Help with vehicle title.

[GreeCguy]

Maybe you guys can give me some help. My daughter just came to visit her ailing Papa and was telling me about a friend of hers who bought a car in April of last year. The car needed work and she and her husband don't have a lot of spare cash, so the car sat in the yard while they saved up the money to have it repaired.

Time passes, they save the money, car is repair, now they want to have it titled and put it on the road. Problem is, when they went to the DMV, turns out the previous owner has pulled a new title in June of last year and, according to the DMV, they have to have the most recent copy of a pulled title.

What can my young friends do? They made a few mistakes along the way. First, they paid cash and have no canceled check to show a trans action has taken place. Secondly, they did not get a bill of sale which is required. Thirdly, they did not transfer title right away but that was because they didn't have the money.

These are two young kids (both 21 years old) who are trying to do what's right. They're fine people and I hate to see them take a hit on something like this when money is so tight for them.

Does anyone out there in Bitog land have any wisdom or advice? Does anyone have any idea why the previous owner, (who has disappeared to points unknown) might want with a title for a vehicle he no longer owns?

Thoughts, opinions, advice - thanks.

 

[AandPDan]

They bought it in April 2012 and the previous owner got another title in June 2012?

That's a red flag. Are you sure the vehicle hasn't been reported as stolen? No bill of sale is another red flag.

So, they can't prove they own the vehicle in any way.

Can they contact the previous owner? That might be the only thing they can do.

They might want to talk to a lawyer.

 

[TechnoLoGs]

I think they got screwed.

What does a police check of the VIN say?

 

[rjundi]

No bill of sale and cash. Yikes.

Life's best education lessons are the most expensive ones.

The only thing they can do is contact the previous owner and get it straightened out.

People's Court show or Judge Judy!

 

[azjake]

Sadly I don't think they have any options. Even if they could afford a lawyer they could easily end up paying him/her more than the car's worth and still have no guarantee of getting clear ownership of the vehicle.

 

[Quest]

sorry to hear that but I think they are scruued in this case.

No way they can get the title back unless they call the seller (see if he/she is willing to let it go), or (2) find a way to dispose of the vehicle (just my personal opinion, for I wouldn't want to have anything to do with somebody else's vehicle, in this case).

Life is an expensive lesson. I learn it the hard way almost every single day....

Q.

 

[The_Jeff]

What year car? You can get a Maine registration for 1994 and prior through various online agencies. This turns into a title most other places.

Whose name is the title in? The sellers? Did he sign the back? Is a notary required in the title's state or the buyers'? If there's no notary required, forge up a bill of sale. There's right, and there's "right".

I think the kids should try a different state. It's not too hard to find one that will take their money and get them the newest title. If one of them is in school in another state that counts, they can register there.

Or they could file for an abandoned vehicle title, or a bonded one where they put up the value of the car and it's theirs in three years, but they can drive it in the meantime.

 

[Gabe]

I got put into a similar situation when I bought a '04 Jeep with a bad motor.

Their title should be signed and have the purchase price wrote on it - a bill of sale might not be required. For me, it was cheaper/easier to offer the previous owner a couple hundred dollars to get everything straightened out.

 

[GreeCguy]

The problems are these - previous owner left town to points unknown. They've tried to find him and are not sure if he is even still in the State of Florida. Therefore, they can't get a bill of sale from him or even ask why he pulled a new title.

In all honesty, I thought about the "fake" bill of sale. But I would be more than a little worried if other illegal things were happening right now with the newer title and then this sweet young couple might get caught up in that mess.

They really are a nice young couple who I believe got taken advantage of. I even told them one thing they might consider is parting the car out and then when there's nothing left, we'll pull it to my place and cut it up for scrap. At least they would get some of their money back.

I did tell them today the first thing we need to do is run a vin number check to see if it's been reported stolen. I think that's the first step before anything else.

 

[Barkleymut]

If he is young and in good shape he needs to show up on the old owners front doorstep. Tell the dude to stop the crud or he is gonna kick his arse into next week. Easiest and quickest solution.

 

[GreeCguy]

They have the title signed and dated with purchase price on it. Florida now requires a bill of sale. A notary is not necessary. They paid cash so have no canceled check to prove anything. According to the DMV, "how do they know this isn't a lost or stolen title that they forged." Yes, they should have transferred the title right away, but they didn't have the money at the time. It was a "deal" they didn't want to loose. Turns out they might have lost it all. They paid 1300 dollars for the car. I don't know the year but it is a Honda Civic.

 

[GreeCguy]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
If he is young and in good shape he needs to show up on the old owners front doorstep. Tell the dude to stop the crud or he is gonna kick his arse into next week. Easiest and quickest solution.


If we could find him I'd go with him. Problem is, previous owner is points unknown.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Investigate how Florida handles abandoned vehicles and any notification process to the owner. Given how long they have had the vehicle in their possession, they may be able to go through the abandoned vehicle process to gain a legal title to the car. In the meantime I would secure the vehicle in a place that is unknown to the current official owner.

 

[GreeCguy]

I'm wondering why the previous owner pulled a new title two months after he sold the vehicle. What would he want with the title.

Could it be an insurance scam. "Hey, my car was stolen."

Could he be trying to use the title on another vehicle?

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[The_Jeff]

https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck

 

[The_Jeff]

In my state a duplicate title bears the legend "This is a duplicate title and may be subject to the rights of an original title holder" or somesuch.

Too bad yours doesn't work this way.

For the record, Maine will issue a title without registration, insurance, or a bill of sale. All they need is the old title with seller's signature. No sales tax, $33 fee. (Sales tax is paid at registration time.) They are part of some national title database, mostly related to flood cars and "brand washing". Rush titles take about two weeks. Out of staters do not appear prohibited from getting titles. Your big question of course should be, is it known that another title exists, and will this one be honored?

Then when one gets a new (Maine) title in their name, it's the newest title anyone has issued, and one of the cute couple can sell the car to the other for a buck with all the bills of sale etc needed.

 

[ram_man]

I would hide the car and try finding the guy, maybe he has a Facebook, MySpace twitter ect. But I would call the police station where he lived ask them if they have any records I would call and hunt until i found him. Or forge the bill of sale sometimes you have to play dirty.