Buyers at a Tucson auto dealer paid thousands of dollars for vehicles they legally never owned. Some waited eight months for clear titles. Others discovered liens they were never told about. The Arizona Department of Transportation stepped in with enforcement action in July 2025 after complaints piled up against Quebedeaux Buick GMC, a dealership that’s operated on Speedway Boulevard since the 1950s.
ADOT issued a cease and desist order on July 16, 2025, finding the business sold used vehicles without holding proper title documentation. Under state law, that’s fraud.
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Wisconsin Buyer Triggers Investigation
Sarah Schiltz spent six months searching for the right SUV. When she found a 2020 GMC Yukon Denali at Quebedeaux in early 2025, she did everything right. She pulled vehicle history reports. She hired a mechanic for an independent inspection. Everything checked out.
She paid for the Yukon and arranged shipping to Wisconsin.
Then the dealership went silent. For 113 days, Schiltz called repeatedly trying to get her title transferred. Staff passed her between departments. Nobody could explain why the paperwork wasn’t complete.
The problem: the Yukon had an undisclosed lien from the previous owner. Schiltz didn’t learn about it until she filed a complaint with state regulators. In Arizona, selling a vehicle without disclosing existing liens violates Arizona Revised Statute 13-3708 and qualifies as fraud.
Her complaint prompted ADOT’s Office of Inspector General to investigate. Detectives found other buyers stuck in similar situations.
Eight Months for a Title That Should Take 30 Days
Miguel Florez bought a 2015 Ford Explorer from Quebedeaux in 2023. The vehicle came with something extra: multiple speeding tickets from the previous owner and an unresolved lien.
Dealership staff told Florez they were trying to contact the former owner to clear the fines. He waited. And waited.
State law requires dealerships to submit title paperwork to the Motor Vehicle Division within 30 days of sale. Florez waited nearly eight months for clear ownership documents. During that time, he cycled through two 30-day temporary plates and two 90-day extensions, paying out of pocket for each one.
After he filed a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General, Quebedeaux sent him a $100 check to cover temporary registration costs. The Explorer, which came without a warranty, stopped running after two years.
Navy veteran Kiamesha Guy from Casa Grande faced the same problem with her 2012 Chevy Camaro. When her temporary plate expired in July 2025, she contacted MVD to check her registration status. The vehicle wasn’t registered in her name. It wasn’t registered to the dealership either.
Nessa Anderson purchased a 2019 Toyota Tundra in May 2025. The truck had only been on the lot three days, but getting title paperwork filed took more than two months.
When Anderson complained about the delay, a finance manager at the dealership told her: “You know we sell 500 cars a month and if we only mess up on two, those are pretty good odds.”
After local news station KOLD 13 aired its investigation in late July, dozens more customers came forward describing similar experiences with registration delays and undisclosed liens.
Manager’s Memory Fails, Written Record Doesn’t
On July 3, 2025, KOLD reporter Rebecca Taylor called the dealership and asked general sales manager Cisco Gonzalez about Sarah Schiltz’s case.
Gonzalez said he couldn’t recall Schiltz or any issues with her vehicle purchase.
Two days earlier, on July 1, Gonzalez had signed a letter addressed to the Arizona Attorney General responding to Schiltz’s complaint. KOLD obtained a copy.
“There was a breakdown in communication during the lien payoff and title processing,” Gonzalez wrote in the letter, “and we acknowledge the impact this had on her confidence in our dealership.”
The dealership’s Chief Financial Officer, Basilio Gonzales, agreed to an on-camera interview scheduled for July 29. When the news crew arrived, he sat down for the interview, then immediately backed out. He suggested he might answer questions via email instead.
Ten days later, a Phoenix law firm representing Quebedeaux sent a brief statement saying the business was “taking this matter very seriously” but would not answer specific questions.
What the Law Says and What Happens Next
Arizona law prohibits dealerships from selling used vehicles without possessing a certificate of title. Dealers have 30 days to file ownership transfer paperwork with the Motor Vehicle Division.
Violations of dealer licensing requirements can result in:
• Cease and desist orders
• Criminal citations
• Civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation
• License suspension or cancellation
ADOT’s Office of Inspector General handles roughly 125 dealer fraud cases annually. When investigators confirmed Quebedeaux sold vehicles without proper title documentation, they issued the cease and desist order requiring immediate corrections.
Sources familiar with the order indicated this was the dealership’s first recorded violation. First-time offenders typically receive cease and desist orders. Repeat violations trigger citations and potential license revocation.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office declined to confirm whether a separate investigation remains active.
How to Protect Yourself
Buyers can check for liens before handing over money. The Arizona MVD website offers a free lien verification system that shows outstanding debts or salvage designations attached to any vehicle.
Before purchasing a used vehicle:
• Request to see the title and verify the seller’s name matches the document
• Compare the VIN on the dashboard to the VIN on the driver’s door jamb
• Use the AZ MVD NOW website to check for existing liens
• Consider meeting at an MVD office to complete the title transfer immediately
• Walk away if the dealer pressures you to buy quickly
If a dealership fails to transfer your title within 30 days, file a complaint with ADOT’s Fraud Hotline at 877-712-2370. Also file with the Arizona Attorney General’s consumer protection division. Document every phone call, email, and conversation.
Dealership Remains Open, Buyers Still at Risk
Quebedeaux Buick GMC continues operating at 3566 East Speedway Boulevard in Tucson under ADOT dealer license L00001945. The business has served Southern Arizona for more than 70 years.
Sarah Schiltz received her lien release on June 16, 2025. Her name was added to the title on July 1, four months after she paid for the vehicle. She only got ownership documents after filing complaints with two state agencies and contacting local media.
“I feel that they don’t truly care,” Schiltz told investigators. “They addressed it with the attorney general only to satisfy them. But they haven’t come back to me to satisfy anything.”
The dealership never apologized.
State regulators continue monitoring compliance with the cease and desist order. If title transfer problems persist, ADOT can suspend or revoke the dealer license. The investigation remains open as more buyers come forward with complaints about delayed vehicle registration and undisclosed liens at the Tucson dealership.
