need help/info on california titles, lost, last registered years ago Options

[rhodyguy]

i have a line on a car way cheap. the owner can't find the ca title, he now lives in wa. last registered in 88' and never changed over to wa. in wa if 2 people are on a title, or want to be on the title, both parties must be present to change it over. he says he can't find the title and that ca no longer has records of the car. after a period of time does ca drop the info from the dmv records?

kevin

[Ctrout]

Yes they do, and they will not re-title it without a light and brake test so don't take the car out of the state unless you don't mind bringing it back for the inspection. You may get lucky and your state may blow Kalifornia off and issue a title. I just went through this process and Idaho will issue a conditional title and totally disregard Kalifornia's ridiculous rules.

[rhodyguy]

the car is in washington. interesting if i read you right. ca won't issue a replacement title for transfer of ownership? i just want to change title not drive the damn thing.

kevin

[Ctrout]

They wouldn't do it for me. They wanted me to trailer it back from Idaho so they could inspect it.

[SLITS]

If you just want to own it for whatever reason, I would think a Bill of Sale, notarized would get you there.

They are right about CA dropping off information. Have one that has not been registered since '89 and a DMV search reveals "no records". I can take the BofS to the DMV and it will be registered as a "new car". Maybe they will require light and brake, not sure. If it had a "salvage title", I know the L&B would be required (about $140.-- last time I had it done).

[rhodyguy]

i'm going to check it out tomorrow to see what it's like anyway. i'll give the local liecencing agency a call and get the poop on perhaps a notarized statement for the change of title. if has some good items i'll pick it up. the big problem is disposing of cars in washington. the haulers need a title. i'm not into days with a sawsall. $20 and they drag the sucker away.

kevin

[TonyAKAVW]

I have a roller that has no title and no information associated with it, except the usual VINs. I talked to an agent at AAA and they looked up the VINs and there was no record of it in the system. This means that either the car has never been registered in CA or not for the last 8 years (though I've heard four as well).

So what they said is that a new title must be made and that a bill of sale must exist. The bill of sale is really a joke though because with no history there's no way of validating who owned the car ever. So if you want your neighbor to be the seller, or maybe your uncle Nein Fourtiner to make a bill of sale, you can. Then you have to get the vehicle inspected. Now from what I understand, this is not an inspection to ensure that the vehicle complies with regulations. Rather this is an inspection to make sure that the VINs are authentic. Essentially you can call the CHP and arrange to have an officer come out to your house (if the vehicle doesn't run) and sign off the paperwork. I don't have the numbers of the forms, but you can find this information on the CA DMV website http://www.dmv.ca.gov

So thats what I know so far, but then again I haven't actually gotten an inspection yet. But nowhere on the form for the CHP is there a spot for anything other than VINs.

[lapuwali]

The light and brake test is only for salvage cars. To replace a title they have no record for, they DO require a physical inspection, but it's of the VIN plate, so they can match it to the VIN you put on the form. For old VINs (dunno what the cutoff is, but it may be when the current VIN came into being, sometime after 1980), a CHP officer has to inspect the VIN plate, as for some reason it's the CHP that issues "new" VINs. Hence, this is why the actual inspection. Not so silly, really.

Your two choices are to simply find out what WA will do with only a bill of sale between you and the seller, or to go to one of the private titling agencies (Google for them), which will create a new title in their name through some legal loophole involving a title-less state (New Hampshire seems to be a favorite), then "sell" you the car with said title for a nominal fee. This isn't as shady as it sounds. Their target market is for old barn-find cars and bikes with lost-lost paperwork. A friend in Colorado self-imported a pre-war BMW bike, and had to go through one of these agencies to get a title, as all he had was a recent German bill of sale.

[Mueller]

. Essentially you can call the CHP and arrange to have an officer come out to your house (if the vehicle doesn't run) and sign off the paperwork

or if you are lazy and have "friends", you could just send the form to a buddy with little arrows saying "sign here" and have it mailed it back (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) as for me...next door neighbor is an officer...all I had to do was enjoy a beer with him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[SLITS]

. Essentially you can call the CHP and arrange to have an officer come out to your house (if the vehicle doesn't run) and sign off the paperwork

or if you are lazy and have "friends", you could just send the form to a buddy with little arrows saying "sign here" and have it mailed it back (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) as for me...next door neighbor is an officer...all I had to do was enjoy a beer with him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

I smell graft (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol2.gif)

[PorscheTom]

I just had to do this to register my 'new' 914. I brought it out of Washington. I took it to a CHP office because the wait at the DMV is into the next day...

Anyway, they just want to verify the VIN number. It must be a complete car, not a parts car. I'm not sure if it needs to be running or not. If not, of course you'll have to trailer it but I do know it has to be complete.

[rhodyguy]

thanks for the help guys. i passed on the car. everything of some value was banged up, except the windshield, which i figured would probably break on removal. with the title issue i was leary of a car on the property that could be a major hassle to be rid of. the guy is very nice but i think he is looking to get rid of the car due to the concerns i have. tom, were in wa did your car come from?

kevin