lol i meant legally.
thats a situation i do not want to be in. im hoping he will be able to get a title either from the original owner (whom he hasnt talked to in a year ) or get one from the DMV. I live in a different state than him so if i tried to apply for a lost title, i dont even know what would happen lol. If i had the vin checked would that lt me know if money is owed on the car? or is that just for damages and mileage?

P.S. sorry for all of these questions its just my first time buying somthing like this.

 

We just bought a 77 Trans Am, no paper work, you can't really run vins pre 81. Best bet is to get him to get the title. Is he the registered owner? Does he have a bill of sale etc. California laws are generally stricter than other states, I work in a law office so I get bored and read the vehicle codes. Here in California, if he is the legal owner, he can fill out a form and you can fill out a form for the new title. When was it last registered? if it has been over 5 years it generally drops out of the system or they will just make you pay for the last 3 years of registration. Depends on your state.

 

Im still waiing on his reply but it does not seem like he is the registered owner since he has to try and get the title from the guy he bought it from. If he cant get it i think it is another no go. Maybe its time for me to try ebay lol.

 

Gawd Cali sucks. I bought my car in Indy, and live in Michigan. The guy couldn't find the title for what ever reason. So I made him sign a bill of sale that waa about as binding as I could think of. Took it to the Secretary of State (our dmv). They gave me a for and I called the state police, the trooper filled it out after running the vin and I took it back. They ran it again down at the capital and boom for $140 in sales tax and fees plus a bill of sale. Boom I had a title. Took a hour.

 

If you are going to race it you don't really need a title lein sale it! lol

 

Lol I would like to tag it so I could drive on the street with it though. When I get home I am going to look up what it would take to get a title for it if it is lost.

 

It really depends on the state. I had to pay sales tax and a small fee. I bought it in another state and trailered it home. If you do get the vin run by the police first. Then at least its not stolen. After that write a bill of sale with his full name, your full name, price, VIN, any parts that come with it, and the date. Then both of you sign it. But first check with your dmv to see what hoops you need to jump through first. They should tell you over the phone.

I just thought of this, if the dmv needs the vin run to change title and need paperwork filled out by the police. Just do it right there when you sell it. If he seems to have a problem with that bail,

 

it seems as though i can apply for a lost title but the problem is that in order for the dmv to renew it they need the title number, which just so happens to come from the current title, but it gets changed for every owner. The one thing that seems fishy about this is why wouldnt he get the car with the title if the person he bought it from had it? it dosent make too much sense to me.

 

Some people never get around to changing titles until they get one on the road. Or sometimes they want them for parts cars, then change their minds and resell without ever getting a title.

 

^^ so true, last year i sold a 81 parts car (parts car to me) to a guy an hour or two away from me and the guy didnt even ask for a bill of sales or the ownership and it wasnt till the next day that i had realized i still had it and BOS from when i bought it lol. Oh well if he calls i still have it lol.