can a dealer sell a car with missing lug nuts

They can sell a car, as an unfit vehicle, minus just about anything, assuming the buyer is willing to take the vehicle 'as is, where is' and make appropriate transport arrangements. If the vehicle is being sold as 'physically fit', then the answer is no, as missing lug nuts do not meet the standard for physically fit.

I'm actually NOT surprised that a Dealer would try to sell a Used Car with missing lug nuts, especially a 9 year old minivan that they won't make a lot of $$ off of anyway. It's sad when you think about it..they could go to a damn scrap yard and get them for next to nothing, but they will never go through the effort of doing that! Hell..I was looking at a used Mitsu SUV this past January and the 2009 model I was going to get had 4 really worn tires, so I ended up getting a 2010 with almost brand new rubber from the previous owner...Arghhh!!