Projects Why sell cars without a title?

I keep seeing cars and trucks listed without titles and way over priced for the junk they are. Even decent looking drivers... no title.

Not sure about other states, but in Texas it is illegal to sell a car or even offer to sell without a title.

 

Not all people are as law abiding as you are.

And there are suckers who'll buy a car without a title, too.

 

In South Carolina if you buy a car without a title, instate or out of state your up S#it Creek when you try and register it.

I learned the hard way to avoid cars & trucks without a title, a bill of sale is useless. HRP

 

To me their only good as parts cars.If you have a titled basket case you can build a car.

 

GA would not even transfer a title from my dad to me on an old truck

 

In CA you can get a LEGAL title for a car you bought with just a bill of sale but you need to go through all the proper steps. It helps to use a title service to handle everything if you're not experienced with the entire process. JMO

 

I'm selling a 1961 Chrysler Newport without a title here in Minnesota on a bill of sale.
Relatively easy to get a bonded title. The bond comes off in three years and the title becomes clear.
Costs run $150-200 for a bond. Vehicles with bonded titles can be bought and sold.
Most auction companies in the state selling grove cars or hoarder collections provide bills of sale.
Most guys I know building projects take 3 years to finish a ground up project so build the chassis,drivetrain etc and finish it close to the time the bond comes off but don't show it until the title is clear.
Newest title supersedes any old ones.
Added note. The Chrysler is listed in the want ads as a parts car and as such I am not pursuing a bonded title.

 

If your building a track only car it might be ok.

 

Why not? Who is the actual owner of the truck? I would want the hard piece of paper and proof of ownership with the state so there are NO questions down the road.....

 

In Kansas, if the car is of HAMB age, you only need to prove it's not stolen through a Highway Patrol VIN search (free). Then you complete a Bill of Sale (generic one off the internet is fine) and sell the car FROM YOURSELF TO YOURSELF. I think it cost me like $37--- $17 for the title and $20 for DMV fees.
I just did it 3 months ago.

Some of the reasons I drug my feet committing too much time and money was that I didn't want to risk losing the time and money if I couldn't acquire a title, But also I needed a place to work on it, I'm lazy, and eventually the law changed to make it easy...

-rick

 

I won't buy a car without a title unless I'm totally comfortable losing all my money.

I bought a hammered 57 Ford Fairlane 500 4 door for the sole purpose of taking one fender off the car and using it for another project. That car had no title, and even though I still have the car, I've made no effort to attempt to register it. It's a parts car.

In NJ, there is a means to get a duplicate title through the MVC, but the task is really on the seller, not the buyer. Additionally, there is a process to get a new VIN. But as you could imagine, these tasks are difficult and time consuming, and there's no guarantee how they turn out.

To me, selling a car with a clear title is a huge attraction point. Especially for projects that aren't tagged and on the road. It was a main reason I bought the 57 Nomad I did, because it had clear paperwork I was able to register and transfer into my name.

 

and storing the car for the rest of my life, since the scrap metal places won't take it, either

 

I guess I am in the minority here considering I have probably bought at least 20-30 cars without titles and at some point sold them all other than one I guess I still own. Anyway, getting a title in Oklahoma is no big deal. I am thankful to live in a state that still makes it somewhat easy to legally do it. I obviously wouldn't buy something that I had any concern might be stolen or whatever, but I have also never had issue with a car with no title. And, I have titled lots of cars as well and will continue that as long as the laws don't change. However, all that being said...I wouldn't do any work on a car without first getting a title either.

 

And there are some states, after a certain number of years, that do away with titles. What's that about?

 

A few of us don't live in Texas, some states you don't need a title, for example New Hampshire; if a vehicle is over 15 years old, you don't required a title, just a "Bill of Sale" that has been notarized.

 

Here in Oregon you can apply for a lost title and the state sends a letter out to the last registered owner to let them know someone is applying for a title. If the last owner responds the car was stolen and shows proof you lost your car. If the last owner responds it's OK, or doesn't respond before a certain time frame then the state issues you a title.
I bought a '69 Suburban a decade ago that the owner said he'd lost his title. I simply told him we'd drive to DMV and he could apply for a lost title replacement, and then I'd buy it. DMV checked and said he was the owner, and they not only replaced the title, but made the new title out to me. It was super easy to do with the owner there.

 

I don't know where you heard this, but it's false. You can buy and sell anything you'd like, regardless of a title status. You can also apply for a Bonded Title if you buy a vehicle that doesn't have a title. You can even make your own vehicle from scratch and get a new VIN number and title issued for it.

 

That's not inaccurate, though I have found that when it comes to beat up old cars, they don't seem to have the same reservations about taking it that they would if I tried scrapping a 2002 Hyundai.

Or you could just saw the whole car up and scrap it that way. Even still, a real pain in the ass.

 

No title isn’t a big deal in Montana. Make sure you have a notarized bill of sale and get an officer to do a VIN check. There are a couple of forms and six weeks of waiting. I’ve put titles on my ’35 Ford, my ’60 El Camino, and my ’63 Airstream. I’ve never bought a parts car with a title; some with bills of sale, some with a hand written note. I don’t think I’d buy anything nice that way, but for a project that I can part for what I’m paying, I roll the dice. Titles are something like $12 plus a bond if it’s over a certain value.

 

Last I knew here in Michigan you can’t even junk a a car without a title. I know there’s a process to get a title (bonded is a possible option). I’m not saying you can’t buy or sell without a title as it happens.

 

I live in the same area as you and I see it a lot too. But, it's not illegal.

Getting a bonded title is straightforward enough. There's businesses right here in Fort Worth that will assist you with bonded titles and they do it all day, every day. One of my buddies has done it a couple of times in this last year alone. The caveat to this is, some people buy something from a shady car lot and then quit making payments and hide the vehicle until the car lot quits looking for it. Then they offer it for sale with no title. That's not gonna work out well if you try to get a bonded title. But if pawpaw died and left his truck in the field, that's the kind of vehicle without a title you can work with.

A fair number of vehicles with missing titles go south and into Mexico. It's all different down there so if a person buys a decent older vehicle without a title they can utilize it south of the border. A giant percentage of Toyota and Nissan small trucks go south when they change hands. Folks in Mexico love those things.

 

Here in Alabama any vehicle older than 35 years from the current date will not be issued a title. The DMV only requires a bill of sale to plate said vehicle. If you have the title for that vehicle they will tell you to toss it in the trash because it does zero good within the state. I have sold quite a few over the years and sell with a bill of sale,tag receipt if I had one and a form direct from the state...stating the 35 year deal.

 

This seems to come up every year or two.
Guys, if you are going to say "in my state it's like this", please include a link to the actual state info, so the people trying to learn or do the process have at least a starting point.
Here's Arizona
https://azdot.gov/mvd/services/vehicle-services/title-and-registration/bonded-title

I've done a bonded title here, and it was fairly painless. I bought an OT project with a price under 1K that reflected the parts that I could remove and sell easily. Went to my insurance, got a bond, towed the car to MVD and had it inspected. Got the bonded title, then later got it swapped to a straight title.

I would NOT pay more than I was able to recoup from a quick part out or lose. There's no way I'd pay fair value if the seller can't be bothered to have the paperwork allowing legal ownership to transfer. Parts/scrap or low end project pricing. If I were to consider a car from a state with no title, I would document (print out) what is needed from the seller's state and my state to get a title in my name.

As the the title question of WHY, if it's non title state, if it's the seller's but paperwork is lost, if it's not in seller's name due to inheritance, if they didn't go through getting it in their name, if it was sitting on property that was bought, if it was a lien that didn't meet state requirements (abandoned, or traded for other value, not a shop or storage) which are not truly criminal, OR the other stuff like it was stolen, has a lien and the lienholder is not getting paid off, car is assembled from parts and doesn't have a valid serial number, etc.

 

Most sellers know they need to spend $100+ to properly title a vehicle in their state, or are unwilling to get a bonded title. It's easier for them to let the next person down the line do the leg work and go through the process when every dollar counts toward making a profit.

 

now this is some thing that shouldve been universal a long time ago between state(s)

 

I would almost guarantee the time and effort taken to get a title will reward the seller with a MUCH higher profit and ease of sale.

 

If that concerned on a car with no title take a state trooper with you to look at it. They can run the VIN on the spot. Really not hard. And if you do that and end up buying it the first step towards a title is already done

 

I got a bonded title on an old bus, it cost more to get the title than the scrap value of the bus, and they're heavy. And then there was the transportation cost.

If you live in a "nice" state that makes titling old cars easy, then it's not a big deal. Just make sure you understand the situation before buying.

and if you're selling, you can do whatever you want...right?

(AZ used to be easy to get titles for old cars, but because of criminal activity with later models, they changed the laws in ways that screw us over when dealing with old junk cars)

 

Avatar was purchased without title. Paid a lean officer to do all the bs work.

 

That's fine for you but here now for a title bond they want a bond based on the value of a completed car so there are no more cheap bonds and if it is easy to do....the seller needs to make it easy for the buyer
there is nothing that I want that bad any more....