Hot Rods Title Jumping Question?

Before you all start jumping on my case saying i should of reg.my 1956 buick wagon before starting to work on it I KNOW, but its done. I went town to reg. the 56 wagon and it had a Okhamoa title and it needed a notary public to stamp the title when it was sold but wasnt stamped.It sold to a guy up in N.Y state and then he sold it to me with out reg. it So he jumped the title.I cant seem to find a notary public will stamp it with out the 1 st owner present.The title is 20 years old and the 1st owner is long dead. Any ideas what to do? .Maybe file for a lost title ?I am in East T.N. Heres the wagon.Thanks Bruce.

 

write up a bill of sale and go through one of the states that will accept that (I think maryland , arizone etc ect) send the info and money and they will send a title to the car in that state and a set of plates good for a year. when the year is up, register it in your home state as its already in your name. Do a search for title companies

 

Bruce ,Title threads are frowned upon here,sure hope you dont have to pay 20 years of back taxes though.

 

I have no idea what title jumping is so I can't answer that question for you. Maybe if you don't know a crooked notary you could go without a title whatsoever and get a bonded title. Or perhaps there is a way to go through the state and get a salvage or even an original title by jumping though enough hoops.

If you go to the S.E.M.A. site thee is a PDF file that tells all the tricks to get registered or titles by state. Good place to look and see what you have available. They keep it up to date and it would be a damned shame for them to do that and no one use it.

Note: the black is just beaner rhetoric and the red is the important information.

Oh nice wagon by the way, wanna trade it for my '61 Willys pickup?

 

Arizona doesn't do bill of sale, that I'm aware of. Guys here used to send off to Alabama, but I think that doesn't work like it used to.

I can't imagine putting all that work into a car that has the title in someone else's name.

 

This is a serious question, not trying to be a smartass.
Why are title questions "frowned upon"
Here.
I have noticed this a few times and I have only been a member a few months

 

Title questions fall into a category that is governed by federal law. Normally someone suggests that someone do something that is illegal like purchasing a title or changing the numbers on a vehicle etc. We try to avoid anything that could have the fed come after us with a RICO warrant or in anyway get the site closed and or the boss imprisoned for any length of time.

 

My take on it is that many questions about titles involve procedures that are not in conformance with various State laws and end up promoting those extra-legal methods of gaining a title that is likely to be invalid, if push came to shove. Problems with serial number/VIN not matching. etc, etc.

Ray

 

I think it has something to do with legalities. The forum doesn't want to put itself in the spot of being a party to anything that might be viewed as shady, and titles are becoming a sticky subject.

Used to be, we could play fast and loose with titles with no problems, but things are different today. It has gotten scarey to some degree, and you have to be careful.

Don

 

Sometimes I get a little bit 'loose', and it sounds like 'careless'. My apologies to all who don't take it in the intended 'vein'.
But titles are important, and the information one might get on the internet is always 'true': "They can't lie on the internet"... (my getting loose again!)

Don has summed it up accurately, above. This isn't something to take lightly.

 

Got it , It was kind of hard to figure as most people here think of each other as fairly honest.
But with the fear of tangling with the feds I understand.
Didn't mean to threadjack , it was just the first time I ever saw anyone actually come out and say that title questions were a bad topic.
Please carry on with the OP's question.

 

Valid question and the truth is that with the size of our membership these days one would want to consider most on here dishonest until proven otherwise. Not that anyone posting on this particular thread is dishonest just that prudence says that dishonesty should be taken into consideration.

One must always bear in mind that while this used to be the world's largest little garage it is still an internet garage and steps should be taken with that in mind.

 

Serious legitimate title questions are not frowned upon, it is the ones that involve serial swapping, "historical documents", and the other shady questions that receive the deserved wrath.

Since you have in your possession the title you already have the answer most state lost title processes require before proceeding and that is a title search for the last legitimate owner. You know for a fact the owner listed on the title is dead? While a little risky, the proper process would then be to go through public records to search a heir and get a release from them. The good news for you is you have a trump card in this case the signed title. If you come up with no leads and you have followed the search process your state requires then a bonded title through the lost title process should be possible.

Just one more reason why not transferring a title to your name immediately is a bad idea.

 

Hope i didnt ruffle feathers here about titles,just understood that wasnt wanted here.The op could end up in a world of shit if he acted on bad advice .Best advice i could give you is to talk to a superior at your dmv and get it from the horses mouth or ass ,whichever you prefer. good luck!

 

The New York guy can't title it - New York doesn't issue titles for these cars.

However he should have been able to register it no problem. Years ago I registered one that had been a PA car with title and they didn't even want to look at it at the counter. He could still register it even with the car out of state, it will require insuring it and paying for a registration, but ultimately he gets the reg fee back as a pro-rated credit.

Worst case, you treat it like an in-state car with a lost title and jump through those hoops.

 

Good information on the SEMA site. You are right, it would be a shame to waste this information.

 

"I went town to reg. the 56 wagon and it had a Okhamoa title and it needed a notary public to stamp the title when it was sold but wasnt stamped.It sold to a guy up in N.Y state and then he sold it to me with out reg."

As I see it;
1) Since OK required a notary stamp when it was sold and it wasn't stamped, it ultimately wasn't sold out of OK correctly.
2) Devil's advocate; How do you know the OK or NY past owners didn't file for a lost title/paperwork routine and now legally hold title/own the car? You could be holding a null and void "lost" title...
3) You didn't say if you've researched your state's (TN) DMV laws/requirements. Each state has different specs.

At this point, you're probably best off getting a referral from a TN car enthusiast to a auto registration service that is familiar with registering old cars. Pay the few hundred bucks and let them do the title search and paperwork for you. It will cut down on your stomach acid and may save you a lot of hassle and leg work. They may be able to demonstrate that the car was in "non op" status for most of the 20 years and save you some back fees.

 

Go to your local DMV and do what they suggest. Go IN PERSON. It's too late for a quick answer or a quick fix.

 

old time hamb'rs trust beano as being honest...

 

Again, no titles in New York on 1972 and older cars. Registration only. Conceivable the previous owner could generate a registration in his name, without the car, but it requires insurance and registration for at least six weeks.

Which, then, if you lose the registration and it's still in the system, you can get another copy of it for three bucks. Neither one is less valid than the other, should you find it again, or just want a second copy.

IMHO the NY guy sold the car because he had no idea what to do or how easy it is to solve this sort of problem in New York.

 

...as they should. Benno came from my neck of the woods, and we didn't run him out...

 

Since its a 20 year old title go to your dmv and ask about getting a title for an antique with only a bill of sale and don't mention you have a title. Be very polite and don't offer any extra information that they don't ask for. They will tell you what to do.

 

Thanks for all the input didnt know about titles being frowned apon here. I wont bring it up again .But will still post .Thanks.Bruce.

 

Most States have Title Service Companies , They know how to accomplish the task, might cost a couple hundred but worth it

 

You can get a title for a car of that vintage in Kansas with a bill of sale, no title required. I've titled a minimum of five cars that I've purchased over the years with just a bill of sale from the seller. However, the rub is that the KHP needs to look at the car and put the VIN on their official paperwork, which you then take to the DMV, pay the taxes and registration fee, and the nice person behind the counter hands you a registration document and license plate. Then in six weeks or less the man in the little red, white and blue truck puts a title in your mailbox.
Ship the car to me along with a bill of sale. I'll get it licensed, titled, drive it to work for a couple of months, and then "sell" it back to you for my expenses.

 

If you knew someone in Oklahoma, they could file for a title 42 pretty easily since you have an old Oklahoma title.

 

Thanks again for all the help AND EBBSSEED UH NO!!!!! LOL.Bruce.

 

Go to the TN DMV site and fillout and print form
RV-F1310601, abandoned vehicle. This may save you some time in OK.

 

The whole reason for states frowning upon title jumping ( and when I say frowning upon, I mean having laws against it ) is that it is usually done to avoid paying sales tax on the car. Some people will buy a car and sell it without putting the title in their name to avoid paying tax, some will just never title it because they're just not aware of the laws, some because they're not very smart. Whatever the case here is, the state wants the tax money on every sale. All the info here, both good and bad, ( mostly bad ) should be trumped by going to the MVD and following what they tell you to do because when it comes right down to it they are the ones that will keep you out of jail. If it cost's you a lot of money, well, lesson learned. Getting the title in order and in your name is the first step in building a car.

 

You need to be in possesion of the vehicle to file a 42