just wondering ,i have a freind thats close to buyin a roadster car body from one of his co workers,its steel original ford and has been settin in a back yard for the longest.the guy is askin 1000 for it. the only thing is ,he doesn't have the title to it. the question is,would it be worth buyin? as far as registering it goes,would it be possible,or should he just pass on it and find one with a title? any info will help
as long as he has a titled chassis that would be more important (next i guess would be the engine). the body would be last on the list, if necessary at all for that car.
I would look for a title - there are guys on this board that may have one and there are guys that sell titles. Once you have a title you can stamp the vin numbers on the frame once you get a frame..
sounds cool, so if u get a frame with no title them thats when the head ache starts,or can you register it as long as you have a bill of sale?
Now I would never condone any of the following myself but I have heard from a very reliable source ....that you can use any old frame you want...call DMV and ask if the vin is good or even on the books ( if it has no VIN on the frame make one up and stamp it on the frame) When they say it isn't on the books anymore ...just get a cop friend to come by and fill out a vin verification form that you download for free from ca.dmv.gov I think thats the site. Also get a lost title form and fill it out...as long as you are at it fill out a statement of facts about how the car was titled in your name years ago and you lost the title when you moved or some such crap. Next go to DMV and get in line...pay a few bucks for a lost title and new reg and you get your paperwork in the mail soon thereafter! If that sounds like too much trouble I would give ya 1500 for a roadster body with no title!
Yeah, I think the key to Brewsir's comments on the lost title are important. At least in WA and sounds like CA based on his comments, lost titles can only be filed by the person that the car was last titled in, not the guy that just bought it. That's why it's important to say you've owned it a long time and the title was lost, etc. Since no records still exist in his scenario, that should work.
Hey i just went through this bought a body and frame seperate and had no bill of same or title.In stead of getting the run around from the california DMV,went to one of those little pay us to register your car DMV places.they came to my house to verifiy the frame numbers,went to the DMV for me registered my 31 plates next day i had a temp registration and 4 weeks later i had a title in the mail $80 DMV fee $40 there fee $120 total and i didnt have to deal with the nice people at the DMV.
not even then... i would look at it this way, if you can get a title, then get it. that is what you need to register the car. if you don't get a title it doesn't matter, you can still register it, just takes a bit of time and fanegling with DMV. Remember, the best thing to do when you go to DMV: is to have a pitch (story) practice it, get it down pat and then go (never deviate from it.) keep the story short, and concise (less details, less things to forget.) also, NEVER volunteer anything of you can help it. have all your paper work done. so make 1 trip just to get the paperwork. and one to get the car registered. "buy" the car from family, it always sounds better when your great uncle biff "gave" the car to you...and get everything signed. keep the valuation of the car low...less then 2k if possible, the DMV likes to asses values and shit like that, less value, less interest (so don't go blabbing your mouth about how much the '32 you just scored is really worth, they don't care, but if you say 30k, they are going to wonder...getting back to the part about making them think: DON'T DO IT) Also, get your car inspected by the CHP (in Fairfield, the inspector is a car nut) This little bit of verification can be flaunted and used as ammo against the DMV clerk, because a State Officer VERIFIED the p.o.s. this really will help if any questions arise, you just point and grunt at the CHP verification, and they will usually shut up. i walked my T through the DMV (engine came from a junkyard in idaho) in 45 minutes (it had never been registered.) i went from junk to car that day. so in summary: have your shit together, have your shit together, have your shit together, and keep your mouth shut. have a nice day at the dmv.
sounds good,i'll run this info to my freind,i'm sure he'll have a btter feel about buyin the body. i also picked up a few things,those little registration shops do come in handy. thanks for teh info.
The only problem with saying you had a title and you lost it, here in Michigan, is that they go back and look through the microfiches for the title you supposedly lost.... then it becomes perjury and fraud.... and even if you do get a lost title replaced, it says stamped on the top of the new repalcement that it's not valid if the original one surfaces at some later date.... I feel it's better to get one from another state like NY, PA or a non title state like VT...where anything older than 15 years isn't titled.... They sell you a set of registration plates.... That can then be transfered to anther person when the car is sold....take that registration to MI for example and MI writes you a new MI title... I learned this fact when I bought a motorcycle in VT...got the transfer registration, took it to MI and they wrote me out a MI title. Any VT HAMBer's out there that want to go into business? Mark aka Abonecoupe31
the Ca DMV lost (thier computer crashed and they did not have a back up system) all records back beyond 2000. So it kinda don't matter, but they still suck to deal with.
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