Will you buy a car from a non-title state?

Yesterday, I read as much as I could find about registering cars bought from non-title states like Alabama and Georgia. Some folks said it wasn't worth the trouble and some felt the opposite.
I've never been concerned about this, since I'm in one of the easiest places to register a car. Apparently, it's so easy that some states just flat refuse to register cars from Alabama, to avoid any fraudulent activity.

Since I actually have a car for sale in the classifieds section, it was brought to my attention that some buyers might be scared away when they see that a car from Alabama won't have a title before 1975.

I have the option to register it in another state, but that seems a little crazy just to sell it.

So, I put one of those poll things on here to get a good picture of how people really felt about buying cars from other states.

 

My 48 Chevy panel truck came from Georgia and the 46 Merc from Tenn.
Somehow the used car dealer in Florida where I bought them had titles and I had no problem transferring.

 

I'm sure some states won't care, but I live in Texas and I wouldn't even TRY passing a written note off as a title. The clerks barely know what to do with regular titles.

 

It's all about playing the game. Some states are easy, some are hard, sometimes you have to selectively omit information and let them inspect it.

My state is easy, so I wouldn't worry if the car came with no paperwork at all.

 

Okay, I'll bite..... How is it easy in NY???

Albany is a prick.

 

I call bs. what states wont? They wont without a title, but I doubt any states say they wont because its from Alabama.

 

I registered a non-title Model "A" from Georgia in Texas in 1981. I had a bill of sale from the seller in Georgia to the guy I bought it from in Ft. Worth, a Texas state safety inspection document for out-of-state title transfers, a bill of sale from the guy in Ft. Worth to me, a motor number pencil tracing, and a license receipt from the last time it was registered in Georgia. I still had to go to a title hearing at TXDOT before they would allow Johnson County to issue tags and a title.

 

Here in maine it would not be a big deal.So ya I'd be willing to buy a car from bama. Roger

 

As long as the proper identifying components are on the car, why not?

 

Here in Alabama you are required to have a notorized bill of sale in order to transfer ownership of a motor vehicle. The cutoff, for many years was 1973. Nowadays folks are saying 1975. Anyways, if its a HAMB friendly vehicle from Alabama it should be bought and sold on a notorized bill of sale.

 

Get a good legible written bill of sale. Have it notorized.
I guess the main issue is how rare is the car? How nice is it? How cheap is it? How badly do you want it?
You can always apply for a lost title. Hell lie and tell them your dad gave it to you.

 

fla will do a title from alabama or ga as long as you have a bill of sale from the county it is from and a current tag for the car

 

If the car had current and up to date registration in Alabama or Ga and you had a notarized bill of sale from the seller I don't think it would be a a big hassle in most states but it could be a huge hassle in others.

Best thing is still to find a person at the state dmv or state inspection station who knows his/her stuff and is willing to take a few minutes and tell you exactly what you need. That goes for anything you are trying to do when you go to register a vehicle that didn't come with a clear title and up to date registration. Do your home work before you buy a car and do it before you build a car.

 

I bought a 51 Merc from GA and registered it in FL with no problems in 1994. But I did have to pay FL taxes on the value of the car which was stated as $3500 to get a FL title.

 

I've bought a bike out of Alabama and you don't use a written note. You get all of the registration stuff (tag receipts, etc.) and you take the vehicle for a out of state (green sheet) inspection. Done deal. But that was 10 or 15 years ago.

 

Super easy. No titles on 1972 and back.

- reciept
- insurance card
- MV80 green form
- proof of weight
- pencil etch or photo of VIN
- The right one or two DMV forms with info and sigs from you and previous owner (they do not require notarization; one you need if you've had it under 12 months)

Gets you a nontransferrable registration and plates on the spot.

Albany checks the VIN, I presume they run it against stolen and salvage to see if it comes up. As long as it doesn't come up, you get a transferrable reg in the mail in 4-8 weeks. They don't even look at the car.

As for proof of weight, the DMV clerk can look up other registrations of the same year/make car by the VIN - but only by the VIN, it's a quirk of the system - so sometimes you can slide on that. I think if you made a photocopy of the right page from a "Krause Standard Guide To (whatever your make is) and brought the book along, that might work too. Worst case, a certified scale at a truck stop will weigh you for like $10.

My '50 Chevy was registered this way; a buddy of mine's put one or two on the road that way. No reason to use some old registration with the wrong VIN on it, that's for sure.

 

Well I know they run the VIN but this is where it can be a problem.

Let's assume you buy a vehicle for X amount of dollars. Let's also assume that the X amount is a desent amount, not 10 grand but not 5 hundred either. Now you go about it the way you say, and you are correct but that's not the issue. Albany runs the VIN and it comes up with a problem. They will not issue a "Transferable" registration and could take the vehicle. You could be without the vehicle and any money you put out.

This is why I would not buy a vehicle without some sort of transferable paperwork.

 

Cake walk.

 

I have no worries with a non-titled vehicle. I've bought plenty of them. I just have my local police dept run the VIN to see if it's clear before I buy it. I've never come across a hot vehicle.

 

I bought an off topic 70 Nova from Georgia, he handed me a piece of paper from DMV, and I had no problem. Went right to my local NYSDMV no problem at all. I have also registered with no paperwork, they give you a temporary non transferrable registration and a couple of weeks later a transferrable one comes, if there was no problem.

 

in mass you need either
1- a title or
2- a bill of sale AND and the sellers old reg.

 

I have sold a few cars to out of state buyers. I think the key is having a current registration/tag for the vehicle. Its a hassle if its just an old car that has been sitting in a barn for years that you never bothered to license and have no paperwork on it. I have had to register a vehicle body before I could sell it.

 

I was going to buy a car out of Florida dealer until I found out it didn't have a title.

 

No problem here . Buy & sell em all the time . Would rather have one though.
B.B.

 

Texas is the mother of all bitches for trying to get a title for a motor vehicle. If you don't have a 130-U form from the seller and a state-issued title in the seller's name, you can't get a TX title without going through the hassle (and expense) of a bonded title. I don't buy NOTHING anymore unless the vehicle has a title in the seller's name (unless it's at a giveaway price). Got a Harley not long ago without papers-may end up getting a title in Oklahoma just to avoid the TXDOT hassles.

 

I did it (kinda worried me a little). I brought the paper work to one of the licensing places here in town and they did a couple of minutes research, I had a Washington State title in the mail in a few weeks.

 

You know how many I know of that have been registered that way? I've yet to hear of one with a problem. Of course, we've done it mostly with cars out of old junkyards, but just the same I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Now I'm not going to go out and buy a shiny, nice, drivable car from out of state that has no paperwork, no. But an old clunker? No problem.

 

Well as a GA resident I get frustrated that GA won't let me have title on ANY vehicle older than 1962 even if I buy it from a state that it is currently titled.
I understand if I move her with a car that IS titled an exception can be made which probably accounts for confusion on resales.
And there is no way to get a GA Tag registration unless the vehicle is insured which means drivable.

A Notarized Bill of Sale from someone with a verifiable address should be good enough for any state to process since it is the GA DMV published state law and the forms are on the DMV website.

 

I bought one from Connecticut a no title earlier than 81 state.
Major PITA to get an Ohio title for it. Needed a lawyer to get thru the bs.
However it would have been 100 times easier if it had a current registration in Connecticut.

 

If I lived in CA, OH, or IL then HELL NO!!!........As they no longer accept non titled state registrations, the way around it is to, go ahead and buy the car from the non titled state, Get a buddy who lives in a easy titled state to register it in his state and get a title and then sign it over to you. (then you can bring it into CA, OH or IL).....Bottomline is the states want to treat us like crooks, when it comes to getting a title for an old car, So you have to get crafty and beat them at their own game using their rules....