Acura dealership failed to register my plates

[Longanimitas]

Hello,

I've been lurking for a few months, but this is my first post -

I took possession of an Integra Type S (Tiger Eye Pearl, just love the color/car in general!) on May 31st. Everything went smoothly, aside from a drawn-out negotiation that eventually ended in my favor. The car came with plates and a registration; I did not have to get a temp.

Fast-forward to July 23rd: I got a call from someone at the dealership saying that my car was not registered and my plates were invalid because of the CDK hack, and I'd have to go get a temp plate from them. He couldn't tell me if my car was currently unregistered or for how long I had been driving an illegal vehicle. He blamed the CDK hack...which did not start until June 19th. I had been in Ohio for a music festival with my girlfriend the previous weekend, so it would have been truly awful if the car had been impounded.

I immediately went to the dealership and got my temp plate. My salesperson apologized profusely, but still couldn't explain how a hack two weeks after I got the car resulted in my driving an illegal vehicle. Or why it took them until the end of July to inform me. When I tried to talk to dealership management about it, they rudely blew me off and told me they would call me about it later.

It's been a week and they have yet to call me. I'm feeling pretty pissed off. Am I overreacting, or is this something I should reach out to Acura corporate about?

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[ABPDE5]

Hello,

I've been lurking for a few months, but this is my first post -

I took possession of an Integra Type S (Tiger Eye Pearl, just love the color/car in general!) on May 31st. Everything went smoothly, aside from a drawn-out negotiation that eventually ended in my favor. The car came with plates and a registration; I did not have to get a temp.

Fast-forward to July 23rd: I got a call from someone at the dealership saying that my car was not registered and my plates were invalid because of the CDK hack, and I'd have to go get a temp plate from them. He couldn't tell me if my car was currently unregistered or for how long I had been driving an illegal vehicle. He blamed the CDK hack...which did not start until June 19th. I had been in Ohio for a music festival with my girlfriend the previous weekend, so it would have been truly awful if the car had been impounded.

I immediately went to the dealership and got my temp plate. My salesperson apologized profusely, but still couldn't explain how a hack two weeks after I got the car resulted in my driving an illegal vehicle. Or why it took them until the end of July to inform me. When I tried to talk to dealership management about it, they rudely blew me off and told me they would call me about it later.

It's been a week and they have yet to call me. I'm feeling pretty pissed off. Am I overreacting, or is this something I should reach out to Acura corporate about?

I'd be pissed.
You are very lucky you did not encounter a serious issue because of their mistake.

 

[nawfoo]

You're supposed to get a green slip from them and register it yourself.

 

[Integra23]

You should have already received the title. Just take it to the BMV/DMV and register it.

 

[Longanimitas]

They told me they took care of that. They gave me a registration, along with the plates.

 

[MidwestDE5]

I had issues with registration for mine. I bought mine on February 10 and didn’t get my plates until July 19th. You can report issues to the Secretary of State police. I didn’t even know that was a thing until I had this happen. I bought mine at Acura of Highland park in the Chicago area. They were a huge pain to deal with.

 

[MidwestDE5]

I just noticed you are also in the Chicago area. Don’t tell me you got yours at Highland park as well.

 

[crepr12]

Hmmmn...plate and registration from the dealership...May be they do thingds different in chicago...I have always got plates via DMV...But yeah let ot go, it wasn't towed and you didn't get a ticket for driving dirty

 

[Longanimitas]

I just noticed you are also in the Chicago area. Don’t tell me you got yours at Highland park as well.

McGrath Acura of Libertyville. I do not recommend them.

 

[ABPDE5]

They told me they took care of that. They gave me a registration, along with the plates.

So, they literally gave you a fraudulent registration and plates?

Did you have to pay registration fees, etc. at the dealer? Will you have to pay them again when you register directly with the state?

Imagine how this would have looked and how your story would have sounded to an officer had you been pulled over... you could have had the car impounded, faced serious ramifications / fines, likely would have had to hire representation, etc. (And, who's to say the dealership even comes clean during that process? There's no guarantee it even works out for you...)

The fact that you did not face consequences doesn't absolve the dealer at all.

 

[Longanimitas]

So, they literally gave you a fraudulent registration and plates... imagine how that would have looked and how your story would have sounded to an officer had you been pulled over... you could have had the car impounded, faced serious ramifications / fines, likely would have had to hire representation, etc. (And, who's to say the dealership even comes clean during that process? There's no guarantee it even works out for you...)

The fact that you did not face consequences doesn't absolve the dealer at all.

I know, I've been thinking about that! I would have sounded like a fucking idiot. And my girlfriend would NOT have handled it well.

They don't seem to want to make this right, so I'm going to confront them at my service visit this evening and then report them to Acura corporate if they don't change their tune.

 

[ABPDE5]

I know, I've been thinking about that! I would have sounded like a fucking idiot. And my girlfriend would NOT have handled it well.

They don't seem to want to make this right, so I'm going to confront them at my service visit this evening and then report them to Acura corporate if they don't change their tune.

Edited my post after you quoted... did they charge you registration fees?

 

[ABPDE5]

In some states, the dealer can register for you (and is often required to if you are financing). They often charge you the registration fees, excise tax, etc. (if applicable), and sometimes you need to wait for the registration process to complete before taking the car (i.e. out of state transactions can take days to clear -- assuming they can register for your state).
I believe other times they file afterward and it's assumed it will clear.

I'm sure it was their intent to file everything and they didn't knowingly give you BS plates, reg, etc., but as soon as they didn't file, they might as well have. I'm no attorney, but the burden is often shifted to the consumer (dealerships have even more legal "protections" than most businesses), and it wouldn't surprise me if after 30 days or w/e the window is for your state, this became your liability.

I typically let things go and am not confrontational, but I would be in arms over this.

 

[Longanimitas]

Yeah I paid for tax, title, and registration.

 

[Mr. LargeCoffee]

I did let the dealer do all the DMV paper work and get the plates (NYS). But I always check my DMV account online to be sure that it actually got registered and check back in every now and then to make sure that the title gets sent to me. If given the chance the dealer will screw it up.

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