. Dealerships are required to do all the paperwork and take care of translating the MSO into the original title at DMV. Tesla has no dealerships so it is treated like a private party sale so the following condition applies.

Vehicle must be registered within 30 days of the purchase.

The law has made the assumption that all private party sales are where a title already exists.

But, as there is no title and they will not give you the MSO Tesla has to go through some process to get a title issued by the state of Nevada. This is where it gets a bit kinky. Tesla Is supposed to send you documentation that you can take to DMV and get the car registered and receive the title. I guess this is the EDRS discussed above.

It is my understanding, from a DMV person, that once DMV has received the paperwork from Tesla and Nevada has created a title (not sure how you get that information) you can go to DMV with the bill of sale and a second VIN inspection and have DMV deal with it. DMV suggested going this route only after 3+ weeks if Tesla is not responsive. Haven't tried it so I don't know if it is true.

Tangent: MSO experience. Moving from Florida to California while in the USAF purchased a new car in transit in Colorado. (planned not emergency). The people at the Colorado dealership weren't sure what to do so they gave me the MSO. When I checked in at my new duty station the first thing out of the sergeant's mouth was "did you purchase a new car in Colorado while in transit? I said yes. He said they are getting phone calls from GM every few hours wanting to know if I had arrived and had been informed that GM demanded the MSO be immediately returned or they would take legal action. The sergeant at the desk said give it to him and he would see that it was taken care of.

 

[Mark007]

Question for JNB11:
Did you receive the title for your car? If so, from Tesla or from the DMV?

 

[JNB11]

Question for JNB11:
Did you receive the title for your car? If so, from Tesla or from the DMV?

The title came from the DMV. Even though Tesla never processed the registration, they at least took care of the title.

 

[jtl3]

Thanks for your previous posts regarding your issue with Tesla dropping the ball with Nevada registrations.
I now find myself in the same boat. I received an email today informing me that Tesla will not register my vehicle in Nevada even though they collected the fees. The agreed to refund me this money, however my 30 day temp tag is up in two days and no doc package to take take to the DMV.
Any suggestions with the NV DMV without the EDRS?

 

[JNB11]

Thanks for your previous posts regarding your issue with Tesla dropping the ball with Nevada registrations.
I now find myself in the same boat. I received an email today informing me that Tesla will not register my vehicle in Nevada even though they collected the fees. The agreed to refund me this money, however my 30 day temp tag is up in two days and no doc package to take take to the DMV.
Any suggestions with the NV DMV without the EDRS?

One thing I never mentioned during my debacle, Tesla claimed they had sixty days to deliver the EDRS to the DMV. When I asked why they didn’t give me a temporary registration to match they had no answer. One thing is for certain, the people at Las Vegas Tesla don’t seem to care. They have your money and according to them, a third party is supposed to handle the registration. But it looks like they aren’t even using that excuse anymore. I’d call the DMV every day to see if the EDRS has arrived. Mine arrived on a Saturday and they don’t answer customer service phones on weekends it seems.

You have several options, some better than others.

1. Ask Tesla to give you another thirty-day temporary registration. I can almost guarantee they will not.
2. Pay the DMV six dollars a day for a temporary registration. Since you might not receive the ERDS for another thirty days this will be pricey. Will Tesla pay for this?
3. Try and talk to a delivery manager. I talked to one named Hutch. I seemed to have lost his number but one of the Tesla customer service reps convinced him to give me a call.
4. I tried to submit a ticket through the Tesla website. The only response was an error message. You might do better.
5. Drive with an expired registration and risk the $350 - $1500 fine. Not something I recommend.

Good Luck

James

 

[AnesDragon]

I currently have the same issue. No registration packet sent to me and no way to register because of it and I took delivery September 28th. Today is the end of 30-day window. Tesla delivery specialist has been contacted without any effect. This is ridiculous!

 

[AnesDragon]

Finally, Tesla delivered my registration packet and I was able to register, but of course, just outside the 30 days window. But I am thankful they finally got around to it. Only thing is they did not send me my title of yet, and nor does NV DMV have any record of yet. Called Tesla and they are looking into it. I paid fully by cash so the Title belongs to me. I hope they did not send it to the lender that I had at once going to borrow from. They had the paperwork messed up at delivery and had to fix it before signing off and paying fully in cash, but who knows they may have the Title sent elsewhere despite this fix at delivery. Ongoing drama but I am optimistic Tesla will eventually fix the problem. It is a hassle that is unwarranted.

 

[Cycle11111]

As suggested do not overreact. I had a Toyota dealer do the exact same thing and it eventually showed up. I just kept driving until it showed up. However if really concerned pull you purchase docs from your account and go to the DMV.

 

[Cycle11111]

Sorry meant clerk's office where they reg vehicles

 

[AnesDragon]

As suggested do not overreact. I had a Toyota dealer do the exact same thing and it eventually showed up. I just kept driving until it showed up. However if really concerned pull you purchase docs from your account and go to the DMV.

I did have the purchase docs, I had all the evidence. Just not a sign of Title. I am not that worried and I will be driving and enjoying every minute. Just another fact to keep in mind and so far even Tesla is not able to answer this question. If Tesla nor DMV can answer this question that is kind of stupid, don't you think! I am sure it will be eventually resolved but still kind of a hassle.

 

[rdunniii]

I did have the purchase docs, I had all the evidence. Just not a sign of Title. I am not that worried and I will be driving and enjoying every minute. Just another fact to keep in mind and so far even Tesla is not able to answer this question. If Tesla nor DMV can answer this question that is kind of stupid, don't you think! I am sure it will be eventually resolved but still kind of a hassle.

I finally got my car registered Monday, the 30th day, after multiple emails and phone calls. I had a chat about this with the DMV tech and she was very helpful. If you picked up the car in California you paid California's sales tax even though you weren't supposed to.

Then we got to the title.

She had no clue what they are up to but there are people who have not gotten their Title after 6 months. She guessed that they are applying for a California Title (that Nevada DMV should never see) but because there is no California registration request to go along with it California will not issue the Title, because California thinks you are trying to cheat them out the of the registration fees regardless that you have an out of state address.

Then it got interesting. The rumor mill has it that after the recent Supreme Court decision regarding Internet sales tax that several states are considering suing Tesla for not remitting state specific sales taxes to the appropriate states. Remember, you bought the car from Tesla in Fremont, CA regardless of where you picked it up.

 

[AnesDragon]

They have a great product overall despite all the shortcomings that are discussed in the forum. Hope Tesla can polish all other aspects of their delivery and service process to really feel like you are dealing with a top notched company rather than a simple startup. They are too big to act like a startup and use that as an excuse to be pardoned for their mistakes. Own it and then respond to it respectfully and correct it by certain time frame and notifying the customer of their intent to fix this problem in a timely fashion while maintaining communication.

 

[Akikiki]

rdunniii, If I read what you wrote correctly, you are telling us that a clerk in Reno is telling you that when someone picks up their car in CA and CA's statues requires sales tax at deliver/pickup time, that someone should not be required or forced to pay that sales tax? How can a DMV clerk in Reno declare that IF its CA law? It may be unfair, but its CA's law, not NV's law. In other words, she has no standing to claim that.

We've heard of this before. A state rep in the CA legislature even introduced an amendment to allow out of state U.S. citizens to pickup their Tesla without being required to pay CA sales tax. It was defeated. His argument for was it was having an adverse impact on tourism and discouraged people coming to pickup their Tesla.

And on your comment about Internet sales and states may sue. I'd not going to comment how that's now the scenario that matches Internet sales. I will only say, I would take a bet it does not win for Tesla to pay other states for sales tax when people pickup in CA.

 

[jtl3]

Update on my previous posts. I was able to register the car in Nevada without the paperwork from Tesla. However, DMV still charged me a smaller sales tax and registration fee despite showing on my sales order that sales tax and registration was paid to Cali. Tesla has stated that they will reimburse me for the registration. What about the double sales tax for both states? Has anyone had to pay twice?

 

[ConcordeSST]

If anyone is waiting a while on their plates, I found out the reason for it (at least in my state) is the way Tesla processes the registration. I spoke to a nice rep at my service center after still not receiving my plates 5 weeks after delivery (and having to call and request a new temp tag). They told me that the paperwork gets sent to Tesla headquarters in CA after delivery. Headquarters processes it and submits it to the DMV in my state. The plates get issued and sent to Tesla in CA before getting FedEx'd back to me from Tesla. They supposedly didn't send my paperwork to my local DMV until 29 days after I took delivery.

 

[SMAlset]

I was following this thread from first post. Interesting what has transpired and glad some of you have a registration now. I can understand not wanting to get cited for expired new car registration.

I seem to recall that a number of states have reciprocal sales taxes agreements and others not. I'm not sure how I would come down on the buy in Calif. where the transaction all paperwork and funds changed hands but then drive it to another state and that state feeling entitled to also claim sales tax. I know this fight over tax dollars has gone on for years and unfortunately the owners get caught in the middle, which I suppose the owner's resident state doesn't care to place you in since you'll be driving there mostly. Really something to discourage out of state sales and keep revenue in state--buy your car here and you'll have no problems. But as we know Tesla isn't even allowed stores in some states to sell from.

The way I see it is If you go on vacation and spend money elsewhere, you don't pay sales tax to your home state on those vacation purchases. Guess due to the high dollar amount of a car, states see it differently. Really sorry to see you guys in Nevada, home of Tesla's Gigafactory, having such a mess to deal with and ruining a new car buying experience.

Will keep following to see how others make out. And I have heard of people having to pay twice.

 

[NoirMS]

I’m the owner of a Model 3 purchased on July 20 from the Las Vegas Tesla dealer. It is everything I thought it would be and I’m more than satisfied. There was a one week delay in the final delivery but I received the car many months sooner than I ever expected. A nice man named Sean handled the delivery and another nice lady by the name of Caroline handled the actual turnover of the car. I signed the paperwork and after Caroline answered a couple questions, I left.

So why is the car an over-priced paperweight? The temporary registration has expired and no one at Tesla seems to care. I emailed my concerns to Sean on August 15, four days prior to expiration. He answered the first email, said he could check with the service center, but he never called or responded again. I then tried Caroline’s number and sent an email. She returned my call and said she needed a copy of my proof of insurance even though I offered a copy when picking up the car. I sent her the requested picture of the insurance and the next time we talked, one day after the temporary registration expired, she plainly stated a third party was responsible for registering my car and the registration and plates would be mailed to me. She made no offer to try and find out why there was a delay and seemed to imply she was washing her hands of the entire matter.

This morning, August 24, five days after the registration expired, I checked the Nevada DMV website to see if the Tesla was listed on my registration page, it was not. Prior to lunch, I called the DMV to see if they had a record of the registration and if there might be some kind of delay at their end. The title was ready but they did not receive any request to register the car. The lady at the DMV suggested I should bring in the EDRS to register the car myself. Impossible of course because I do not have this form; or any other documentation that says I own the car.

I called Tesla and talked to a sales representative. She listened to my story then offered to transfer my call to Caroline. I politely declined then she said she would talk to the manager about my problem and I would receive a prompt reply. After over three hours I called again and talked to a man who also said he also would talk to the manager and he, of course, said I would receive a reply. It didn’t happen.

So what happens now? It’s obvious the Las Vegas dealer doesn’t care. Do I return the car? Should I contact an attorney? Has anyone else had this issue?


Thanks


James

I expire this weekend.. still no title

 

[NoirMS]

Now Expired

DMV rejected & returned the paperwork Tesla submitted

New temp plate and registration coming next week

Title TBD

 

[AnesDragon]

I am still waiting on my Title on a fully paid cash transaction on Sept 28th, 2018.

 

[NoirMS]

I am still waiting on my Title on a fully paid cash transaction on Sept 28th, 2018.

Ugh, that doesn't give me hope as I too was a fully paid cash transaction...
I think I'm back to square one....so maybe I'll see a title in 2019?!?