Michigan Title Law Change --- No More getting titles

Ok you can still get titles in michigan, but while at the secretary of state today i was told the process has become much more difficult. the lady said now you have to get an surety bond for double the value of the vehicle and the state has a year to investigate. you also have to prove the value of the vehicle you are titling. a bill of sale is no longer enough. this change comes from guys that were making a business out of getting titles and selling them to people out of state. I kinda figured they'd crack down one day, so for all of you michiganders with cars with no titles, you may be stuck. just thought id let everyone know.

be warned this is just what the lady at the secretary of state told me, no guarantee to accuracy.

 

follow the money

or in this case the lack there of..Michigan is broke..any way they can extort more money or figure a way to fleece the public..they will

 

I hope not. It was always easy to get a title here for a car or truck that was sitting in a field for years.
Last May I went to get my model a titled just brought in the #'s and the bill of sale. An hour later after a title search voila I got a title.
I'll be sure to get a title for anything I buy from now on. Just in case.
I don't want to go through that hassle.

 

DirtyJoe: thats exactly what i have done in the past, but according to secretary of state that will no longer be possible. usually you'd have a regular title in the mail in a couple of days.


the value of a vehicle with no title in michigan has greatly dropped.

 

DirtyJoe: thats exactly what i have done in the past, but according to secretary of state that will no longer be possible. usually you'd have a regular title in the mail in a couple of days.


the value of a vehicle with no title in michigan has greatly dropped.

 

I'm going thru the same hoops here in NC..recently finished a "specially -constructed" little Track T. While the process has not been a real pain,it is a slow expensive deal. NCDMV has an office in town and they were very helpful in getting the process started. The bottom line is that all they're after is the "Highway Use Tax" (paid when you register the vehicle,3% of the HIGHEST appraisal!!). Then I have to furnish a Bond (1 & 1/2 times the highest appraisal!!!) for three years. The state doesn't realize any money out of the bond, but it pays their expense if any part of the car is disputed in court.
I was also informed that in NC ,stamping a number in the frame from a title I bought could result in being fitted for an orange jumpsuit!! I was also told that even tho I could have done it,and then gotten a tag, at some point I would have received a visit from an NCDMV officer to inspect the vehicle to see if it is/was indeed what was registered value wise.
So, seems like it's the way to go and not have to dread a visit...

 

Was Ohio that easy to get a title too?
Or do you come to Mi to get titles?

 

I found the same thing, when I inquired about a "lost title" for my Diamond T. It's no big deal, really, I need to insure it anyway, but it does make it a little more complicated. On the other hand, I can see the reason, as far as stolen vehicles/fraud goes.

Brian

 

i actually live in michigan but only 1 mile north of toledo ohio, from what i know ohio isn't easy by any means

 

from what i understand if you get a car the state valued at 20k you need a surety bond for 40k and if somethings no kosher you are on the hook for 40k. thats a big risk in my book.

 

I also live just north of the border, and yes you are correct..it is more difficult in Ohio..also getting a title to a vehicle is impossible until it is free and clear of any lean (loan)
but in michigan there is just a "secured party" named on the title..like finance co. or bank..etc..

 

Brian
does this include any vehicle you may have owned for over 14 years, transfered it into your name back than..but with in the last few years have lost the title?
i would think they could run the numbers and see that you still own it and send you a reprint of your title?...or not any more?

 

Now if they can just make it harder for the scrappers to get a title that would be awesome.
Right now all the have to do is go in w/ the #'s and they give them a scrap title to get rid of it.

 

Ohio title is a royal PITA.
I had to get a lawyer's help to get it done. I farted around for almost a year, took him 6 weeks to get it done.

Especially if you bought from a state that doesn't require a title after a certain age. Oh my gosh the ass aches.

I knew this prior to starting and got the title before I had $ 0.10 in over the purchase price. Some guys build em and then find out they can't get a title.

 

Remember gents, "it could be worse", you could live in Pa.

Here ,in the Keystone State, the fatcats make all paperwork painfull & expensive

 

I know we 've had it pretty easy. I have been waiting for this process to get harder here.

 

VERY Sage advice.

Going through this right now with a car... Im not doing a damn thing to it till I get a title.

 

I bought my 34 ford in Boston,Mass. with it titled there, back in july as a 1934 Ford Roadster and i still don't have my title in N.C. yet . They came out looked at it(DMV) and I had to show them the vin numbers on the frame and they said they will get back to me. They are going to retitle it ,they said when he left back in July 2011. And this is a orginal frame !

 

everybody thats got a project laying around should start working on a title now, the next thing in alot of states is going to be emission testing on our old crap. if you get it titled now you may be granfathered in so you wont have to worry about emisions, but if you title it after and your state passes a law you will have to pass emisions before you will get plates, its closer than you think! alot of states trying to get this in, for more money from gov.

 

Problem is, in Illinois anyway. You can't get a bonded title until the car is roadworthy and appraised. I just waited seven months on my title after it was street legal and appraised.

 

IF you can find a registration, and/or it's in the data-base, then you're OK. If you have NO old paperwork or previously registered plate #'s, and it's beyond that 14 (or whatever the cutoff year is) age, then you have to get a bonded title. It's a surety bond, as has been pointed out, to ensure that the story is legit. As in, "...my Dad lost the title for this car he bought in 1950 and gave to me years ago..." After 3 years, no claims against it, no problems.

Bottom line, it's going to add a little expense and time to the lost title procedure, but if the car is clean, and doesn't show up as a stolen vehicle in any other state, you're good to go. It's not the end of the world.

Brian

 

No good

I may be moving to Illinois.. any red flags titling stuff that's already titled in NJ? We're talking a '54, 56, 58, 60, 60 and a 62?

I also have an A Roadster body, frame and correct title.. but methinks I am better off waiting to try and get an IL title for that.

 

Are you sure this is really new? I titled my sedan in 2007. When the lady asked me the value I told her $1500, and had a title in a few days. In 2008 I applied for a title for a 52 Triumph. I told the lady I paid $6000 for it and she told me I had to get a surety bond. I explained that I just did this same process a year earlier without getting one.

She explained to me that it was Michigan law that any vehicle without a title, over $1500 in value needed a surety bond for double the value before you can obtain a title. So I went to my insurance agent and purchased a $12,000 surety bond for $80. I went back to the S.O.S and got my title no problem.

So its been around for a while. I have to title my roadster soon. I already have it insured, and I'll get a surety bond before I go to the S.O.S. Having everything in order before you get there seems to really help a lot.

 

MVDs/DMVs are a little biased in favor of getting rid of 'eyesores.'

Progress. Nothing new really, at least in the 'spirit' of laws and attitudes like this; the 'law' has been screwing with 'old car enthusiasts' and hot rodders as long as there have been old cars and people willing to preserve them. I am so sick of hearing about money-grubbing, anal-retentive pencil-pushers continually trying to promote their 'straight line' thinking on anyone that wants to be different, which includes all of us who dare to 'modify' or even merely preserve something old, whether it be a car or 100 yr old building that no longer fits the mold of their small mindedness! As far as what good it does to protect against theft, I'm of the 'school of thought' that believes I'd rather protect my 'own;' let government get it's hands out of my pockets and leave me alone. This community of HAMBers does more to help each other police, monitor, and protect our property than most state government does; excluding the small number of public servants that own or can appreciate one, most don't know anything about and could care less about 'old cars' or anything of historic value, only the revenue it can bring them. Sorry for the 'rant.'

 

I can only say that when I titled the '36 in '08, all I had to do was state I'd lost the title, that I'd owned the car since the '70's, and walked out with a $10 lost title app and a set of plates. Not so when I went to title the DT last fall.

Brian

 

I havent had any issue this year, from what i understand its a recent change, like i said its just what the lady told me.

 

i knew it soon enough the states would start makin big bucks on their work......bmv....k

 

You can search on the HAMB and find a lot of these discussions on titling. Here in Minnesota, the rules haven't changed, but the attitude and enforcement has. After my last debacle trying to title a 37 Ford pickup with what I thought was very clean documentation from Canada, I won't go near anything without a clear title.

 

It sounds like a lot of us need to make sure to express our views at the ballot box and vote out or in people who share our interests in old car licensing. Find out where your people stand in this election year.

 

It's not about anti "old car licencing", or harassing hobbiests, it's about licencing and titling ANY car/truck/motorcycle without the proper paperwork. I don't see it as a money grab, it's an attempt to keep transactions and titling legitimate and legal. I was a big fan of Michigans casual, look the other way, attitude about titling a car with missing or bogus paperwork, but I'm also a fan of not making it easy for people with less than good intentions getting a free, or at least VERY cheap ride. Too many people abused the system, and now that loophole is closed.

Should I have titled the DT a couple years ago when it was easy? Yes.

Am I going to bitch about now having to spend a hundred bucks or so to bond the title? No. It's just how it is.

Brian