If you bought a vehicle from the now-closed Patriot Auto Group or Wayland Motor Sales, check and make sure that you received the title and registration after the sale. Some customers of Wayland Motor Sales, 159 North Main Street in Wayland, or Patriot Auto Group, Inc., M-37/M-43 west of Hastings, may have been issued improper temporary registrations or license plates when they bought a car or van.

 

Those who don’t have the proper papers are asked to call the Secretary of State’s Office of Investigative Services at 517-335-1410 for help in getting the proper title and registration for their vehicles.

 

 “Consumers who may have been victimized need to call to ensure they receive the correct ownership documents for their vehicle,” Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said. “Without proper title and registration, they will have difficulty proving they own their vehicle or getting a plate for the vehicle in the future.”  If those without the papers are stopped by law enforcement, they risk having their vehicles impounded.

 

The Office of Investigative Services staff found a number of significant violations by both dealerships. The Wayland Motor Sales dealer poorly maintained records and repeatedly failed to apply for title and registration within the required 15 days of vehicle delivery.

 

The licensee allegedly claimed that only four title transactions had not yet been processed, but investigators discovered an additional 15 unprocessed tax, title and registration transactions from vehicle sales.

 

The Wayland dealer had a former employee pretend to be a representative of Patriot Auto Sales Group, Inc. and purchase temporary registrations for customers, then the dealership never submitted paperwork for them to receive their permanent title documents from the state. Johnson issued a summary suspension of the dealership.

 

During the investigation of the Wayland dealership, the licensee for Patriot Auto Sales Group, allegedly denied knowing anything about the temporary registration purchases for Wayland Motor customers and submitted a close-out statement for the business. Investigators found the dealership had seven unprocessed sales transactions, leaving customers without proper documentation for their vehicles.

The dealer could not provide funds to pay for the tax, title and registration.