Why??

[austinsailor]

If you had a pretty straight car like this:

 

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/4321828833.html

 

and no title, if you expected to sell it and get a decent price, why wouldn't you just get the darn title and THEN sell it? In Texas it's easy, it would cost about $400 for that car, and I am sure it would add more than that to the selling price, and greatly increase you possible customer base.

 

I just don't get it.

 

Gene

[Plymouthy Adams]

well..we stuck with a similar problem here in Georgia...for that car you will never get a title..If you bring it to this state titled from another state..guess what....you will never get a Georgia state title..Georgia will not title any car 1962 and older...and law will allow you not to transfer the title of any car 1963 through 1985 and yet register the car in your name...the title that came with the car is just a piece of paper, it is referred to as a broken chain due to non titled ownership within the state..the next owner if he desires cannot get a title for that car in Georgia forever.  Only selling it out of state and the new state requiring a title will it get a new transferable title.  By Georgia law, reciprocity laws state other states must abide by these rules and issue a title...other state can baulk and give the new owner a rough time but eventually they have to cave...

Edited February 7, 2014 by Plymouthy Adams

[Dan Hiebert]

That car has Texas antique auto license plates on it, so it has to have a Texas title already.  It's listed as a "barn find".  I'm guessing whoever the dealer bought it from doesn't have a clue who the previous owner was, and they don't want to go through the effort of finding out, although it would be relatively easy.  The PO may be deceased, too.  Anyway, a title can still be obtained, but some legal ownership issues may have to be proven.   

 

New York won't give titles for cars built before a certain date either, I don't remember what that is, but I couldn't get a title for either our D24 or our Terraplane, we got "transferable registrations" that can only be transferred within NY.  Since I've probably got another transfer coming before I have to punch out, it will be interesting to see how I get them titled where ever we wind up.  I haven't even checked with DMV to see what we'll need to do, won't worry about it until/if the time comes. 

[JerseyHarold]

When I moved form New York to New Jersey, I handed-in the transferable registration from my '51 and '52 Plymouths and was issued New Jersey titles with no questions asked.    FWIW, New York issues titles for 1973 and later vehicles.

[austinsailor]

Certainly some states don't need titles. Most  do. Coming from Texas, most places you'd go would require it. If it's going to stay in Texas it most certainly would have to end up with a title. 

 

In Texas, you get a notarized bill of sale from the seller, buy a bond (probably $350 for this car) and get it inspected by a police car theft unit, you're done, you have a title.  It's good anywhere. If it was a $500 car, I'd get selling it without a title, but if someone reasonably expects to get this sort of money wouldn't you take care of it? 

 

If the guy selling it gets the bond, he's responsible if someone else ever claims ownership. I'd think he'd know the history and risk. He should. If I was buying it from a stranger and didn't know the history, I'd never put out serious money and risk losing it. All you'd have to do is have the original owner (the one who had those antique tags, for instance) or his son or grandson see the car and put in a claim. Bond company pays the $10,000 or so ( what the bond would likely be for) then you, the bond purchaser,  have to pay back the bond company the bond plus expenses.

 

I guess the moral of my rantings is, be sure you know the history of a car you get that doesn't have proper paperwork.

Edited February 8, 2014 by austinsailor

[DCurrent]

The state of ohio laws make it very difficult to get a title for a vehicle that has no title. It can take up to as long as two years to get a title for a vehicle. Some of my buddies know of cases where the guys have been frustrated to the point where they sold the vehicle before they got a title. It all depends on the state where the vehicle is.