I just bought a 1938 rat rod from California and I am having it shipped to long island new york . the paperser i recieved from the seller is a 8x10 typed paper with a blue dmv logo on the left upper corner and says this valid registration card is to be kept in the vehice it is issued . then la bla bla and do not detach is mid way on the paper and the lower is a bar code and registration card valid from bla bla bla in new york our transferable registrations prior to 1969(titled cars) is credit card size and on the back you have a place where seller and buyers sign.my email is how4me@iwon.com the registration which i think i got says 1938 ford and 1st year sold 0000 ,vlf class AH *2006 type veh 120 type lic mo vin # 2005816 what the frig do I do to get this registered in NY ? is whatI have ok , or is there a title of some sort? any info much appreciated . POPPA D Long Island New York
California uses both a title and a separate registration . You should get the title. It will say State of California Certificate of Title at the top. It will have VIN, license number, etc. The registration form will do you no good by itself. Good luck.
Damn Californians and their title-less rat rods!!.. I would think you would have got the "pink slip" which is green and pink and says CERTIFICATE OF TITLE at the top.. and has a white and pink form at the top to separate that the seller mails in to the DMV to release his liability from the vehicle. Good luck! -Anthony
thanks can the previous titled owner go to california dmv with a picture id and the plate # and recieve immediatley a duplicate title from cali dmv on the spot? or will he need the original registration? hopefully they do not have to send and wait for one, its getting cold here on the northeast and i want to drive the rat. hmmm i still can get insurance and if i getpulled over i will get a ticket for not registered car , because i still have the cali plates.. unfortunatley the registration expired 9-16 -07
What did the seller tell you? If you got registration with his name on it, he either lost the original "pink slip" (title) or he's keeping it for another project. Some states, beyond a certain year don't have titles and makes registering a car in Calif a pain. They say a good title adds $10K to the price of a car. If the seller lost the title, he will have to apply for a lost title. If you apply for a lost title, you will need to do a title search. Problem arises if the seller uses that title to title another car, one of you could be accused of false registration (felony). I would check with DMV in Calif, explain the problem so no one else, except you, can use that vin number.
Call the guy that sold it to you...it had a real title in someones name recently. If you already paid for it he needs to send you the REAL title...not a copy of a registration card. That vehicle changed hands a few times sinc I titled it in 2000 or whenever I did it...maybe the paperwork got foul sincethen...either way it is on the seller to get it right.
that sounds like he just registered it for the first time (or walked into the dmv). after the first time we get a white 4 3/4 x 4 1/4 to keep in the car. so maybe he hasn't even recieved the title in the mail yet (takes about 3-4 weeks)....nevermind i just read your second post, if the registration is expired he should have had the title by then. you need to have him get a duplicate title and a release of interest and ALL need to be signed by him. http://www.dmv.ca.gov
now to make it more confusing. the guy i bought it from(yes paid him)has it for just over 1 years , he got the(rat rod) car as a trade for his mercury, the guy i bought it from never registered the car because he wanted to save $209.00 because it was just registered by the previous owner , Now i got a registration (8x10)with the guy name who traded the rat for the merc . i have a california transfer of registration signed by both guys with the $$ paid for the car.. thats 2 seperate transfers. I am alittle scared because of what teh previous guy posted a car with a good title adds 10k to a car..? 1.brewsir built & titled the car 1st time 2000 2.sold it to ????? in 200? 3. ????? sold it to a guy named anthony in200? 4.anthony traded the rat for the merc in sept 2006 to jim 5.oct 2007 jim sells the rat to me so i guess jim has to request the duplicate title? or being jim never registered it, maybe anthony (last registered owner) has to request the duplicate title? can anthony walk into the cali dmv wit h id and get a dup title on the spot ? OH BOY hate to sell the car for parts ? but before that happens i would fly to the west coast . and PERSONALLY look for the title.if you catch my drift.
The white paper you have is the registration. Who ever's name is on it probably was the last owner, and HE has the title. You need to find that guy, cuz only HE can walk in with a valid ID and get a title. The Cal DMV is the belly of the beast, good luck.
The actual piece of paper will have to come from Sacramento. It usually takes anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks. I've found it usually averages about 2 weeks just based on the stuff I've bought. However, it should be "in the system" so your New York DMV will be able to confirm with CA.
I have no idea how it works in New York. But in California, I have found if you stick to the truth (and you don't have a stolen car or title) the DMV will tell you what you need to do. I know I will get flack for saying this (hearing all of the DMV horror stories out there), but your state DMV is there to help you through these kinds of situations. I would ask them. I aquired a 1959 Ranchero without a title and only part of a regisration paper (mice ate most of it) that was in a name other than the person I got the car from. Oh yeah, and my data plate was missing off the car - which made things worse. I just went to CA DMV and stuck to the truth. A few weeks later I had a new title and registration in my name and kept the original black license plates. I have a similar positive story getting a title for a hand built motorcylce I put together. No reciepts or numbers what-so-ever, and it is now titled in my name. (Yes unfortunately, it would be easy to re-title a stolen bike/car, even in CA., sad but true). Mike
well yes... he can get the main office in sacramento to mail him one on the spot. Probably take a week or so. There's a process you can take if he can't be found. I'll try to dig it up for you.
Check these guys out. Might cost you a few bucks but they will straighten things out: http://www.broadwaytitle.com/
Technically its against the law to sell a vehicle in California without a title, so you should get that from him. It's not difficult to get a title for an old car without having it inspected, if you know the right people. He will need that registration form back to get you a title.Once you get all the paper work sent in correctly, the DMV takes 30-90 days to process and mail a title. Trust me, I do it about 5 times a year. I hope you don't get screwed on this deal. I only buy cars or bodies without titles if I know they aren't stolen.
Bottom line is the seller needs to get the title...if he didn't get one from the guy he bought it from,then he should do the legwork and run it down. I had it titled as a 2 dr convertible I think.....which would make the title worth something more than a 38 truck title. Maybe somebody along the way (it has changed hands 3 or 4 times over the years) decided to try to make a few bucks selling just the title. Again I say make the seller get the right paperwork. Was the registration in the sellers name?? If so ..HE has the title.
Here in Nevada ran into the same situation. DMV won't accept responsibility so this turns into a legal matter. what needs to happen here is, if your title is lost or stolen as in my case and you bought the car from 3 different guys that never registered the car it really sucks. the DMV will not give any info about the last registered owner, aparantly they can lost their job over it ...so anyway. 1.trip to local law library speak to the receptionist. although the people working there "can't give legal advice" it just so happens that there's a bunch of lawyers in one place- they'll know the name of the form you need. 2.fill out the form and pay the $150 to petition the court. it's funny how the system starts to work in contacting people and getting info when everything starts to get legal 3. the last registered owner may just show up to help out and claim ownership of the car he hasn't had for 3 years or not show at all 4. no show. nobody to make a claim against your petition. most of the time this is the case according to my stepdad, (the lawyer) also says possession is still a large deciding factor. still in process so can't give a guarantee. took lots of effort to get the correct information and the dmv, well...just a bunch of knuckleheads good luck to all of you
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