Blk63Vette

Hi

I found a solid 1956 Chevy 210 its better than the 1957 I looked at it has surface rust no rot...Second owner car from CA

Bad news the car has NO TITLE...... I remember in the 80's in Ohio it wasn't hard to register a car without a title sure you had to jump through some hoops but all in all in wasn't bad..

2017 I'm thinking its probably going to be a nightmare... This car has not been register since the 70's. The second owner is dead and buried years ago..

If there is ANY hope to get it registered....I would love to get the car...I think its going to be difficult if not impossible to do in FL..

Any thoughts???

68hemi

http://www.its-titles.com/lost_title_for_car.html

Blk63Vette

Has anybody used this service before??

Nowhere Man

My self I would contact your state of motor vehicles before I would trust that site. Looks awful fishy to me.

68hemi

Yes, I have.

40 years ago the dealership I worked for would use Broadway title also but I could not connect to their site.

These places have been around for a long time.

68hemi

You are usually wasting your time with them. At best they will want you to do a bonded title, run ads in the newspapers and wait 1 year.

Duck916

It's usually not that difficult. The key thing is to be able to prove you are the rightful owner. It's easy for the state to run the VIN to see if the car is listed as stolen in the NMVTIS. But the next step is for you to demonstrate to the state that you are the rightful owner.

So, how can you do that? What is the current owner providing you to prove that he or she is the current owner and has the ability to convey clear title to you?

If the current owner is in California and is the person that the car was last registered to, it's easy for that person to get a replacement title from the California DMV. There's even a specific form for it (Application for Duplicate Title) and it only costs $20.

If the current owner is not the same as the last person the car was registered to, I'm guessing the current owner is the heir of the prior owner. I'd ask that owner to get the DMV to issue him a proper title (which he should have done when the estate was settled).

Finally, if all else fails, the state may require a title bond, which is a bond you have to buy to protect the state if someone else turns up as the rightful owner.

65GGvert

The only expert is your state DMV. Don't take advice based on opinions or what once happened to a friend, etc. All it takes is an e-mail or a phone call. They don't charge for answers.

pop23235

If like the Va DMV, you find the right person its a piece of cake. Get the wrong one, or most, and you'll diddle around forever.

Blk63Vette

This car is now in Florida...This is what bothers me this car has stayed untitled for decades.. Why???...The price is right.... I don't think its stolen....But, then again a lot of weird stuff went on the 70's with car titles and stuff...I'm willing to roll the dice I went the odds in my favor....

68hemi

I thought you already OWNED this car? That changes thing a little. The first thing you want to do before spending any money is to call the local DMV and give then the V.I.N. and ask if it has ever been reported stolen. They will run the V.I.N. nationally. If the answer is no then proceed as I originally suggested.

I don't know what the background of others are here but I know what I am talking about. I began working in car dealerships in 1968 and for over 30 years was involved in different aspects of the car business. I was the Director of Fleet Sales for one of the worlds largest Nissan dealerships and sold over 1300 cars per year. I have seen EVERY screwed up title situation there is.

The way these title services work is they operate in non-title states where a registration is used to pass ownership. You provide a bill of sale they in turn register the car and then the registration is passed to your title state and they turn it into a title registered in that state.

Randy G.

Don't be the guy on the wrong end of this story...

Kerrmudgeon

Wouldn't it be the same as if you built a car from parts? Like a real hot rod. All you'd need is some receipts for frame and body parts and tell them you built it from scratch. I'd check into it....maybe the easiest way to do it. you may need to sign an affidavit.

63 340HP

Make the purchase contingent upon the Florida DMV recognition of a clear title. Take a bill of sale to the local DMV and request the title transfer. They will check the VIN record. If the vehicle report is clear of theft claims, it can be registered.

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When California computerized the DMV records in the late 80's they did not pay the contractor to include vehicles that had not been registered over five years. The dormant unregistered vehicles were ignored in the new computer database, as if they never existed. California subsequently initiated a "non-operational" status for legally unregistered vehicles to remain in the DMV database.

Owners of a "unknown" vehicle with an old pink slip or registration can request a new registration, and are issued new plates, without paying penalties for the years of unregistered status.

With or without a title, If California has a prior record of the vehicle and the vehicle is not listed as "non-operational," they will try to demand payment of penalties, and registration fees, for each year of unregistered status. The penalties can be expensive. Avoid trying to get a California title, because if a record exists the DMV can make the title transfer expense prohibitive.

jimh_1962

You should get it titled in California. Just hire a vin verification person to verify the vin then take the paperwork into CA DMV to get it through the sacramento office. They will issue a title with that vin if it checks out in CA DMV. I would do that before I would try to take it to Florida. This would require the current owners help before purchasing. Contingency proposal. Make a contract with the current owners.

The current owner should understand that you might not be able to title it in Florida with only a bill of sale.

Frankie the Fink

Exactly right....

jimh_1962

But would first try to get a title via CA DMV before trying to get it through Florida. You could go to Florida DMV and ask them if they would title it with only a CA bill of sale. I bet the answer would be 'no'.

I did this with a car of mine in Illinois they told me 'no'. Easy enough since the car was in California. I just asked a friend to help me get the title taken care of. No problems once the title arrived. Now, it did take some time to issue the new title. It was like 3 months or so... CA DMV is quite slow.

68hemi

Here is a link to a site about boned titles in Florida if that is the route you want to take.
http://blog.suretysolutions.com/sure...n-6-easy-steps

Personally, I prefer what I recommended initially because once you contact your local DMV with questions about the title you are in the system and if there is a problem then you are likely screwed. If you use the title services that operate in non-title states you are good to go as ALL title states will accept a registration as proof of ownership from that state and then you can get a clean title in Florida. A bonded title is a branded title and also you are on the hook for three years if someone comes forward with a claim to the car.

You have my recommendation as someone that has been through this many times so do what you want.

jimh_1962

Also, this is assuming the car has a vin which could be verified. If no vin then do not bother...

GUSTO14

Do not dismiss the idea of a bonded title quite yet...

Consider this, you purchase a no title body, (heck it can even be a titled body) for $1,000. Over the next 5+ years, you spend another $50,000 on the car, restoring or restomodding it. You take it to a car show and I show up and recognize it by some unique characteristic or even the VIN from back in the day as the car I had stolen in 1970. I go to the local authorities and provide indisputable proof that this was my car, it had been stolen and I was not reimbursed by my insurance company. (Just assume I kept complete copies of all of the reports I filed with local authorities and documentation back then, even pictures.)

At best, the car will probably be impounded until someone (the courts?) decides which of us is the rightful owner. Quite likely the courts will look at you and say sorry, but this car was stolen and you will be relieved of the car. You will be out the car and very likely everything you have invested in it. You may have a civil suit option, but you will lose most if not all of your investment either to me or to your lawyers.

The bonded title will at least get you reimbursed for the value of the bond you purchased initially. With that, you may now have enough money to take me to court and sue me for the upgrades you have made. Good luck with that...

By the way, this has all occurred many times in the past 10 years or so, and the internet has made the recovery of long lost and stolen vehicles infinitely easier to uncover than almost anything that has occurred in the past 20 - 40 years.

Keep in mind, all lost or stolen data is not necessarily entered into the NMVTIS database, nor does it necessarily remain there indefinitely.
https://www.vehiclehistory.gov/nmvtis_consumers.html
Also see... Consumer Access Product Disclaimer

Just something to think about... GUSTO