I am on about 5-6 car forums and at least once a week someone is trying to figure out how to get a ***le. Hell, we have all drug in old hulks without a ***le. Then had to deal with it. What I don't get is how many people don't even know their own local laws then come on some forum looking for help when the bluehairs at the dmv lay down the rules. Even people who have put 2-3 years of their time and money into a car without having legal do***ented ownership or any real clue about the process to get it. Stupid. People, cars have ***les (or equivilent) in every state, don't give your money to someone unless there is a clean, open ***le or you are dam sure how to get one. And they are tightening up all the time so don't wait around to go get it done either. And get a bill of sale too. I do find it helpful to go to your local dmv and ask ahead of time. This should be the very first thing you do, before you ever drtag something home. Tell them you want to drag some old junk from a farm and make a hotrod and how do you ***le it, you will have a leg up and they will look at you not as a car stealing felon, which is how you will get treated if you come in with some half-***ed paper trail or none at all.
about two years ago a guy wanted to buy my Model A .He said I was too high even though it was turnkey and ***led and licesened. He bought another car from down south ,finished it in record time and hasn't been able to drive it for over a year because of ***le problems. Now I could probably show him how to get it done but like people who know me always say " Joe your a real ***hole "
I've bought 2 cars without ***les,and was able to rectify the situation both times. I even asked alot of questions here on the hamb. Thank god they helped me. I love this place.
My mistake was in ***uming that when the seller(out of state) told me the car had a clear, legal ***le, that it matched the VIN of that car! Wrooooooong! Not every state cares if the vin matches or not, which was news to me. So in effect I had to start from scratch with a no ***le car here in Cali. It turned out to be not a huge deal, just $150 and a lot of time and gray hair worrying about it, but I wish I 'd thought to ask if they matched before I paid for the car! Live and learn. If your car is pre-74 or so here in California, it's relatively a breeze to get a ***le if you know how to do it. It can also be a painful process if you don't. Otherwise, there's always international ***le service in nevada.
Surely, in the middle of your rant, there might unintentionally be some good advice? And don't call me Shirley! I think what you might have said was-by all means save all the stuff you can, but before going too far, check out your local DMV for the applicable requirements that apply to your state? You also meant to say that finding out what you need before you put years and money into the project might save you some grief, especially since sometimes it takes a while to work things out. Then I am sure you meant to say ask as many questions as you can, especially from fellow HAMBer's because experience is always a good teacher and some of us have already learned their lessons. Finally, I'll bet you meant to say to make sure you take your paperwork in to your local state representative and have them run it through the DMV because that saves time and they don't h***le their employers as much,while they don't really care about the little, lonesome hot rodder. See, you really meant to be helpful after all and that way someone needing help might actually get it-instead of just being ranted at.
I bought a complete 28 Tudor..(less interior and a few odds and ends) no ***le..wrong numbers on the bill of sale.. I tore the car down..acid etched the frame, got the "True" numbers off of the frame.. went to S.O.S. here in Michigan and applied for a "lost ***le" to "My" car. 14 days later in the mail..my new ***le to my 1928 Tudor Ford.
Its a piece of cake even here in Cali...even easier if it is not on the records at all or from out of state....seems like CA would be the toughest.
THE FIRST STEP IN STARTING YOUR PROJECT IS GETTING A ***LE FOR IT IN YOUR NAME. How many people have spent thousands of dollars and years of work only to go to the DMV to get it ***led and found out it was a stolen car a some point, we have all heard of some guy getting his car back 25 years after it was stolen and in a lot nicer shape than when they lost it. Do you want to be that guy that losses all of that time and money and possibly face criminal charges for a crime you didn't commit?
Flip side on ***ling and bill of sale. Keep a signed copy of your bill of sale especially if you sell a runner. I sold an old Dodge truck to a neighbor and got a letter two years later stating it was about to be sold as an abandoned vehicle. The guys son in law had driven the truck for over a year with no tags and no insurance and REGISTERED IN MY NAME! At least he just ran it out of oil in Kansas instead of using it to rob a bank or getting into a hit and run accident.
No one to talk to out there in the dakotas? Have you tried speaking with the Prong horn's. They might be able to help you with your problems.
Sorry willowbilly, but not all states have ***le laws. Here in Rhode Island you can't get a ***le on a car over 10yrs old even if it has a ***le now. Carlg
The dakotas? It hasn't been a territory since 1889. Maybe you could just refer to us as the Lousianna Purchase. lol I know in some states it is a cakewalk and they don'y give you much grief but there is way to much at risk to not have this stuff figured out going in, and even if you think you know, it doesn't hurt to keep updated because the laws are changing all the time. Oh, and I am pretty sure I said what I meant so I don't need an iterpreter, thanks, maybe labeling it a rant was a little off but most people wouldn't have read it if they didn't think there was going to be drama so I decided to make it a rant instead of just genreal information.
If there is no proof of ownership what keeps people from just taking you car and calling it theirs? How do you transfer ownership? There must be some kind of paper or do***entation. Notice I did say ***le (or equivilant) becuase I know there are states that don't actually have a "***le".
There is a GREAT resource...how about using DMV information? Custom Built and Kit Cars http://search.dmv.org/dmv/kit car Vehicle Registration http://www.dmv.org/vehicle-registration.php
Everything on cars 10 years or older is done on a simple bill of sale, and the registration number from the previous owner.They really only want to make sure the sales tax was paid by the previous owner .
So how do you sell them out of state and why don't all the car thieves come to R.I.? Just questions that pop into my head, not trying to argue.
It's pretty simple here. Get a notarized bill of sale with the VIN on it, pay a ***le bond at an insurance company (usually about 50 bucks), bring the bill of sale and ***le bond paper to the court house, get a ***le and tag issued in your name. I have done it many times no problem. Just did it last week for a car. If you don't have a bill of sale just make a new one. I get a friend to go with me to the local church secretary who is a notary public. Write up the bill of sale listing the VIN, make, and model, put sold by, have your friend sign that, sold to, you sign it, notary signs it and puts their seal, done. They do it free.
jimmy, I knew you guys put up with those love bugs for some reason lol, too bad all states aren't that painless. Mine isn't bad either, about the same procedure here but it always helps to have a good relationship with your local office because they make make it as hard or easy as they want.
Usually what I have found in California, is... as long as you are sure the car/ bike has been out of the DMV for over 7 years, the less you show up with the better off you are. The minute you show up with a ***le or old registration you start paying through the nose because they have somthing to track. The people in the DMV have no cognitive clue what "old cars" are they look at numbers and type them in, Thats it! I have had the most luck registering cars with a bill of sale written on a napkin (the napkin is key because they think if you wrote on the back of a napkin on torn piece of paper the car must be worthless, Fools! ". Whenever I have delt with a ***le or something of that nature I always get hit with " well you have to pay the lapsed registration on that car for the last 10 years if you want it in your name" *******s! My trick is go in with nothing and play dumb... try to be dumber than the dmv clerk is so they end up being the ones that get fed up. Make sure your nice though cause if they like you they usually get fed up in your favor. Just my 2 cents and it could only apply to Cali... but I doubt it
What's also great is anything over 25 years old is an "antique" and gets an antique tag which is 25 bucks and good for life. No more tag fees ever. It usually ends up less than a hundred bucks total to get a ***le and tag in your name.
nice thing about washington state is they issue a bonded ***le which means you have to wait 3 years for legal ***le but you can still get tabs and sell the car but new owner has to wait for legal ***le. doesn't really make sense on the selling part but...
here in cali i think car being off the books makes it easyer i dont deal w dmv any more i use a dmv service this old lady knows her **** it was worth the fee she charged to have it done in a week.
No arguement, I went to regester my model a , the guy I bought it from had not regesterd it nor had the last 3 people who had owned it before him. he had to pay the sales tax in m***. before I could regester it . he got a m*** ***le and gave it to me . the regestry accepted the ***le as proof of tax payment but would not issue a new ***le to me because of the age of the car. I guess thay must think if a car has 10 RI. winters on it its a throw away
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