Looking to buy a 1951 ford from a guy. He has a large collection of cars, in various conditions from parts cars to completes, that hes collected over the years. He got this particular car years ago and doesn't have any paperwork and believes the person he bought it from to now be deceased, only remembers a first name. I was able to check the VIN and the vehicle is still in the CA DMV system currently on non-op. Because of privacy laws AAA and Reg services will not tell me who the person on record is. What are my options. I have no issue trying to do the leg work to facilitate the purchase. (Owner is elderly) Dont do it/ walk away is not the advice I'm after, I recognize that is always an option. Thanks
The worlds still full of 51 Fords. Find one with clean paper. If you cant live with out it contact a private DMV service,and tell them what you have,and dont have. One of the guys here just got a 47 papered by using a professional. If they cant do it that will be your warning about walking away.
And... Have you had a similar circumstance, what were the hoops you went through, paperwork etc. It goes without saying that DMV will be involved at some point just trying to obtain some info so I can be versed on the situation.
Th The world isn't full of 51 fords or other classic cars for that matter, well maybe if money is no obstacle. I have a specific situation that I'm trying to see if someone out there has experienced to see what can be done. Thanks.
If you start a DMV lien sale process, they give you the names of owners on record, as you have to mail them certified letters. At least it used to be that way.
Someone who "has a large collection of cars" should be more responsible. Age is not necessarily a valid excuse for careless bookkeeping. Someone who buys/sells a lot of cars should know better, or hire someone who does.
Again, I'm looking for somebody that's had or been involved in a similar circumstance for some advice.... Not just saying what should have been done in the past which isn't helpful.
If it's currently on non-op, that's a good thing! My experience on buying cars in CA with no paperwork has been to contact a reputable professional registration service, pay their reasonable fee and let them handle it. Not sure what part of the state you're in, but here in the SF Bay Area https://www.peninsularegistrationservices.com/ is a good one. When I pulled my '54 Ford out of a field and bought it with no paperwork I used a professional reg service. 2 phone calls, 1 email and $375 later and I had a new title in my name titled as a '54, registration for the current year, a non-op for the next year and beyond, new license plates and the option to use the factory black and yellow plates that came with the car. Couldn't have been happier!
I’m a make and appointment guy. If the seller gives you a bill of sale, and his name matches in the DMV with who put it on non-op, I don’t see a problem. Maybe @gimpyshotrods can shed some light.
That's the problem, the seller said he never did anything with DMV when he acquired the car years ago and the previous owner, probably the one on file is unknown/ deceased.
No, I haven't. You want to buy a car that is being sold by someone who isn't the registered owner, you're under the impression that the registered owner is deceased, and you said AAA and others can't give you the name. It seems like you'd have to buy the car and/or pay for the registration services to try to get a title, and you might not be able to get a title. I'd call DMV headquarters and try to get a good understanding of what they say. I find that these CA title threads create more confusion and such rather than clarity.
If the car is still in the system and on non-op, someone is paying the yearly non-op fee. That person must have the pink slip.
Yet another too complicated to handle issue. This might be best handled by the process of a lien sale, as an abandoned vehicle on owned property.
Investigate the registration service first, then ask the seller to deduct $375 from the cost of the car. The other option is to encourage the seller to take care of it. Life is too short to have to deal with nonsense.
I don't know where you're located, but if its anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, call Ken Leek as soon as you can. As a guy who has almost been arrested trying to get the DVM to actually do their job, he will save you some aggravation, and time. Over the phone he listened to the story, and made an appointment with me to come vin verify. I was afraid it would be super expensive, but it ended up saving me. I understand you don't own the vehicle yet, but he would be able to tell you without a doubt what needs to happen. https://www.peninsularegistrationservices.com/about.html Ive also gone into DMV with a vin number, and name and asked to have them see if they match. I simply tell them Im looking to buy this car, and I want to make sure the owner information matched, and their are no leans. They dont need to tell you the name, or personal information, just confirm or not. Thanks, Dan
In California, sales tax has to be paid every time a motor vehicle changes hands. There are a few exceptions-transfers between family members, and wholesalers/who pass the tax onto buyers. To whom was the Shoebox titled and registered at the time the Certificate of Non-Operation was obtained? If not to the person who currently possesses the car, he was required by law to submit a Transfer of Ownership Certificate to DMV within 10 days of transfer, and he would have been required to either register the car or apply for the Non-op. This issue has been addressed, in-depth, before on this forum. History, again, repeats itself.
Go back to the seller and ask to look in the car for an old registration card or virtually anything with the previous owners name on it. Maybe you can contact the owner yourself (assuming he’s still alive) or it may help a registration service person such as Ken Leek get the process started, although I’m pretty sure he can look up the owner of record by the license number or VIN. Buying a vehicle with registration problems is a royal pain in the ass, especially in California. My Stude pickup is in limbo for now until I can drag it around and jump through all of those California DMV hoops. I hope this car you want is real nice…..and real cheap.
I would contend that this should be a pain in the ass. Transferring ownership from the first party, to the third party, via a second party, with no paperwork, and without the knowledge of the first party is legally functionally identical to fencing a stolen automobile. In this case there is likely no intent to break the law, but to the law it has the appearance of impropriety, and can bring unwanted scrutiny. In this case, the second party is in violation of the law, because he never carried out the transfer-of-ownership. The first party might also be in violation of the law, because they never submitted the release-of-liability. It is weird that so many people do this completely wrong, since doing this right is not hard at all.
I also got tired of dealing with Calif. DMV. "A Public Service Agency" in huge letters across the entrances to their offices. They are only interested in revenue generation, not listening to the facts. I called Ken Leek and he was able to get three '34's verified with paperwork done and in less than 15 minutes. The titles and plates came within 2 weeks. No fuss, no muss , no double talk, and no rude counter people. Angela Cordova is also a very professional "DMV Go TO"
You are absolutely right. It affords protection to us and I'm sure some measure of legal protection for the state and it's agencies. But it is a pain in the ass, especially when some knucklehead drops the ball and the prospective buyer has to chase after it. From what I read here, some states are far easier, while others are even worse. I guess I just have a sensitive ass, I am a California native after all.
I don't understand. I have been in California for almost 25-years. I have gone to the DMV over 200 times, for one thing, or another. I have never once had an issue, of any kind.
True, it's just hard sometimes because people are ultimately just trying to save vehicles from rotting away to extinction. And for whatever multitude of reasons, including negligence, the vehicles remain in limbo left to rot.
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