Why would it have title issues? This is very common with lease trade ins. It takes time to get the title

In NY, the dmv doesn’t hold the title. The owner does. In this case the leasing company. Once it’s paid off, the leasing company sends the title

Title work is NOT completed. NY issues the Veri-fi system so they can’t even print title paperwork till they have a clean title. He will be presented with the title paperwork to sign when he goes to pick it up

It is illegal to even offer a vehicle for sale in NY without having the title in hand. The contract is also illegal since the date on the contract doesn’t match the date the vehicle will ultimately be sold. It all boils down to, do you want the car or not. Sale can easily be unwound with 1 phone call to the lender if you don’t want it. If you do want it, you’re gonna have to wait for the title as they can’t even register it without the title.