KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s an all too common problem in Missouri: Used cars being sold without titles.

A Kansas mom had no idea what a hornets nest she was stepping into by buying a car in Missouri.

Jenna Allen thought the car was the answer to her prayers, supposedly safe, affordable transportation for her and her daughter.

“This was my only transportation for my daughter and to get me to and from work,” Allen said.

But nearly a year after buying a 2001 Nissan Maxima in Raytown, it still has no license plate because Allen has never got a title, and that’s just one of the problems she’s facing a month after buying the car for about $2,800.

“I was leaving my job,” Allen said. “There was a stop light and I was trying to stop and all of a sudden I heard a loud pop and it sounded like metal was clinking on the ground.”

Part of her brakes had fallen off. Luckily she was able to coast to a stop.

She also discovered the catalytic converter was missing.

Who sold her the piece of junk? The Recon Center at 7609 Raytown Road.

For months she kept calling them, trying to get help with her troubled car and get her title. That’s something under Missouri law that should have been given to her the day of the sale.

Owner Stephen Jones promised to mail it to her but never did.

Finally, in February, five months after buying the car, Allen paid another visit to Recon, only to discover it no longer existed. It had burned down in a fire, so suspicious, the state fire marshal’s office tells FOX4 it is investigating.

Allen’s not the only one left in the lurch. Someone else posted about a missing title on Recon’s Facebook page.

Allen called Recon’s owner Stephen Jones while FOX4 Problem Solvers were visiting her to make yet another attempt to get her title.

“Is this Stephen Jones?” Allen asked on the phone.

“Correct,” he answered.

“This is Jenna Allen. I’m calling because I still haven’t received my title from you all,” Allen told him.

“Do me a favor,” he replied. “Text me your vin number and your name and I’ll try and figure it out for you.”

That was over a month ago and she’s never heard back.

FOX4 also tried contacting Jones and the woman listed as his business partner, Iseannie Jones. We never got a return call.

FOX4 even tried paying a personal visit, but no one answered the door.

Here’s the good news. Allen might be able to get her money back through the $50,000 bond that Jones was required to post to get a car dealer’s license. But getting money from a bond usually requires the expertise of an attorney and FOX4 knew just the attorney to help her.

Bryce Bell makes a living fighting for consumers.

“Unfortunately there’s a really high demand for these types of situations,” Bell said.

Bell said the state department of revenue needs to do a better job regulating car dealers and taking action against those selling cars without titles.

The only saving grace for people like Allen is Missouri’s consumer protection law, which allows attorneys to also collect their fee from that $50,000 bond if they win a judgement against the car dealer.

“If the dealership is truly out of business, the process can still take three-to-six months,” Bell said.

And if the dealer puts up a fight, it can take more than a year. That’s a long time to wait for someone with no way of even getting to work.

All Allen wants is her money back so she can buy a car that doesn’t put her life or her daughter’s at risk.