I'll try to keep this short and sweet. While my sister was living away in AZ, she purchased a car. She took out a loan, paid cash, and the car came with a title. That's about all I know. It sounds to me like she took out a personal loan, unsecured, but she isn't sure. I'm currently waiting to see loan documents that should be emailed soon.
What I know:
The car is currently titled in TX. When she went to the DMV in AZ, they refused to transfer the title for some reason. Why, I do not know. My sister recalls something about needing a "bill of sale" because "the name on the title didn't match". This is verbatim, not verified in any way by me, as I was unable to help AVOID this situation in the first place.
Upon trying to contact the seller, MIA. Of course. Phone disconnected etc. etc.
She insured the vehicle. How, I'm not quite sure. Here in MN you have to OWN a vehicle to have insurance on it. The car had full coverage on it.
She was side swiped while merging on the highway one afternoon, car sustains damage and she initiates an insurance claim.
Geico eventually denies the claim, as the car was totaled however my sister has no proof of ownership for payout.
Geico tries, as does the bank to track down the legal owner. Geico gave up and told my sister to come get the car from the storage lot. The bank that holds the loan APPARENTLY discovered who owns the vehicle, however I have yet to verify that as well.
At the moment, the car is in AZ. We're in MN. The title is registered in TX.
The car was never registered in AZ, I asked my sister and she's pretty sure there's still a temp tag in the back window from when she purchased it. I'm really hoping it's there, if for no reason other than to get SOME kind of insight into who legally owns the car. As far as I'm concerned, the car is abandoned by it's previous owner and she should be able to apply for a title with the correct documentation. It's ACQUIRING that information that's going to be the issue.
So, I implore you fellow BITOG'ers, does anyone have any advice moving forward?
What I know:
The car is currently titled in TX. When she went to the DMV in AZ, they refused to transfer the title for some reason. Why, I do not know. My sister recalls something about needing a "bill of sale" because "the name on the title didn't match". This is verbatim, not verified in any way by me, as I was unable to help AVOID this situation in the first place.
Upon trying to contact the seller, MIA. Of course. Phone disconnected etc. etc.
She insured the vehicle. How, I'm not quite sure. Here in MN you have to OWN a vehicle to have insurance on it. The car had full coverage on it.
She was side swiped while merging on the highway one afternoon, car sustains damage and she initiates an insurance claim.
Geico eventually denies the claim, as the car was totaled however my sister has no proof of ownership for payout.
Geico tries, as does the bank to track down the legal owner. Geico gave up and told my sister to come get the car from the storage lot. The bank that holds the loan APPARENTLY discovered who owns the vehicle, however I have yet to verify that as well.
At the moment, the car is in AZ. We're in MN. The title is registered in TX.
The car was never registered in AZ, I asked my sister and she's pretty sure there's still a temp tag in the back window from when she purchased it. I'm really hoping it's there, if for no reason other than to get SOME kind of insight into who legally owns the car. As far as I'm concerned, the car is abandoned by it's previous owner and she should be able to apply for a title with the correct documentation. It's ACQUIRING that information that's going to be the issue.
So, I implore you fellow BITOG'ers, does anyone have any advice moving forward?