When Carvana faced a near-death experience in late 2022, headlines focused on collapsing stock prices, rising debt, and pandemic whiplash.
But quietly, in courtrooms and state licensing boards, another storyline was unfolding: Carvana's inability to handle title and registration paperwork across multiple states became a customer nightmare — and a regulatory failure.
In Illinois, the Secretary of State temporarily suspended Carvana's dealer license for not transferring titles on time. In North Carolina, customers filed lawsuits after months without permanent plates. Florida, Michigan, and Texas also raised compliance issues.
For a company with sky-high valuations, the real damage came from a breakdown in the most fundamental post-sale process: Tag & Title.
This Wasn't Just a Carvana Problem
While Carvana made headlines, their situation exposed a far more common issue: dealerships of all sizes struggle with the post-deal process. Even well-run groups with modern DMS tools still rely on:
- Siloed spreadsheets
- Manual follow-ups
- Inconsistent state-by-state compliance
- A complete lack of visibility across rooftops
And when these processes fail, customers don't blame paperwork — they blame your brand.
Why DMS Tools Aren't Enough
Most dealership groups rely heavily on their DMS to manage everything after a deal is signed — assuming it can handle post-sale operations like tag and title, document flow, or compliance tasks.
But here's the truth: DMS platforms weren't built to manage workflows.
They're designed to record transactions, not coordinate the work that happens after them.
Yes, your DMS can structure a deal, hold inventory records, and push data to the accounting ledger. But it was never intended to orchestrate multi-step processes across departments — especially when those processes vary by state, involve regulatory timing, and require collaboration between F&I, accounting, and title clerks.
This is where many groups hit a wall:
- There's no built-in escalation path when something stalls.
- No visibility when a title delay starts costing time or money.
- No shared workspace where every stakeholder can see status in real-time.
That's the operational blind spot.
And in dealership groups where growth adds rooftops but not structure, that's where real risk hides — in the gaps between systems and teams.
What a Modern Tag & Title Workflow Should Look Like
If Carvana's story taught us anything, it's this: the deal isn't done when the customer signs — it's done when every detail behind the scenes is processed correctly, on time, and in compliance.
Yet many dealership groups still treat tag & title like an afterthought. To avoid that trap, it's worth asking:
What does operational excellence look like in the post-sale process?
Successful dealership groups that scale without chaos tend to build systems that include:
- Real-time escalation tracking
Issues surface before they escalate — not after a customer complaint or regulatory penalty. - State-specific compliance logic
Built-in rules reduce reliance on tribal knowledge and prevent costly mistakes across rooftops. - Shared visibility across roles
Everyone involved — F&I, accounting, DMV clerks — can access the same live status board. - Audit trails and accountability
Every deal is traceable, every step recorded. That's peace of mind during audits and internal reviews. - Compatibility with your existing DMS
The right solution enhances your core systems — it doesn't replace them or force rip-and-replace migrations.
A Better Way Forward
If your group is growing, or simply feeling the strain of compliance complexity, delayed paperwork, or siloed workflows, it may be time to rethink what happens after the deal.
That's why platforms like OmnitrixHub's TTMS (Tag & Title Management System) exist — to bring structure, oversight, and automation into a part of the dealership operation that's too important to leave to chance.
Learn more about OmnitrixHub's TTMS
The Takeaway
Carvana survived its collapse. Many wouldn't be so lucky.
The title and registration process isn't a back-office detail — it's a core pillar of operational excellence. And the more rooftops you run, the more you need systems, not spreadsheets.
If you want to scale without operational risk, now is the time to build the infrastructure that supports it.
