Hi gang. It's been a long time since I've been here. Some (most) of you probably don't even know (or care) who I am. For several years I spent many hours a day on the HAMB. I'm even proud to say I'm one of the original GMBs. My life has taken many twists and turns. I've put the '65 T-Bird on hold and have rekindled my passion for motorcycles. But I am in the process of wheeling and dealling on a new automotive project. Long story short...I am in the midst of acquiring a car that was left in a rental storage building. All of the legal hoops have been jumped through (at least we think so). In short we have car with a registration (found in glovebox) that matches the vin. # on the car. I can get a bill of sale and a copy of the judgement but I don't know how to go about getting a title issued in my name. I would prefer not to have to go the "assemblers title" route. Is there a way to just get a title issued to me? Thanks in advance for any help. PS: Just want to say hi to Frank and Rich. Hope you guys are doing well. I miss the "breakfast club".
THIS may help you out...joe Part of it says......... If the vehicle has been unregistered for several years, there will be no record of the vehicle in the state's computer files. Just go to the Secretary of State office and request a new title to replace the title you "lost". Your age and the age of the vehicle must balance with the length of time the title has been "lost". Just be sure the vehicle is not listed as stolen in another state. If you are restoring or rodding a vehicle with an intact VIN tag or stamping (on those without tags) and are missing the title, then you can get a form for a new title from the Secretary of State office. Fill out the form and have a police officer verify the tag and sign the form. Bring the form back to the SOS and the state will send a new title.
hey, forgive my ignorance, what is the secratary of state office? i have a 29 a, with the vin stamped in the frame under the body, i have no paper work, whats this about the age? im young so sounds like that wouldnt work!? sorry im not trying to hi-jack ya' donzie. and welcoem back from this young'in.
Thanks "TooMany...", that may be very helpful. I will pick up the form and see if my cousin (police officer) will verify the vin. # and sign the form.
No problem Donzie, glad I could help....joe secratary of state office = DMV as far as the rest there are LOTS of posts on here about the California stuff. BUT read this it MIGHT help you....joe it says...... California I have an old Chevy and couldn't find the numbers anywhere. To avoid all the problems that come with registration, I simply stamped the number off of my engine on the frame.... Called a policeman I knew and had him verify the number. Took it to DMV and the registration went right through. You have to be very careful with the titling of an unregistered car in California. If you make the mistake of putting a late model engine in an older car and make the mistake of telling the DMV that you have a '85 engine in your '37 Chevy/Ford, etc, they will make you put all of the smog equipment for a '85 model car on your old car. I have had two friends get caught in this trap, one guy told the examiner that the engine was a '95 Chevy...OOP's, he had to put everything that was required for a '95 Chevy on his '37 Ford. The best thing to do is get the legal paper work straightened out before you ever do any work on the car, then file a non-op on the car, when you get it running you send in proof of insurance and the renewal fees. No questions, no inspections, no hassle....blusdn Also you can find a "vehicle verifier", usually at a dealership. Ask for the title/licensing desk, or talk to the used car manager. He will usually help if you grease the skids ($100 bill). All he needs is the paperwork. Ask the title desk what they need. Or if you wish to get technical get a copy of the California vehicle code. I did, read it and was ARMED. It should be noted however that submitting a fraudulent document such as a false verification in California is a FELONY and prosecutions do occur when the DMV Investigations branch discovers these. It happens more often than you might think - just because it did not happen to someones 'buddy' does not mean it will not happen to you. This is especially true in the case of kit Shelbys and similar vehicles - They have caught on to that. Also if DMV decides it wants to it can ask that the owner obtain a CHP verification and be issued a 'blue tag' verification number - and those guys are not easily fooled - and for goodness sake do not try and slip them a $100, it will certainly end you in jail - I am one of them and people have tried and they have ended up on the wrong side of the bars!! I would suggest going to AAA to handle your paperwork, as they're on your side and want to make this process as easy as possible. Should there be any snags, as there were in my case, you're hopefully not in the state system enough to have to go to the CHP to verify things. I'd avoid them like the plague. At the very least its going to be a hassle. There are many title registration services in the Los Angeles area, I'd strongly suggest using one of them. It may be the best $150 or so that you spend, as in my case I never had to set foot in the dmv office and got everything taken care of within 2 weeks.
whoa, okay so i have a 80' engine in it at the moment, do i grind the numbers off it? i dont want to take it out again.
Just for the record, titling an unregistered car in CA was no big deal at all thru the registration service. Nobody ever asked about my engine, you just read off the VIN on the firewall tag or frame or whatever, there's no matching it in multiple places or anything. I'm sure I could've done it myself, but it was so worth the $150 to have them do it for me. I don't need the frustration. My car coincidentally was originally put together in michigan. It was registered with a title that didn't match the VIN on the firewall tag, nobody checked it there. Just FWIW
Remember, no two states are the same and not having a title ranges from absolutely no issue whatsoever in NY, to a major pain in the behind in other states.
You are in Michigan. Click here. http://www.dmv-department-of-motor-vehicles.com/MI_Michigan_dmv_department_of_motor_vehicles.htm
Donzie, visit the gmb social group. Danimal has listed the exact form you need, very short form, print it off the internet then visit your local sos office. No inspection and just a $15 cost. Took less than 5 minutes when I did it a couple of months ago.
Just went through this with one of my trucks. No title and had not been registered in 20 years. I had a bill of sale. Kansas State patrol came to my house and checked the vin tag and gave me some paper work, cost me $10. They had checked the vin the day befor at their office. Went back to DMV, $10 more and I had a title.
They changed the way we do it here now. Much simplier. Go to Sec of State and get the PINK proof of ownership form. Just fill it out and provide bill of sale. Make sure the weight of he vehicle is listed or have proof of it. Turn in your form, wait about an hour and they will tell you if there are any issues. If not you will get your tiltle in the mail in a couple of weeks. Do yourself a favor and stay away from the Bay City office, Standish is the best to deal with. They no longer except the police verified forms.
No help to offer - just wanted to say welcome back Donzie!! I haven't bumped into you in a while - I hope all is well. Glad to hear you may be gettin' back in the game. I still blame your old tub for getting me hooked on this "traditional thing" Dave
I agree, stay away from the Bay City branch. I had nothing but problems there and walked out during an argument with the woman. I actually went back a few weeks later to register a home built wooden duck hunting boat and had a confrontational issue again with the same woman. Read my post in Danimals thread in the GMB group for more info. I have not tried again for a title. I work in Saginaw so I may try to hit the one on Bay Road.
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