Putting a deposit on a car...questions...

When they give you the ***le, do they sign it over to you also? Who in their right mind would give somebody(espeacially a stranger) the ***le when all they have is a deposit for the vehicle?
Nobody gets the ***le to any of my cars untill full payment is made.

 

Maybe you should ask the owner. If I'm selling a car and someone shows up without cash, then I sell it to the next guy.

 

An escrow account is one of those ideas that sounds good, but if there's a problem it does not help.
Why?
Because either the withdrawal requires both signatures (and he won't help you), or there's a contract that explains the terms under which you alone get the money (and they ask you for a court order proving that the trigger event has occurred).
All these receipts, signatures etc. have a single useful purpose: telling him you mean business.
If he's going to cheat you those things don't impress him, and won't stop him.
If he's a nice guy you don't need them.
If you insist on having something on paper, it must have both signatures notarized (need not be at the same time or place) in a particular manner which is called an "acknowledgment". Anything else is not a contract, notarized or not. Notaries are required to know what this is... and don't.