Dave K.

After following the barn find of Mike's '57, I think of many of these barn finds and their titles or lack of them. I do hope Mike did actually get the title. But, what does a buyer do when there is no title? Sure a seller will hand you a Bill of Sale, but what is that worth. I can give you a Bill of Sale for the Empire State building if you ask me for one. As mentioned in Mike's story, why did the car get parked and hidden for all these years? Are these barn find usually legit cars? Or are they stolen cars that got stashed to wait for the heat to die down? I wouldn't spend money on a car without a title in my hand. I can just see the owner who had it stolen from them and take it from you.

vt65

used to be that you could buy Lic. plates in Georgia without a title, they would issue you a tag receipt, then you could obtain a title in another state using the GA tag receipt, that was a while ago that i did 1 that way so maybe it has changed. I think a lot of stolen Corvettes got "tag receipts" back in the day, my '59 was clean ...

firstgear

I bought my project 63swc with a bill of sale in New Hampshire and brought the car back to Ohio. Took it to the title bureau where they inspected the car for the VIN, and then got an Ohio title. Many states do not have titles for cars that are older than 20 years and those cars are transferred via bill of sale. Ohio requires a title and will convert easily.

It really isnt a big deal. At least it hasnt been for me,.

racecar14

I bought two 58 Vettes last summer from a guy that raced one and pulled the race car with the other one. He broke the motor in the race car and put it in the barn in 1978. The street car had a 1978 inspection sticker and the odometer was only 40 mile off from the sticker. He had a stroke and sold both of them after 30 years. I got good titles on both cars. I sold the race car and am bringing the street car back to life. So there is many many reason people put cars away. Getting them to sell is another story!

92GTA

Mine was put away because the guy never did like driving it because of the brakes. He met his wife because of the car and they didn't want to part with it so it just stayed in his garage with hopes of restoring it one day. Had the title, old pinks, all paperwork for him and previous owners, bills of sale, etc. The guys just was afraid of driving it.

1955 copper

In ca. You can go buy the vine tag or frame number to get a pink , also after 7 years they don't keep records

Dave K.

Being in Ohio. I have attempted to buy a motorcycle both from in this state or from out of state. Ohio has told me several times, that there is a title someplace, so get that title. I mentioned the bill of sale, they said it means nothing in Ohio. Maybe I have a tough local DMV, but in trying another alternative and calling the state directly, they were unwavering also. I am sure it is up to the DMV that you go to as I will have no luck here. In one respect it, it is kind of comforting as if they were all this tough, it would make it harder for a stolen car to become a titled stolen car. JMO

highschool67

In Iowa you get a bonded title. If there is no claim after 3 years it transfers over to a standard title. You have to buy a bond for 50% over stated value of the car. Bond costs about $100 per $10000.

emccomas

There are plenty of title companies that can handle this legally, and reasonably priced.

navysooner

I agree. Use a title company. It will cost you about 160 dollars but requires no work on your part other than taking the VIN to the DMV and confirming that it isn't stolen or otherwise have a lien on it in your state and waiting about 4 weeks for the paperwork to arrive (faster service costs more).

Olustee bus

In alabama that is. IT is good for other states

MaineDoc

Maine is one of those states that does not issue, or require titles for cars older than 1995. When I sell a car it goes with a bill of sale, signed over registration, and an official letter from our DMV explaining our procedure. Never had a problem and over the years and my cars have gone to several states. It also is easy getting an old car registered. I simply take my bill of sale to the town office, pay the 5% sales tax and minimal excise tax, and I'm good to go. I do take steps to insure that I'm not buying a "hot" car but having a title is not absolutely a requirement.

emccomas

One of the title companies I am thinking about does operate in Alabama. There are others in other states, I just don't pay much attention to them since I don't need that service.

However, in Alabama any car older than 1975 does NOT have a title. All you get is a vehicle registration.

As far as I know, other states will accept a current Alabama vehicle registration, and a bill of sale, and issue a title based on that.

Many states do also require a physical examination of the vehicle, including the VIN tag.

I also just found out that Alabama also now requires a physical examination of the VIN tag on ANY vehicle that changes hands in Alabama. Doesn't matter if the car is an out of state or an in state transfer.

I asked specifically about non-operative cars. They told me that I had to drag the car down to them before they would issue a title (or registration on 1974 and older cars).

The change was made to put Alabama in compliance with the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) reporting requirements, which is now required of all 50 states and DC.

capevettes

Many states do not require titles. You would just purchase the car as a non titled vehicle and apply for a title in your own state. I've done this with a couple of cars that I purchased out of state and brought back to Mass. If you have a friend with access to the NCIC data base it's not a bad idea to run a stolen check on the VIN before purchase.

66BlkBB

Wouldn't it be just as easy, even though your state doesn't require a title, to simply keep the old title in an envelop and stored away? That way when the sale of the car comes you could hand over the original title and a bill of sale for the car. The problem would be solved at that point in any state that required a title for the car.

Railroadman

That's good advice. However, the issue usually is encountered from the buyer's perspective. You may keep the title for a car YOU may sell some day. The headaches begin when YOU want to BUY a car and the seller who has had the car fir X years did not keep the title handy (or never had one in the first place). If everybody kept paperwork where they could find it things would be a lot easier but life does not work that way. Fires, divorces, moving, water leaks, and just plain carelessness can easily make needed paperwork disappear.

66BlkBB

Yeah, I understand what you are saying. I am referring to the ones now that live in states where titles are not required. I would still ask for a title to the vehicle so I had it. Secondly, I put all my stuff in a small safe to secure them. If it comes down to a total loss fire, god forbid, it may save it and it may not. I can always apply for a new one where I live.

Steve

John S 1961

Similar in AZ, you have to have the car inspected (they search for the Secret vins) and run the vin through the stolen records data base.

But then you will get a state issued VIN Tag..........big downer.

does your car have a VIN Tag?, just no title, or can you find the secret vin on the frame, run the Number(not stolen), then get a vin tag remanufactured and re attached, then you can get a bonded title without the state vin.

There is always a process, you are not the first person to buy a car without the title.

David Mc

That is rapidly changing.

GUSTO14

I brought a car back from Japan in '97 with a Japanese title, complete with an English translation. The car had been registered in my name in Japan for the previous three years. After completing the US conversion process and presenting the paperwork to the NC, DMV, they said the title was invalid and it would require a bond. Not very expensive, but a hassle. Oh and I did get to keep the Japanese VIN... freaks out my insurance company every time they notice it, as it doesn't conform to US VIN format.

To anyone that purchases a classic car these days, title or not, do a good VIN search before dumping serious money into it. I mean look it over carefully. If the vehicle turns up as a stolen vehicle (or any part of it?), all the previous paperwork, title or bill-of-sale, will entitle you to is a law suit to try and get you money back from the person that sold it to you. There are more than a few classics popping up with bogus VIN's. I recently saw a Camaro with two different VIN's and the one on the title didn't match the body type. It will only take one curious inspector to unravel the mystery and if it turns up the car was stolen at one time, you could be out big bucks.

Good luck... GUSTO