Am I being scammed?

[BOSSMAN]

Not to hijack the thread but........I'm in the same boat with another car I would like to restore. The title was lost from previous owner who was just gonna flip it for a profit (never put it in his name). I've been battling with the proper way to go about getting this title, every state seems to have a different way to deal with this and even going to the DMV they looked perplexed on how to deal with it. Called original owner by address on record doing a search and no luck on contacting him. I wish there was a cut and dry way to deal with something like this for these older cars. The car is in too good of shape and I surely don't want a salvage title for it.

Anybody know how to take care of this the right way?

[squirrel]

As someone mentioned, each state is different, you need to follow the laws and regulations for your state.

As Alex said, in Az if you are in this situation you can file for an abandoned vehicle title, or a bonded title, in either case the state gives you the last known name/address of the owner, and you send them a registered letter, if you get it back unopened then they assume the previous owner has no interest in the car.

Knowing not where you live, it's just guesswork on what you should do.

[BOSSMAN]

I'm in Nebraska, looks like I still have more homework to do.

[pdub]

Knowing not where you live, it's just guesswork on what you should do.

From reading all of this I'm made aware of how different the states really are on the issue. I've signed titles away for decades in The South and never heard another peep out of it. Gone is gone Down Here.

As far as "what you should do," I'm no good advice but my gut in this case says, what's wrong with "nothing?" I wouldn't feel bad in this case if I just said good luck, I don't know you and this whole deal seems fishy. But that's from Down South experience and mindset, where titles don't seem to be the Holy Grail as much as some other places.

[Brian Lohnes]

Bossman, I am in title hell with Burtus the wrecker, too. Massachusetts sucks balls on all levels, so when I get this mess sorted, I'll throw you a tip. I

[pdub]

Years ago a buddy of mine built a tube frame VW buggy in SC. He wanted to street it so he went down to the DMV and said, "I built this and I need a title for it."

They printed one out for him and invented a VIN for him. It was that easy.

[Barry Donovan]

curiosity on my part..... car hasn't been registered for 20+ years. He hasn't received an abandoned notice, a notice of lien, or the police knocking on his door wondering why his car was used to blow up Times square....

So why not sign a release and let the guy get on with life? there's no personal information and simply the guy wants to register it.... I don't get the down-side of signing....

Anyone?

maine is about that lenient.
I still don't fall for my own states laws.
no title, no sale..that is just me.


a history formal can determine if someone cleaned some dead bodies out. mine with a title had bowel and a bullet hole. a mind can to thinking too much...for good reason. Title puts it to rest.

[BOSSMAN]

The guy I bought the car from I've know for many years. He always finds really nice cars for cheap and flips them for a profit. Last year he started having some life altering health issues after he moved (that's when he lost the title to the car I now own). He had been asking $3000 for a few years for the car (still a OK price for the car) but since he lost the title and was in bad health sold it to me for $500. He had alot of cars to get rid of and fast! He gave me the bill of sale that he got from his sale from a guy in Missuori. I've tried contact that gentleman a few different times with no luck. Had another friend go talk to the DMV in Missouri while there on a trip to see the options and they were of no help. Called the police department on a few different occasions to make sure it wasn't stolen and it comes up clean. Just not easy trying to figure all of this out. I guess I will go and try the lost or abandoned title route locally and see where that gets me. I want to get working on the car pretty bad but won't touch it till I have a title in hand!

[Beagle]

man, do I hate title hassles.

Can you check and see if it's involved in any litigation and if not, offer to meet him at the DMV / Tax office and only if he can conclude the transfer of title?

Down here, when you sell a car, you have 30 days to send a disposal notice to the state. That keeps you from being liable if the car gets in trouble - we've seen cars rack up thousands in parking tickets and toll violations, and guess who is responsible? Last registered owner. It got so bad we now have a method to inform the state that you no longer own the vehicle. When I bought my Bronco, the guy pulled the license plates off of it. I didn't have a problem with that - I think they expect you to now!! Easiest transaction I've had in years, he had all of the paperwork ready to go and wife was a notary, we made copies of everything and he's protected, I'm protected, life is good.

If it's legit, yeah, I'd help the guy out if he'd meet me at the DMV. You can probably call the DMV and do a title search on it and find out if there's anything bogus going on with the car.

[Monk]

In Missouri you've got to have a title.
All the cars I've brought in out of state had to have the
VIN checked on car to out of state paperwork.
Inspection stations do it now.

Every now and then you read about the people like this

http://www.happynews.com/news/7162012/man-finds-stolen-car-ebay-42-years-later.htm

[tedly]

curiosity on my part..... car hasn't been registered for 20+ years. He hasn't received an abandoned notice, a notice of lien, or the police knocking on his door wondering why his car was used to blow up Times square....

So why not sign a release and let the guy get on with life? there's no personal information and simply the guy wants to register it.... I don't get the down-side of signing....

Anyone?

I'd still be covering my ass by checking into it. If it's sat unregistered for 20 years, it's not going anywhere very fast in all likelihood. A couple of days or weeks to make sure everything is in order is not out of the question.

[Beagle]

I'd still be covering my ass by checking into it. If it's sat unregistered for 20 years, it's not going anywhere very fast in all likelihood. A couple of days or weeks to make sure everything is in order is not out of the question.

roger that.

[Monk]

Given all today's scams and identity crap.........I wouldn't
give them my middle name.