Featured Technical Worst DMV experience ever

Check this out. I bought a 1951 Mercury from my boss who got the car from his aunt. The car belonged to his cousin, he died in 1962. The car sat in the Arizona desert since he died but the car was last registered in Texas. Ok now check this out. My boss had pink slip, registration and bill of sell from the aunt. He started transfer of title and they wanted a vin verification. Had vin verified all good. Went back ,NO needed DEATH certificate. Got certificate went back . Now they want proof it was left to the aunt. What really sucks is everyone involved is 80+ years old. What a nightmare. Only in California. Should of done it myself I think. AND IT'S STILL NOT REGISTERED !!!!!!!

 

Hi, They are anal to say the least. All I can say is keep going until they run out of forms. I have been trying to get a typo out of my IRS forms for three years.
Good Luck,
Bob

 

Sorry, just another day at the DMV. My Model A was declared "junk only" before they vacated my VIN and issued another as a street rod.

 

Sounds like South Carolina, I bought a 1940 Ford coupe but it came out of Georgia, that state didn't;t issue a title then so all I got was a bill of sale.

Must have a title and I tried to explain the no title issue and they still flatly refused to issue me a title. I ended up selling it to someone in Georgia, it did teach me a lesson, no title no sale for me. HRP

 

....I feel your pain, Danny. You would think that since they are right "next door" to South Carolina the DMV would know and understand about the Georgia policy. Such a headache and messed up system!

 

Also not mention, The lines to get in the DMV are long and that's even if you have an appointment. Goon operation.

 

I think many of these DMV horror stories come from individuals who work form these agencies not knowing how to do the research or more often not wanting to do the research-

When my mom and dad moved to South Carolina form New York state in 1980 when tried register his 1972 Ford Ranger XLT (he bought new) they asked him for the title he told them New York did not issue title in 1972 (1973 was the first year)

They call Albany (New York's capital) and confirmed that New York did not issue titles in 1972, South Carliana issued him a title on the spot.

So, he had a 1980 issued title on a 1972 Ford truck sold new in New York state!

 

When I inherited my 64 Caddy 12 years ago, I was terrified what DMV would be like. My aunt bought the car new in 64 in Alabama….no title, just tag registration and bill of sale. All of the paper work including all the service records were in a folder. I got the Maryland title with no problem. Never got any of the service records back.
But I got tags and title so I can’t complain

 

John, that Caddy is a classy machine. Glad I saw it in person this year.

 

Yes, DMV is the worst, just think of it, Dmv is so bad that it gave birth to a whole new industry, the private Tag/Title company. Just think of all the employment society benefits from with all the people working Jobs with the sole purpose of helping others avoid the DMV.
Kind of like the IRS with all the turbo tax type companies, try to think of it as another benefit the Government offers.

 

Some times it's just who the clerk is

 

Seriously, try another dmv location. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

 

Every time I have to go there for anything I feel my stress level go up.

 

For years, the Oceanside CA was the go to for registering hot rods and customs. The next town down the coast from Oceanside is Carlsbad, then home of Dragmaster. Here in Colorado, Durango VIN inspectors have more than a passing knowledge of modified cars. However, go to the local DMV with one of the titles offered by certain states, the clerks will tell you that you wasted money as they won't even look at it.

 

It’s always a mess whenever you try to register a car that is older than the oldest person in the building

When I transferred all the cars from pops estate to me I was ready for a WWE loser leave town smack down but it was almost painless and simple as they come. My probate attorney knew how to fill the titles out and I made sure to have all necessary documentation and paperwork plus the YOM plates that I planned to use. The first lady I spoke to was smart enough to steer me to her supervisor who had been there since she was fresh out of high school and was past retirement age so she knew the ropes. I figured it would take a few days to do this since they limit you to one transaction per day but she told me that it wasn’t worth coming back since it was so easy to do. Needless to say 30 minutes later I had 4 cars registered and was out the door!

The next day I sent enough BBQ and brownies to feed everyone there as a thank you for making it so easy and to this day I can go there to renew my tags or whatever and when they see me I get to skip the line and treated like I was family.

 

When it comes to complicated DMV issues, at least in CA a knowledgeable private DMV title person is your best bet. IMO That said, you can navigate the DMV in person. It may take patience and several trips to get the transfer complete. But if all else fails a respectful request to speak with a supervisor or even someone higher up may be necessary. I say this based on over 30 years with the State of CA, 20+ of those where with a licensing/enforcement agency. JMO

 

They’re just doing their job. In the OPs case it sounds like the title is in person A’s name, there is a bill of sale from person B to person C and person D now says they own it.

 

It's sometimes hard to remember that they are people, likely underpaid and rarely thanked, just trying to get through a complicated system. A little kindness and respect might go a long way.

 

Here’s the reverse. Tennessee.
I bought a local ‘51 Chevy Suburban in Memphis, cheap, no title, just the last but current Alabama license plate and a Bill of Sale.
Took the license plate to an Alabama Highway Patrol office and got the name and address of the person the tag was registered to. Sent him a USPS registered letter with return receipt asking for tag registration and it came back “undeliverable”. Not at this address.
Took that letter with the tag to the DMV, filled out a form and in a week got me a new, crisp Tennessee title and tag.
The only catch was that you had to get the ONE lady at the DMV who knew something about old cars and titles. It was always worth the wait.
The rest of the crew were bureaucratic DEI hirelings who could barely communicate in intelligible English, much less advance beyond automatic tag renewals. Learned that the hard way.

 

There was a female employee up in the main DMV office for the whole State of New York in Albany. She dealt with titling and registering home built cars - Cobra's, hot rods, etc. She was a one woman wrecking crew. Nobody got through her unscathed. She was an absolutely miserable person, I swear she made problems for her own enjoyment. I have never seen anything like this in any service position. It was almost comical how obstructionist she was. Thankfully, I've heard anecdotally (I live in Texas now, thank God) that she has since retired. Good riddance.

 

Sounds like you have most of your ducks lined up. Your best bet at this point is to call a professional registration service. They will bypass all the BS and have a clear title in your hand in no time! I've always used the Leek family here in NorCal........https://www.peninsularegistrationservices.com/
Ken Leek can probably do it over the phone for you. I know his mother did when I had to title and register my '54 with no pink slip or reg and only a bill of sale on a cocktail napkin. 2 phone calls, 1 email and $375 later I had a new title in my name, registration for the current year, new plates (if I wanted to use them) and a non-op so I could continue building the car for the next 5 years without incurring any penalties. Also, I'm sure there're some professional reg services in SoCal too.

 

I bought a 1959 Cadillac about 20 years
ago from a guy in Louisiana at a good price
(or so I thought) and ended up selling it at
a big loss as a parts car after going thru
the same thing.

Lesson learned the hard way …

To the point, you bought a car from
a dead person, everything that followed
is title skipping, the vin is in the system.

Unless you plan to use it as a parts car,
return it and get your money back, whoever
you bought it from did not have legal
ownership of record to sell it to you.

Jim

 

The main complication was that your boss and his aunt didn't get the car put in his name even as a non opt when he got it from her. Then all they needed was her paperwork that said she was the executor of the estate and do the transfer. Then he could sell it to you without a hassle. We just went though that with a pickup and camper that I ended up with from my mom's estate. My brother in law who is executor of the estate (he didn't even know that until the will was opened at the lawyers) had to go to the dmv with me to sign over the titles to my name. This is one time that I will agree that getting the pros involved may be prudent and worth the expense.

 

Never go to the DMV. Also..if you have to..tell them as little as possible. My dad used to say "el pescado muere por la boca". In English it means...the fish dies because of its mouth. It sounds better in Spanish...dont be a fish.

 

Yours isn't the worse, just a pain in the butt. One of the worst I have personally witnessed was a guy I knew who back in the 80's bought a Chevy AD truck out of state with title and hauled it back and proceeded to strip it down and do an engine, trans and rear axle swap the first week he had it and hauled the engine, trans and rear axle to the junk yard because he didn't want them around. He spent a couple of months getting it together and running and driving and because it was from out of state had to have it inspected and he rolled into the inspection station with it, the State Patrolman takes the info off the title including Vin and goes straight to the hood and pops the hood to look for the engine serial number that was the vin on the title and no original engine. The v8 serial number didn't match. and of course the door post tag serial number that he was so sure was used as the vin didn't match. He ended p going back to the place he hauled the engine, trans and rear axle to and digging though a pile of junk engines that looked like the stack of firewood out in my yard he finally found that engine with the right serial number. Now comes the kicker, the yard owner that he gave the load to charged him a bunch for that engine because he knew he had him over a barrel. That finally got the deal done and a couple of Told you so's by a couple of his friends.

 

In about 2007 or so, in order to sell a 1940 Chevy Coupe, I needed to update the title. It had been titled in my Dad's name OR mine in 1966. The state (Neb) would not issue a new title unless I had a death certificate for my Dad; even tho' it clearly stated OR.
Had to go to State Office of Vital Records (who knew such a place existed…lolol) to obtain the cert. and after jumping though a few hoops, got a new clean title.
People of government agencies insist on keeping their jobs.

 

NY is relatively easy to title (transferable registration) an old car in. You can have nothing but a bill of sale and do a vin tracing and walk out with your new "title".
I had my 41 on the road for about 3 yrs then took it off for 23 yrs, walked in with my old paperwork to renew and figured it would be super easy since it was already in my name. Nope, nothing in the system showing ownership even though I had my old registration in hand.
I ended up having to treat it like it was a brand new purchase but then they confused themselves because there was no bill of sale to charge me tax on. Lol

 

As mentioned, a private registration company is the way to go. They know how to navigate the DMV and what'll you need and THEY handle all the paperwork until it's in your name.

Here's one I've used in the past:

CARS
California Auto Registration Service
951-694-4331

They're located in Temecula but I did everything with them via email. Good luck!

 

What do they charge?