Fawking hate AZ DMV. I have been fighting with them for 2 years over the title for my jeep. I almost picked up a body with a clean title to strip the vin just be be done with it. Sad you have to break the law when you have done nothing wrong to start with
my dad tried to register a 34 ford roadster by doing a lien sale when the guy ran the numbers through the dmv it came back registered to a tractor any ideals? i live in California
I have a related question for you. I recently bought a 1955 Chevy 1st series truck with a title. The number on the title matches the number stamped on the 6 cylinder engine. There is a tag on the door jamb of the cab, but it is currently rather crudely held on with sheet metal screws. The number on this tag doesnt match the # on the title. I am planning on swapping the bod onto a 1985 S10 truck chassis. I recently bought a blank plate that matches the old one with non matching numbers. I was planning on stamping the number on the title onto the new plate and installing the new plate onto the truck door jamb with pop rivets.
"...just checked the indiana BMV web site and looked the titles in my name. i was amazed that several were still in my name from cars i sold years ago. with a couple of mouse clicks i could get a replacement tilte ($9) and the current owner would be shit outta luck. yet another reason to transfer title right away..." The big issue here is I think that your name is still attached to cars in someone else's use...I believe this can mean that if the present driver does something worthy of a lawsuit, you can become part of the proceedings, especially if you seem to be more worth suing than the new guy.
Don't you get a copy of the BOS Bruce? I always do as the seller, I also state condition as sold and disclaim the thing, it's outta my life, I don't want it sneaking back in, as is and sold baby.
I don't think a bill of sale will necessarily trump a title that still has your name in it on record; I think only safe way may be to complete a car sale at the DMV and shove the signed-off title across the counter yourself. A lawyer hunting for money after an accident is going to search titles, and if he finds YOU, the title is a lot more official than a BOS.
Oh I'm sure that if some goof bought it from you and used it to hurt people that the authorities would be at your home within seconds carrying you out of your home by the back of your neck and the strap on your Hanes drawers. So what did you do about the opens at the DMV?
This is why whenever I sell a car I alway copy the front and back of the title for my own records to prove I sold if I ever have to. You never know who will come looking for money from you one day out of the blue for a bullsh*t reason
I can attest to this. In '90 or '91 I sold an off-topic car to a highschool girl and her Dad. In WA state there was seller paperwork that was required to be submitted in 3-10 days (can't remember for sure) in addition to the new owner needing to seek a title transfer, etc. Glad I mailed my part in. The girl/dad never changed the title. Three-four months later, the car had been abandoned and impounded by a tow yard. After close to a month of sitting around stacking up storage fees I was contacted and they were trying to pressure me for the hefty storage fees. The wind went out of their sails when the state finally corroborated my selling of the car months earlier. Scott/Gotta56forme
i have a buddy that registered his 31 chevy with legit paperwork(the seller was the son of the original owner) and the dmv called my buddy and said he was in the posession of a stolen helicopter. i swear to god no bullshit
In California, as long as you have the VIN number on the vehicle, it does not matter how many other vehicles have that same VIN number. For example: We registered a 1956 Ford F500 that apparently had the same VIN number as someone's trailer and someone else truck... it is possible, but not illegal in California to have the same VIN number as another registered vehicle. The system only goes back so many years, so nobody really has hard records in a "computer system" of what was registered to whom in the 1930's.....
The Texas title that came with my 48 had "engine change" on the title and used the number stamped on the plate on the door post. The previous owner had gone to the trouble of doing that when he swapped in a 194 six. The good thing is that it made no reference to what engine was swapped into the truck, just that it had been changed. That worked well when I showed up in Washington State with the truck four years later with a 283 in it and had to have it inspected. Get the truck titled in your name with the engine number on it and when you swap engines keep the six as proof that you have the correct engine number to match the title when applying for an engine change title. The screwed up plate on the door post is probably due to someone pulling it off when the truck was painted years ago as guys did that back then so that the jamb would be painted under the tag. Not too cool to do now. I agree with making sure that you jump through the hoops to make sure that a vehicle is out of your name when you sell it these days. I sold an OT car 20 years ago that we sent the notice of sale off the title into the state. Two years later I got a letter from a towing company in the area where the car had sold wanting towing and impound fees. I called him and told him that I had sold it two years before and had sent the notice of sale slip to the state and that was the last I heard of it. A lot of the locals march the buyer straight to the title and license office down town and stand there while the guy transfers the title.
Pretty much the same thing happened to me back in the early 90's too with a decent '67 Buick 340 GS. Except by the time the city contacted me, they already knew I was not the current owner, but the last known owner. They offered me the car back for the fees at about $750 or said they were going to crush it. I had sold the car for $1800 so it was tempting. I told them no thanks, as I had sold it to a somewhat suspicious character and he knew where I lived and might come around looking for the car again if he found out I had it back at some point. Didn't want the potential trouble and likely he had already trashed the car anyway.
The plate on the A pillar is possibly the one from the factory. They were put on using clutch screws and someone may have replaced then with sheet metal screws. Pop rivets would be non factory and a red flag to someone who knew that. If it's corrct for the truck the numbers will tell you what year and series it is. Some states used engine number others used the tag on the A pillar
Titles can be a pain. I traded in my wife's OT POS minivan at a dealership (for a new Z-28) and signed the title over to them. Two years later, I get a letter from the City of Houston to pay for a parking ticket. Try convincing a muni court that you sold a car to a dealership who auctioned it to a contractor who never transferred the title. Fun. Several calls, letters and arguments later, they finally dropped the matter. I don't think they ever found the perps, either. I might have a warrant waiting for me in Houston ;-).
Heres what i have been told, some states recorded engine/frame numbers others recorded cab/body numbers, therefore depending on what state your car was originaly sold in 1 of the 2 numbers were recorded (these two numbers did not match), to compond the problem alot of states didn't record vin numbers pre-1955 so there are cars/truck pre-1955 with no real recorded vin. Now to make matters worse all those states that recorded the engine numbers (then someone changes the engine) have vehicals running around with titles that dont match the a-piller tag since it was never recorded. yet its becomes our problem. Good luck, you have the right papers to back up your situation, relax and it will get worked out.
The title office told me that Chevys through 1956 were titled by engine number in Texas. If they know it the DPS does too. I think I'd see about getting an engine change title for the truck and THEN switching frames. The title office also told me that if I change frames on my 56 Ford, I'll have to go with a current "builders title" since Fords through 56 were titled by frame numbers. Yea, it's a little complicated. Larry T
Easy way around that. Cut the numbers off both frames and weld the correct ones into the frame you'll be using.
It could be as simple as somebody in Alabama inadvertently transposing a couple of digits in the serial # on that bill of sale, or mistaking a 6 for an 8 or a 1 for a 7 on a crusty old serial number plate.
To the earlier point re: title transfer and the seller's liability, this is how Texas views it: "Sellers Vehicles are required to be titled in the buyer's name within 20 working days (45 calendar days if the selling dealer is also financing your vehicle). Failing to properly transfer a vehicle into the buyer's name could result in the seller being held responsible for tickets, toll violations or they could even have property seized if the vehicle was used to commit a crime. To ensure this doesn't happen to you, accompany the buyer to your county tax office and make sure a vehicle title application is filed. If you sell or trade-in your vehicle to a licensed motor vehicle dealer, the dealer is not required to title the vehicle in the dealership's name. The vehicle stays in your name until it is sold to an individual, which may take months or even years. To protect yourself, file a vehicle transfer notification.." Having all the poop that proves you sold it don't mean much if the buyer leaves it registered in your name... you gotta initiate the transfer of title to get it outta your name, ASAP!!
I live in Pa. when i bought my 29 A coupe i recieved a relatively current pa title(4-5 years old i think) with it and promptly transferred it into my name,but i have no clue if it actually belongs to the car as the original frame and motor are both long gone.the homemade frame that it has now has the number from the title stamped on it just in the wrong place( over left rear wheel instead of under front cowl area).Do i need to have any kind of vin tag to be able to register this when i get that far???
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