Title Woe’s

[Alan O'Connell]

Originally Posted by solidaxle

What happened to the guy claiming the car was his and was stolen 14 years ago? It must have been B.S. on his part.

The DMV is B.S.

[tubman]

Originally Posted by Alan O'Connell

The DMV is B.S.

That attitude will get you a long way if you have registration problems.

You really can't fight City Hall on stuff like this. You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

[Karl Wolf]

There are people out there who make a career of handling DMV.
I used one to register a motorcycle in Ca.
A complicated transaction became quite simple.
This guy was found through a local motorcycle group.

Karl

[uncle buck]

My guess is that the title was lost at one time and the owner filed for a lost title to sell the car, then the title was found and sold at a later date. I've been stuck in that situation in the past where the original car was sold and shipped to Canada and the duplicate title was used to sell a parts car.

[randy993]

VA should have a DMV officer that handles stolen vehicles and applications for new titles, collision repair and so on. That’s who you should try and make friends with…good luck

[sidevalve8ba]

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I can't help but think that some of the problem is caused by states that stop issuing titles after a car reaches a certain age. That may not be the case in this instance but I have seen it in the past. You can't help but feel more confident when you go to register a car when you have a title in hand as opposed to just a bill of sale and a registration card. At least Virginia continues to issue titles regardless of the age of the vehicle.

[ronn]

The DMV is B.S.

I agree. I have grabbed my papers out of dmvs hands, gone to another and passed it right through.

point is dont take NO for an answer. Did you accept no from the prettiest girl in HS?

[pistonbroke]

So My wife buys a 1946 Cad coup at an estate sale. She gets a ton of history an paper but no Title. We file for lost title get registration only for three years and feel comfortable be cause we have all the background paperwork showing the last thirty plus years of the car. Three years go by and we get our official title in the mail and all is well. The funny thing is on the the title it says the last state the car was registered in three ago was Texas and we know for a fact the car was in a tech school body shop for the last seven and in storage in Seattle for over a decade before that. The car was bought new Fresno and came to Washington in 1962 and has never been in texas in its life. HMMM?

[Bursonaw]

Here’s an update on my title woes. I have spent several hours talking to the Virginia, Idaho, Washington State and Oregon DMV’s. I was able to get some history on my car and the car out of Oregon. My car was titled in Idaho in 1998 until I purchased the car in 2014 and prior to 1998 the car was purchased out of Washington State. The Oregon car is a 36 2dr Coupe and was titled in Oregon sometime in 2017 after it was purchased out of Washington state. When I contacted the Washington DMV, I found that they have no record of either car, as they do not keep records beyond six years if a vehicle has been inactive in their system. The vin number search ended for both cars there, But did find it interesting that the both cars history lead to Washington state sometime in the 60’s.
Prior to 2019 the NMVTIS (National Motor Vehicle Title Information System) was rolled out nationally, however some states are still not on the system. Oregon joined the NMVTIS system in 2020, but if a title is transferred within the same state they do not do a title search in the NMVTIS system. Some other states might do the same. This does not explain how more than one car could have the same vin number. So that’s why in the NMVTIS system it showed that both cars were merged in 2017 and neither myself or the Oregon car owner was ever notified of any issues. So after much discussion Oregon DMV, they reached out to their NMVTIS division and they told me that they have now separated the titles of both cars and verified that they are separate cars even though they have the same vin number. At this point I am waiting for the NMVTIS system to be updated and show that my Idaho title is now clear so it can be titled in Virginia. There is still no answer as to how the cars wound up with the same vin number but I do have some theory’s. In 1936 Ford put the vin number on the chassis and the transmission. If the cars were in the same shop they could have swapped transmissions or frames during restoration then sold them to someone in different states and it wasn’t discovered until the NMVTIS system was in place. Once this is all settled I plan to pay for a vehicle history report from NMVTIS just to have an official record of my title history. Hopefully by next week I will have a final answer from Virgina DMV. I will keep everyone posted, thank you everyone for your posts and support!

[mhsprecher]

Interesting story but an acceptable outcome. I am surprised that they were able to come to some resolution. One of my favorite DMV "stories" was written by New York Times columnist Russell Baker. https://books.google.com/books?id=r6...20died&f=false

[blucar]

Reading through the many contribution to this thread I did not see any mention made about the serial number's on Early Ford V8's, '32-48, approximately, being stamped on the rear cross member over the differential.
I now of three occasions where the Serial Number was missing from the left front frame rail, and the trans did not have a serial number, the body was lifted off of the frame to reveal the rear Serial Number.
Having experienced difficulty with missing titles, etc., on old cars I have purchased, I secure clear title to any vehicle I purchase before I spend one dime on the repair and or restoration of a vehicle.
Once I start to work on a vehicle I secure registration and insurance on the vehicle. In California a vehicle can be titled/registrated then put on NON-Op.. Once the vehicle is going to be put on the road you send in the fees to bring the registration up to date.. No inspections, etc., required.

[Terry,OH]

It is possible the other car has a transposed number in it's title. Clerks can make mistakes. The only way to solve is to have the other vehicle inspected.

[Yoyodyne]

I can add to be careful about cars from PA that have not been titled recently and don't have a title included. Lots of documents were lost at PADOT during the Hurricane Agnes flood in 1972. If you apply for a duplicate title for a car that was last titled prior to that event, you are likely to get a response of "no information found". If you have a title in hand, they will honor that title but make sure it does not get lost before you get the new one. I have a couple vehicles purchased before that, PADOT thinks they don't exist when I inquire about licensing, so I'm being real careful about the titles. If you buy a PA car w/o a paper title you may have to get one some other way.

[5851a]

I have a few titles from cars of my grandparents from back in the 50's. The cars were junked, and titles were just in a box of old paperwork. Easy to see they were typed manually on a typewriter at courthouse. Wish you best of luck with new systems.

[Carl]

...VIN numbers on early Ford V8 vehicles originally were stamped in 4 places when they left the factory, at least in the US. On top of transmission, or bellhousing,one just in front of firewall, one about midway on frame, and one on frame rail near rear crossmember.

[cas3]

Well, my dilemma came to an end today with success. Refer to post 14 for the back story. I deal with a small town DMV, they all know me, and usually have pleasant visits.
Keep in mind this has been going on since may of 2021.


In this case when we were all confused by the title being "flagged" in Washington state, which means they already knew there was a problem, one gal in the office put up a post it note in her cubicle with my phone # and info to check the status every so often, and by golly she did check periodically, as she would inform me whenever I came in for current tags on the rest of the fleet. Finally, she called me the other day and the flag was gone, come in and we'll try it she said.

Sure enough, the title application went thru without the computer stopping us, with the original #'s.
Next problem was the new computer system does not know what a jeep is. The old title said jeep for manufacturer, so we changed that to willys, probably correct anyway, but then for model it would not accept jeep. Pickup? she asks? well...not really I say, sport utility? well...ok !! So, its in the mail supposedly, and I am happy they did not want an inspection or worse yet assign a new modern VIN number to stick on the poor old thing ! Good luck to all who play this game !!!

[tomcarman]

Good for you cas3. It can sometimes be difficult to transact with Wa state DMV. I am fortunate that I have a friend who owns a licensing agency and will advise me of the legalities. As an aside we have all original '32 running gear and engine but no frame. We had been hoping to get a frame and assemble a rolling chassis then find a body and get it titled. She advised that home built cars (except kit cars) out of parts are not eligible for a title in Wa.

[tubman]

When I built my first "Hot Rod" ( a "T" bucket) in the mid-sixties, I was not too sophisticated and jumped through all the hoops to get a 1966 Minnesota "Homebuilt" title. I still have it, and am just about finishing it for the second time. I am able to put 1966 "YOM" p0lates on it, which I think will be totally appropriate.

[ronn]

tomcar, prey tell why you would apply for a home built title over an antique car title?

there is no inspection for an antique in WA state according to those Ive traded "paper" to......

[DennisN]

Well I’ve followed this with a good amount of interest and I am very happy thee the issue has been resolved.
I purchased a collection of parts in January of this year without a title.
I will say up front that I don’t think my issue could have turned any better than it has.
No title and no idea where the title might be I filed a search with the Nebraska DMV for any record of a title for the vehicle. Sure enough after about 10 days I received a letter with the name and address of the last title holder of the vehicle. It was last titled in 1974.
So the following Saturday morning I drove to the address and knocked on the door not having any clue what to expect.
A gentleman around 83 years of age answered the door, after introducing myself I explained why I was there and ask would he be willing to help me get it straightened out. I was extremely happy to hear him say yes !! After about 2 weeks of working ith the DMV I now have a title for my project.
Sharing only because I don’t think Title issues ever go this smooth. PS. I am the 4th owner since he titled it. - no one else ever titled it.