Oklahoma Vehicle Owners Hit With Long Title Printing Delays

A months-long delay in printing car titles is causing concern for Oklahoma drivers and car dealers.

The Jenks Tag Agency said it's a supply chain issue that the state hopes to resolve by the fall, but one car dealer told Channel 6 this could be devastating for her business.

“Titles make the car business go round," said Rhonda Pruitt, Co-owner of Chris Pruitt Auto Sales.

A statewide shortage of title paper is the latest roadblock facing the car industry.

“At what point do we go, 'Okay, how can we fix all these shortages?' I mean, the car business is a volatile business to begin with and then when you throw all of the new cars not being able to get the chips, so everybody’s forced to buy used cars, great for us, but then it makes it hard for us to get our stock and our supply, and our customers want another choice for vehicles. My husband goes and buys all the vehicles and he’s running himself ragged trying to get cars. So, this paper shortage is just one more headache for us to deal with," said Pruitt.

Vicki Greene with the Jenks Tag Agency said the delay is forcing most people to wait for 8 to 12 weeks to receive their title.

"You leave here with a registration that proves you're the owner of that vehicle so you're not in need of one right away," said Greene.

Greene said it's a bigger issue for car dealers like Rhonda Pruitt.

“Without titles, we can’t transfer ownership of a vehicle to a customer. We can’t purchase it from an auction. We can’t sell it at an auction," said Pruitt. “Their tag is gonna be expired and they’re gonna be either having to park the car or re-contract that car deal and sometimes that can be a costly procedure for us.”

Pruitt said it's also problematic for folks getting their car financed, as that approval is only good for 30 days.

“If we have to re-contract them, and if something was to happen to their credit between the time, they bought it to the re-contract date, the bank could either decide to not redo the loan or cut us back and not pay us as much for the loan," said Pruitt.

Dealers have been instructed to request expedited titles through the Oklahoma Tax Commission and usually receive a response within a couple of days.

Even then, Pruitt said there's still a delay.

“We had one customer come in and demand her title because her tag was due, and I said, ‘We can’t give you your title,’ and she’s like, ‘Well this sounds a little shady,'" said Pruitt. "My biggest thing is just letting people know that this is an issue. We aren’t trying to scam people and we are as frustrated as they are and it is something that needs to be fixed, but unfortunately won’t be today."

A new digital title and lien program approved last year by Oklahoma legislatures is set to be up and running next month.

“If we can print off titles, or send electronic copies of titles to the banks, that will help us move quickly and it will be more efficient for us, but we’ve got to get the kinks worked out before that’s gonna work out very smoothly,” said Pruitt.

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