How about a buying a car without a title thread?

I don't understand how the whole title thing works, and I don't care to find out. We don't have them here, we have something called an ownership. Lose your ownership? No problem, simple replacement for 10 bucks. Buy a car without one? You can buy a used vehicle package for $20 that shows the vehicles status and lists its previous owners. Sometimes you can contact them and get it that way, and sometimes you pay $30 for an affidavit, and they issue you a new ownership. 
 

Nonetheless, the internet being full of incorrect information, and idiots being what they are, you see ads all the time here saying no title, and the vehicles are priced accordingly, because they think getting a title, something that doesn't even exist, is nearly impossible. I'm OK with that. 

In reply to Peabody :

Oh, so you have a title system then?  Because what you are describing is exactly what a title is.  Some places it's not as easy to find the prior owner, but it can be done.   And yeah, a "lost title" is an absolute bullE36 M3 reason to not have a title.  If you're the owner on said title, every state I know of will reissue the title to you.  "Lost title" in an ad either means "it ain't mine, because I never registered it" or " I have a big-ass title loan against it that I don't intend to pay".

Here in MO, you can sue the Department of Revenue and they'll ask the Highway Patrol to run a check on the VIN to see if it's stolen or has a lien against it.  If it comes back clean, you get your title.   It has come in handy for me (and assorted friends) a few times, since I am an attorney. 

I looked into this for a long time about older cars. In SC where I live you can register but not title a car bought in a state that didn't issue titles at the time the car was sold. So pre 1981 for buying a car from GA and taking it back to SC. You won't actually have a title but the car will be legally owned by you and legal to drive.

Needed materials are an official SC bill of sale and an official GA bill of sale. Plus a VIN verification from the DMV

In reply to psteav (Forum Supporter) :

In the case of a loan or title loan, and you don't have the title to the car, how do you get plates, and what do you show the cop if you get pulled over?

And why do so many people say it's impossible to get a title for a car without one? Not all of them are stolen or have title loans. 

About to start the process for a "lost title " here in Arkansas. Bought a '73 Dodge Rectrans from a guy who bought it from an estate sale. No title, but was given paper work to get a bonded title.  Talked to DMV and was was given the same paperwork and told to contact the State police and they would run the VIN and make sure it was not stolen. 

Peabody said:

In reply to psteav (Forum Supporter) :

And why do so many people say it's impossible to get a title for a car without one? Not all of them are stolen or have title loans. 

In Indiana, it's actually pretty easy to replace a lost title if you are the owner, and had actually titled the car in the past. That's why it's so suspicious when someone doesn't do the minimal paperwork and fee to get a replacement.

johndej said:

VA - How about a "nope not doing that" reply. Unless it's a parts car and going to the junkyard once complete not worth the time or hassle, you'd never be able to drive it legally and if you were to you wouldn't be covered by any sort of insurance.

I'll respectfully disagree. Have two E46's that I titled via the abandoned vehicle process. 

Turns out both were [likely] abandoned due to overheat issues that would have cost more to repair than the car was worth. One came via friend of a friend of a friend, car network type deal: Girl had asked him to fix it, he dug in, he went to her for parts money and that's where communication dropped. She wouldn't come get the car, nor pay him. He being a shade tree mechanic didn't know how to use mechanics lien process, but wanted it gone, so we did abandoned vehicle process (as it was technically abandoned at his house) and it's now titled in my name (and still partially torn apart). That one I at least had a key from the beginning.

Other was abandoned at apartment complex my buddy works at. They were going to have it towed (had been in back corner of parking lot for like 5 months) but he knew I had some broken BMW's and thought I might like some more. Did abandoned vehicle process again. Waited on title from that (it's like 2mo process, all in) and then BMW dealer had a key made and we went and discovered that that car was ALSO overheated. But it did run. 

Long way of saying, I think there's a way in VA for some cars without titles, but maybe not all.

128racecar said:

Peabody said:

In reply to psteav (Forum Supporter) :

And why do so many people say it's impossible to get a title for a car without one? Not all of them are stolen or have title loans. 

In Indiana, it's actually pretty easy to replace a lost title if you are the owner, and had actually titled the car in the past. That's why it's so suspicious when someone doesn't do the minimal paperwork and fee to get a replacement.

This - pretty much every state that I have experience with has a fairly cheap process for getting a duplicate title if one is the owner. Not so much if you're the fifth owner on an open title.

Peabody said:

In reply to psteav (Forum Supporter) :

In the case of a loan or title loan, and you don't have the title to the car, how do you get plates, and what do you show the cop if you get pulled over?

You also get a registration that you can show to the cop. You don't need to - and very much shouldn't - carry around the title in the car unnecessarily.

If you're buying a car with a loan and the dealer has a lien on it, they give you an alternative document that shows you bought the car with a loan that you can use to register the car. IME if you buy a car from a private individual with a loan, they financial institution gives you a certain amount of time to title the car in your name with a lien recorded, and then the DMV sends them the title directly while you get a registration.

In reply to Peabody :

In the case of the lien, "I don't have the title" means "I do have the title but it has a lien on it, so I'm going to pretend it doesn't exist because I'm not legally allowed to sell this without satisfying the lien."

In reply to BoxheadTim :

So what happens if you lose the registration?

In reply to Peabody :

Not been in that situation myself, but I suspect that a trip to the DMV or equivalent might be in order to get a duplicate. Shouldn't be too hard if you're the registered owner of the vehicle.

In reply to Peabody :

In the USA the title is the document showing who owns the vehicle. The registration shows it's legally tagged for the street. You can title a car in your name and never tag it, you can not tag a car unless it's titled to you. Hopefully that makes sense. 
 

USA "title" is your registration. USA "registration" is your validation stickers. 

Steve_Jones said:

In reply to Peabody :

In the USA the title is the document showing who owns the vehicle. The registration shows it's legally tagged for the street. You can title a car in your name and never tag it, you can not tag a car unless it's titled to you. Hopefully that makes sense. 

Yes, that's our ownership, which you are obligated to carry with you (photocopy is acceptable) in the event Johnny Law would like to see it. There are no other documents or stickers, just a license plate which stays with the owner, but is transferable if you prefer.. 
The ownership document is easily replaced, which was the purpose of the first comment I made. 

In reply to Peabody :

The paper that rides in the car is the registration. It is tied to the license plate on the car. The title is a separate document of ownership that is not carried in the car. The owner can order replacement registration and title documents. Where the problem lies is when the car changes hands without proper documentation. The owner is still grandpa or aunt Minnie or whoever and has been dead for years.  Effectively, no one is legally qualified to request a new title. Without proper title transfer, the registration cannot be renewed. At that point, someone would have to prove ownership, get a new title in their name, and pay taxes for the registration and plate. This is pretty easy if the executor of the will or the estate's personal representative is there to sign everything.  However, if things have slipped a generation or two, it gets much more difficult. 

Tangent: I recently came into a decent old Land Cruiser for the princely sum of $1000. Bought it from the estate with bill of sale here in OH. Went to friendly car dealership who was able to do a search of the serial # on OH DMV and the vehicle doesn't have an OH title. Dug around in the mouse-poo glovebox and found very expired SC registration for a different person.

Apparently the deceased bought the truck in SC, trailered it to OH, got it running with the terrible SBC swap, but never drove it to the DMV for out of state VIN inspection. Looked at the various in-state or VT options, but was stymied by both requiring payment of sales tax on collector car average book value (6.75% of 44,000= $2997) to start the process, with no guarantee that I would end up with clean OH title in the end.

Bottom line, sold it for $2000 & was happy to be rid of it.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Kinda sorta.  In S.C. you can tag a car that comes from GA with no title but which has a current registration.  SC will not issue you a title though.  GA did not title cars before some date I don't recall.  

So lets say I have a pre 1975 car with no title but registered to me in GA, would it ever be possible to register that car in say california? GA doesn't issue titles for cars that old, so could I register it in another state to get a title reissued, and then register it in a state that requires a title?

gixxeropa said:

So lets say I have a pre 1975 car with no title but registered to me in GA, would it ever be possible to register that car in say california? GA doesn't issue titles for cars that old, so could I register it in another state to get a title reissued, and then register it in a state that requires a title?

I believe you'd be good, since you have a valid registration.  But, doesn't GA allow you to request a title even on an older car?
Using Ohio as an example, Ohio requires a notarized title in order to transfer ownership, but some other states don't.  If I buy a car from one of those states, Ohio accepts the title as legit, even if it isn't notarized.

In reply to gixxeropa :

Yes but it'll need to be present in CA. I had a none title car that was registered out of state to the previous owner. I was able to get TX title for it by bringing a Bill of Sale and doing the registration process. They looked up in their DMV system and saw the state the car is from didn't title cars over 25 years old.  They were able to issue me a Texas title for the car. 

In reply to eastsideTim :

the rules are confusing and depend on exactly how old the car is, i.e. pre 63 or 63-85. I personally have given up on trying to understand them

In reply to yupididit :

ok that's good, it's not super hard to swap out a Europa body, so I could always find one with a title if i need to but i'd prefer not to. My current one kind of has a title but it's been stuck in DMV hell for a little bit

I don't know of a new path since the Vermont loophole closed. I do have a M6 e24 which I did the Vermont loophole and had no issue. I also have an LLC setup in Montana for a few years now. Montana still needs a title for you to get tags the process is pretty much like any tag and title business. The benefits are taxes,emissons and state inspection silly-ness. 

Commenting to follow along. 

Aside from the "missing" title issue, a skipped title can also be a problem in FL.  The State only recognizes a title transfer between two parties w/a bill of sale. At least according to the State law/regulations a title signed by both parties must be accompanied by a state form bill-of-sale.  Selling a car & not filling in the buyer's name  AKA assigning an "open" title is a misdemeanor (?!?).  I've never tried to do it...and it may work for plenty of people...but I haven't seen a situation where it was worth the risk.