Used car lot might not have paid the sales tax. Please advise.

I bought a car in Pennsylvania about 6 years ago. The lot had a
pretty bad reputation, but I shopped there anyway. I bought a '93
Ford Escort Wagon that has not given me very many problems.

The day after I bought my car, I noticed a man picketing the
dealership. According to his sign, the dealership had sold him a
warranty, but hadn't sent it in.

A few years later, I read an article about a new trend in Pennsylvania
whereby disreputable dealerships weren't paying sales tax. When the
new owners eventually sold their cars, they learned of this, and had
to pay up before the car could be sold.

Presently, I am living in California, but have just been told I will
be transferred back to Pennsylvania. I still have the car, but I
don't want to take it back with me, as it's got 130K, and I don't
trust it on a 2300 mile trip.

If the dealership didn't pay the sales tax on the escort when they
sold it to me, will it bite me in the ass somehow if I try to sell it
out here? If so, can I get around this by donating it to charity?
How can I find out if they didn't pay the taxes? If they didn't, am I
responsible (or did the laws change)?

Any help would be appreciated.

-Chuck

In article > ,
Chuck > wrote:
>A few years later, I read an article about a new trend in Pennsylvania
>whereby disreputable dealerships weren't paying sales tax. When the
>new owners eventually sold their cars, they learned of this, and had
>to pay up before the car could be sold.

Sounds kind of odd. Wouldn't the Pennsylvania DMV hold up the issuance
of a title and registration if some of the taxes are not paid, and
wouldn't (some of) the buyers notice relatively quickly that the title
and registration isn't being processed on time?

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Timothy J. Lee
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