Titling an old tree strip find

[P10crew]

A friend of mine offered me a complete 52 GMC
Short box 3100 truck free if I come get it out of the shelter belt. Here is where the problem begins though. His folks have owned the farm since the fifties. A family friend blew the motor up in 74 and according to my friends dad the truck was in such good shape that they pulled it to the farm and parked it at the edge of the shelter belt at my friends dads farm. Well some 45 years later that family friend is dead and gone with no idea of any family all. So now there is no title to be had. To turn in for lost title I have to find the owner. Have any of you had any experience in such a situation? I am pretty sure that I could do this by doing the home made hot rod route to get a title but that severely limits its value on the day it gets sold.
Any ideas? I'm in So Dak

 

[eljefino]

Register it in Maine through a service like Broadway Title.

You sell the truck to them, buy it back, they register it for you under Power of Attorney, then you present this registration in your name and address at your DMV and they turn it into your states' reg and title.

Works for any vehicle up through 1994. Takes a few hundred bucks.

 

[92saturnsl2]

What is a shelter belt?

 

[P10crew]

Tight [censored] me has to ask...... any idea what that service costs?

 

[P10crew]

Tree strip= shelter belt. Way back in the day they planted trees like there was no tomorrow around farm stead's. 45 years of mother nature's fine work the truck is now in the midst of the shelter belt. If I can make this happen it will all start out with some chainsaw work.

 

[P10crew]

$895 according to their site.

 

[P10crew]

Thanks el jef
Now that I can see that it CAN be done I'm going to call the dept of revenue and ask how 2 honest people can get this done without getting a lawyer involved.

 

[eljefino]

$895 is waaaay steep. There's got to be a way you can get it for "back parking fees" involving ads in the paper, or via court order. Probate court? IANAL.

If you were to vacation in Maine a bill of sale from "anyone" would get you plates in your name. The current owners of the homestead would do fine. They don't have to have ever had the truck in their name. Residency requirements are written vaguely for everyone's benefit. Look at how many 18 wheeler trailers have Maine plates.

 

[Jarlaxle]

What state are you in? That matters, a lot.

 

[P10crew]

SD

 

[Jarlaxle]

First stop should be the state DMV website, for titling old cars.

Whose land is it on? If it's yours, you might be able to get a new title as an abandoned vehicle.

 

[Ben Boyle]

Look up the NADA low value for the truck and pay 6% sales tax on that. Pay $23 for a historical license plate. Transfer to your home state. Basic instructions here www.benboyle.com

 

[P10crew]

Seriously Ben..... does that work?

 

[Ben Boyle]

Of course it does, Google Vermont title and read others

 

[tahoe_hybrid]

buy a Surety bonded title its 50-300$ but pretty much anyone can claim on it (but they need proof of ownership etc.. ) though



you will need it appraised value.... point out every single flaw to 'lower the value of it' as much as possible

it should only be like 500-1000 on the bond though since it's junk 'scrap' value as the engine is blown but only the DMV of the state will determine that..



it's a 3 year term (then you GET an official title after 3 years) this is not a big deal as you will only be liable to the lowest appraised value( plus applicably fees) That is why you need to point out every single flaw more then likely it will be 350$ or so



https://bondsexpress.com/south-dakota-bonds/south-dakota-title-bond-25000-or-less/


it's 15$ per 1,000$ bonded


I suggest you get the bond in your friends name just in case then he can transfer the title to you but he assumes any liability(this way he can't screw you later on)

 

[Linctex]

Bonded title Like Tahoe Hybrid says.

It's super common in Texas - people die and leave behind 20 vehicles all the time.

Texas is usually a little less that $100 by the time all the hoops are jumped through.

Same with outboard motors - Texas title required on all of 'em.

 

[atikovi]

In the old days there were a dozen title service places, mosty in Alabama if I recall that would get you an old car title for $100-$150. In the last 10 or 15 years they have cracked down on this after the price of some old cars have gone way up and there has been more incentive to illegally get titles for them. There is a lot more time and paperwork so the costs have gone up to the point it's not worth it for most heaps. At least in Virginia you can get an abandoned car title for just $25 plus regular DMV fees.

 

[SeaJay]

As has been said, start with your state DMV, find out their requirements. Given its age you may only have to declare that it is a salvage vehicle and get a title on that basis. You never know until you ask.