Bonded title, title friendly states, washing, etc.

No, not trying to do anything illegal.

I bought a car. Got a signed title, Bill of Sale, etc. Went to the DMV to register it and they said that the title I have was not the last one. Apparently the previous owner applied for a replacement title, which voided the one that I ended up with. Where it gets complicated is that the previous owner was a company that is now out of business. I've tried to contact the person I bought it from (a former principle of said company) to no avail.

So, at this point, what is the most direct route to getting this thing in my name? Bonded title? Find a mechanic buddy to do a mechanics lien on it and then resell it to me? I remember that there are / used to be services that made these problems go away, but they generally got shut down for washing titles. IIRC Florida and Maine were the states that used to be the go-to for this.

Any wisdom?

Chances are the best choice will be a bonded title but the rules are different in every state. The SEMA website has information on how to title cars in each state, you may find something useful there. http://www.bipac.net/page.asp?content=tag_title_toolbox&g=SEMAGA

The one I used in the past has been shut down unfortunately because I could use them now.

I'd try the bonded title first since you have the bill of sale, old title, etc.

I would go with a bonded title. There are some restrictions on it, but if your bill of sale matches the names on the signed title, it should work. I tried to do that with a case where a title had been signed by only one of the two people named on it, and it didn't work, but I was able to track down the other person and get it signed. So I would start by going to a title insurance company (IIRC, I simply asked the tax office where to look) and see if they can get you a bond. You'll also need to have the cops certify it is not stolen, but that's about it.

what does the GA DMV say to do … other than telling you that what you have is no good

They told me to get the newer copy of the title, which isn't happening.

that's not much help … guess they didn't have any suggestions for how to go about that

can you sell it someone in AL and the buy it back … seems I remember AL being one of the "easy" states

Bonded title.

Here's the details in GA:

GA Dept of Revenue Bonded Title

It's a little bit of a pain, but the cleanest route overall.

Yes, bonded. Those title places were shut down for a reason...don't get caught up in it.