Customer complains, Maize car dealer must pay $6,000

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A car buyer who claimed to have trouble registering a newly purchased vehicle and getting a title for it now has the title and some extra cash.

The Office of the District Attorney says it got a complaint from the buyer and began investigating Maize Motors LLC, a used car dealership, and its owner, Gabriel Nicholson.

The DA’s Consumer Protection Division alleged that Maize Motors and Nicholson failed to deliver the title on a Mustang within 60 days as required by Kansas law and failed to disclose to buyers that the dealership could not provide a title within 60 days.

The investigators claim that the dealership sold the Mustang two previous times and tried to transfer the title through a “Permit to Sell” obtained from a Louisiana seller. The DA’s office says the previous buyers returned the Mustang when they could not register it.

According to the DA’s office, Maize Motors believed the “Permit to Sell” was sufficient to transfer a title in Kansas.

Investigators say the dealership got a quiet title to the Mustang and delivered the title to the buyer outside of the 60 days required by law.

District Attorney Marc Bennett says Nicholson and the dealership denied violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act intentionally but agreed to enter a consent judgment to resolve the allegations.

Judge Stephen Ternes approved the judgment last week. It calls for Nicholson and Maize Motors to:

Be on probation for 12 months with the Consumer Protection Division

Be liable for $5,000 in civil penalties, as well as additional investigative expenses and court costs

Pay $1,000 in restitution to the impacted consumers

Cooperate regarding any future complaints

Bennett says the dealership and Nicholson have agreed to provide full refunds to buyers if the dealership fails to deliver a title within 60 days and the buyer cancels the purchase.

KSN News reached out to Maize Motors and the owner for a comment but have not heard back yet.

The district attorney says any vehicle buyer should receive certificates of title within 60 days of purchase so they can register the vehicle. Failure to provide the title within 60 days makes the transaction “fraudulent and void” and entitles the buyer to a full refund.

Click here for the District Attorney’s Office Consumer Protection Division. The website includes a consumer complaint form.