Colorado purged my dad's car title

[road_rascal]

My dad finally moved out to MN back in late October to be closer to my wife and I (he's 86 and mom passed away a few years back). We went to the MN DMV office to get new plates for his 1987 Saab (he has the title from CO dated in 1993 along with the lien release). When we got there the lady at the counter looked up the info and said that CO issued a newer title in 2001, and he need that to get plates. BUT- since he had the renewal card from CO (plates expired in Dec 2023) they gave him MN plates, and told him when he gets an MN drivers license to make sure the new title is linked to his license.

Since my dad keeps meticulous records (being a former CPA and a partner at a major accounting firm) this really stumped him, as he never recalled receiving an updated title. He called the CO DMV to get a copy of the updated title and they told him to fill out the whatever form and send in a check. About a week or so later he gets this letter saying the title was purged from the system. We're going to go back to the MN DMV and try and figure this out. Why would a state purge a title on a car that's actively being driven?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Would the age of the vehicle come into play? I believe some states don't require a title after a certain age.

 

[97prizm]

My dad finally moved out to MN back in late October to be closer to my wife and I (he's 86 and mom passed away a few years back). We went to the MN DMV office to get new plates for his 1987 Saab (he has the title from CO dated in 1993 along with the lien release). When we got there the lady at the counter looked up the info and said that CO issued a newer title in 2001, and he need that to get plates. BUT- since he had the renewal card from CO (plates expired in Dec 2023) they gave him MN plates, and told him when he gets an MN drivers license to make sure the new title is linked to his license.

Since my dad keeps meticulous records (being a former CPA and a partner at a major accounting firm) this really stumped him, as he never recalled receiving an updated title. He called the CO DMV to get a copy of the updated title and they told him to fill out the whatever form and send in a check. About a week or so later he gets this letter saying the title was purged from the system. We're going to go back to the MN DMV and try and figure this out. Why would a state purge a title on a car that's actively being driven?

View attachment 200310

That's odd. I haven't driven my Mazda in 8 years or so and feel like that's what will end up happening. If your dad's saab was titled and driven it shouldn't have been purged unless it wasn't driven for a while. I'd look at the Colorado dmv website. If you Google How to get a purged vehicle title in Colorado a few good links come up.

 

[andyd]

Was it a SAAB 900 or the 9000? I wouldn't raise any hackles with the RMV. Just get your dad's paper work good with the RMV and then pursue whatever issues. My dad was a meticulous record keeper. A clerical error would drive him nutz. Swamp Survivor is likely right.. After 25 yrs, titles aren't kept.

 

[road_rascal]

1987 9000 Turbo 5 speed manual- yes, he still drives a manual. I've rode with him recently and he can shift better than I can. The only 2 cars he's had since 1988 are the Saab and the 1988 Nissan Sentra that I inherited (mom's car).

 

[road_rascal]

Would the age of the vehicle come into play? I believe some states don't require a title after a certain age.

True, but how would you sell a car when you give the buyer a title and the state DMV says there's a newer one that needs to be presented? And you contact the state and they said the records are purged? Such a weird situation...

 

[road_rascal]

That's odd. I haven't driven my Mazda in 8 years or so and feel like that's what will end up happening. If your dad's saab was titled and driven it shouldn't have been purged unless it wasn't driven for a while. I'd look at the Colorado dmv website. If you Google How to get a purged vehicle title in Colorado a few good links come up.

He's looking into it, but I think he's just going to play 'dumb' since the car has the new MN plates.

 

[dnewton3]

Why would a state purge a title on a car that's actively being driven?

Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is:
DMV employee who made a mistake and wasn't smart enough to discover the error, or didn't care enough to fix it even if the person did realize it happened.
I mean, it is a government low-level job we're talking about here.
Many (not all, obviously) BMV/DMV employees are barely trained monkeys, and when they make a mistake, they won't admit to it or deal with it unless forced to do so.

My guess is some moron at the BMV/DMV erased your dad's car title from existence. They will not likely admit it, and make you jump through hoops to fix their error. (and probably make you spend your money to fix their error ...)


**********************
True story that happened to me:

I once had a license plate lost from my RV. There is an Indiana form to use for getting a replacement/duplicate plate.
There are some various parts to fill out; plate number, name, address, blah blah blah ...
On the top of the form, there is a section for a LEO to fill out; name, agency and ID number, etc.

- The lady at the BMV told me "This has to be signed by a police officer".
- I said "Why?"
- She said "It's required on all of these forms."
- I said "Not for what I need; the plate was lost."
- She said "It applies to all of them."
- I said "Ma'am, that's not true. I don't need an LEO signature for a lost plate."
- She said "No - I'm right."
- I said "No - you're wrong. Have you read the instructions on this form?"
- Then I pointed to the form instructions (line item #3) that clearly stated that Stolen plates must be reported to LEOs and have an LEO sign.
- I said "Stolen and lost are not the same category. There is no requirement for a Lost plate to be signed off by LEO. In section 2, if I don't check the "Stolen" box, and instead I check the "Lost" box, then the plate is not stolen; it's lost. And the form says that only "Stolen" plates require LEO signature. I would know; I'm a cop."
She grunted, got up, walked to her supervisor's office where they talked for probably 3 minutes, then she got a cup of coffee from the break room, and finally came back and processed the form. As if she needed confirmation of what was literally printed in front of her face.

(see photo insert. There are four categories for plate replacement in Indiana: Lost, Stolen, Damaged, Destroyed)

My point is that BMV employees are often, well, stupid and don't even know their own jobs.


.

 

[andyd]

I used to be the permit guy for the alarm company. In the course of a day, I would get permits, test systems. If things went even 75% according to plan, it was a good day. Especially in dealing with folks behind a window. Smiles work really well.

 

[97prizm]

Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is:
DMV employee who made a mistake and wasn't smart enough to discover the error, or didn't care enough to fix it even if the person did realize it happened.
I mean, it is a government low-level job we're talking about here.
Many (not all, obviously) BMV/DMV employees are barely trained monkeys, and when they make a mistake, they won't admit to it or deal with it unless forced to do so.

My guess is some moron at the BMV/DMV erased your dad's car title from existence. They will not likely admit it, and make you jump through hoops to fix their error. (and probably make you spend your money to fix their error ...)


**********************
True story that happened to me:

I once had a license plate lost from my RV. There is an Indiana form to use for getting a replacement/duplicate plate.
There are some various parts to fill out; plate number, name, address, blah blah blah ...
On the top of the form, there is a section for a LEO to fill out; name, agency and ID number, etc.

- The lady at the BMV told me "This has to be signed by a police officer".
- I said "Why?"
- She said "It's required on all of these forms."
- I said "Not for what I need; the plate was lost."
- She said "It applies to all of them."
- I said "Ma'am, that's not true. I don't need an LEO signature for a lost plate."
- She said "No - I'm right."
- I said "No - you're wrong. Have you read the instructions on this form?"
- Then I pointed to the form instructions (line item #3) that clearly stated that Stolen plates must be reported to LEOs and have an LEO sign.
- I said "Stolen and lost are not the same category. There is no requirement for a Lost plate to be signed off by LEO. In section 2, if I don't check the "Stolen" box, and instead I check the "Lost" box, then the plate is not stolen; it's lost. And the form says that only "Stolen" plates require LEO signature. I would know; I'm a cop."
She grunted, got up, walked to her supervisor's office where they talked for probably 3 minutes, then she got a cup of coffee from the break room, and finally came back and processed the form. As if she needed confirmation of what was literally printed in front of her face.

(see photo insert. There are four categories for plate replacement in Indiana: Lost, Stolen, Damaged, Destroyed)
View attachment 200336


My point is that BMV employees are often, well, stupid and don't even know their own jobs.


.

I had license plates stolen off my vehicle last July. I went into the dmv the next day and was told I need an appointment. There were four people in there! I was additionally told it could be an hour or so since people had made reservations. I politely told the dmv employee to look around. If people have reservations then they should be here. It took all of five minutes to get replacement plates