HELP! CA Replacement Title!

[bmwstephen]

AGH couldn't get any worse today. I went out of town to meet up with someone to buy a car off her. She had everytihing in terms of paper work EXCEPT the pink slip. I did extend my stay till tomorrow because she wants to go to the DMV to file a duplicate. Despite her efforts, I am afraid she won't be successful because of how slow the DMV bureauchractic process here it is in CA that it'll take up to 3 weeks to get a replacement.

NOW, is there anything else we can do to get this legally taken care of within a day??

[91greg325i]

I know when I bought a car from california without a title it was the biggest hassle in the world. Now, it may be different trying to get a CA title in the state of Oregon, but still, not a headache I would want to be getting myself into... Unless you're getting the car for free/near free or its really nice, I would probably wait it out and find another one. It also added about 200 dollars to the price of my car with all the titling/licensing fees... PITA, but again if you're getting a good deal, it may be worth it. Good luck.

[pureaudio]

AGH couldn't get any worse today. I went out of town to meet up with someone to buy a car off her. She had everytihing in terms of paper work EXCEPT the pink slip. NOW I did extend my stay till tomorrow because she wants to go to the DMV to file a duplicate. Without a doubt, I know she won't be successful because of how slow the DMV process here it is in CA that it'll take up to 3 weeks to get a replacement.

NOW, is there anything else we can do to get this legally taken care of within a day??

If she fills out a bill of sale, you can file for a replacement title when you go to the DMV and put the car in your name. I, personally, would not have her file for the replacement title because it will take a couple weeks to get to her. This isn't uncommon so I wouldn't be that worried about it unless the car has a lien on it that she hasn't told you about.

[bmwstephen]

If she fills out a bill of sale, you can file for a replacement title when you go to the DMV and put the car in your name. I, personally, would not have her file for the replacement title because it will take a couple weeks to get to her. This isn't uncommon so I wouldn't be that worried about it unless the car has a lien on it that she hasn't told you about.

That sounds like a great idea. Now, if she does decide to just go fill out the bill of sale. Does she need to do anything on her end?

I'll be driving this car 80 miles back to my hometown. I don't want to risk any legal or issues (ex. she can proclaim the car as being stolen etc).

also, will there be added registration fees if i file for a replacement title and put it under my name?

[pureaudio]

That sounds like a great idea. Now, if she does decide to just go fill out the bill of sale. Does she need to do anything on her end?

I'll be driving this car 80 miles back to my hometown. I don't want to risk any legal or issues (ex. she can proclaim the car as being stolen etc).

also, will there be added registration fees if i file for a replacement title and put it under my name?

All you need at the DMV is a bill of sale from her, make sure to have both your full names, VIN #, dates and money amount exchanged. Both of you sign the bottom and have a witness sign under that. I always have a witness sign, just in case. She will need to fill out a release of liability but that is entirely up to her and will not effect you. I think it is an extra $15 to file for the replacement title and I have done this numerous times in CA so you shouldn't have a problem.

[bmwstephen]

K sounds great. Just to make sure we're on the same page..
(please forgive my insecurity)

Tomorrow when I meet up with her. I make sure she has the DMV bill of sale form filled out. Pay her the amount. I retreive her smog, bill of sale, and registration form. Drive off and park my car in my garage and not drive it until I register it.

The confusing part for me is when I have to request for the replacement title. I'm looking at this form:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg227.pdf

It appears I need further action from her before I can proceed to get the title under my name instead of just saying that I'm getting a replacement.

[pureaudio]

For your comfort, I would probably just run by the DMV and snag one of those forms to fill out together. I think that form you linked is the pink one, available in the stack of forms, don't even have to talk to someone.

I have, multiple times, just went to the DMV with a bill of sale and they were able to fill out that very same form for me without the seller there. I just signed and dated it where I was told to. Go grab one of the forms yourself and fill it out with her, though, and you won't have to worry at all.

[bmwstephen]

Thanks for all the help!

I just relayed the information to the seller. They're really helpful about it and they're really nice about it =D hopefully things work out tomorrow!

[bmwstephen]

I just wanted to followup with this thread in case anyone runs into this problem. I would like to thank PureAudio very much for the advice.

Overall, the experience was sort of frightening because I was purchasing a car that did not have a title. In fact, I was going to walk away when the owners told me they did not have it, but seeing how i took the day off from work and spent a considerable amount of money taking the train to meet up with the owner, I took the risk of going through with it.

Essentially if the owner does not have the title, he or she does have the option of getting it reproduced at the DMV. However, this IS a 3 week process and if you and the owner are willing to wait it out for liability reasons then I encourage it. For me, I saw the car that I waited so patiently for over a year (sterling silver IS 200k miles excellent condition for $2k). If I didn't take the car now, then someone else would've earlier. Back to the story, if they do not have the title, at least make sure the car is currently registered under their name, they have a drivers license matching the registration, and a smog certificate.

What you need to do now is obtain 2 essential DMV forms:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg227.pdf (Vehicle reg/Title transfer form)
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg135.pdf (Bill of sale)

1) the registration form - Check the top portion that says "Transfer with duplicate title" . The seller would have to fill out sections 1 -6 while the buyer fills out the remaining sections. You will need to have this form signed and Notorized at the bottom (I recommend doing it at a UPS store with notary services).

2) Bill of sale - both of you will need to fill this out with the buyer signing it. Please remember to write down the odometer reading somewhere on this sheet. This form is equally important as the value of the car may make you think twice before purchasing at the agreed price between seller and buyer ( I found this out the hardway). So for the VALUE portion on this form, I put the value that I was going to purhase the car for. As a result, when I turned this form in, I had to pay the tax for this car purchase which was $195. Had I known this earlier, I probably would've talked the seller down an extra $200.

3) anyway, with those 2 forms signed. You'll need to go to the DMV within 10 days of the purchase or face a $15 late fee. What you'll need to bring is your: Drivers license, form 227, form 135, smog certificate, and the registration. After that, it is a 15 minute process in which you'll have to pay for the following:
Vehicle transfer fee: $15
Duplicating/transfer title: $18
Tax: county tax of the value of the car.
My total came up to $228. Thank goodness the DMV now takes debit. Otherwise, bring your check book, cash, or debit card just in case.

Please make multiple copies of all the paperwork just mentioned above!

In sum, what I've learned that a car without a title is not the end of the world. It is not illegal to buy a car without a title rather it is just risky and as long as the seller is honest - you should not have any trouble.

happy motoring!

[VacMan]

I just wanted to followup with this thread in case anyone runs into this problem. I would like to thank PureAudio very much for the advice.

Overall, the experience was sort of frightening because I was purchasing a car that did not have a title. In fact, I was going to walk away when the owners told me they did not have it, but seeing how i took the day off from work and spent a considerable amount of money taking the train to meet up with the owner, I took the risk of going through with it.

Essentially if the owner does not have the title, he or she does have the option of getting it reproduced at the DMV. However, this IS a 3 week process and if you and the owner are willing to wait it out for liability reasons then I encourage it. For me, I saw the car that I waited so patiently for over a year (sterling silver IS 200k miles excellent condition for $2k). If I didn't take the car now, then someone else would've earlier. Back to the story, if they do not have the title, at least make sure the car is currently registered under their name, they have a drivers license matching the registration, and a smog certificate.

What you need to do now is obtain 2 essential DMV forms:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg227.pdf (Vehicle reg/Title transfer form)
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg135.pdf (Bill of sale)

1) the registration form - Check the top portion that says "Transfer with duplicate title" . The seller would have to fill out sections 1 -6 while the buyer fills out the remaining sections. You will need to have this form signed and Notorized at the bottom (I recommend doing it at a UPS store with notary services).

2) Bill of sale - both of you will need to fill this out with the buyer signing it. Please remember to write down the odometer reading somewhere on this sheet. This form is equally important as the value of the car may make you think twice before purchasing at the agreed price between seller and buyer ( I found this out the hardway). So for the VALUE portion on this form, I put the value that I was going to purhase the car for. As a result, when I turned this form in, I had to pay the tax for this car purchase which was $195. Had I known this earlier, I probably would've talked the seller down an extra $200.

3) anyway, with those 2 forms signed. You'll need to go to the DMV within 10 days of the purchase or face a $15 late fee. What you'll need to bring is your: Drivers license, form 227, form 135, smog certificate, and the registration. After that, it is a 15 minute process in which you'll have to pay for the following:
Vehicle transfer fee: $15
Duplicating/transfer title: $18
Tax: county tax of the value of the car.
My total came up to $228. Thank goodness the DMV now takes debit. Otherwise, bring your check book, cash, or debit card just in case.

Please make multiple copies of all the paperwork just mentioned above!

In sum, what I've learned that a car without a title is not the end of the world. It is not illegal to buy a car without a title rather it is just risky and as the seller is honest, you should not have any trouble.

happy motoring!

As in PureAudio's case I have done this several times without issue. The only difference is that I've never had anything notarized. Maybe the DMV's around me are lazier.

Glad you got your car!

Tim

[pureaudio]

Glad it all worked out for you, I've never had to have anything notarized but I've found a lot of DMV policies to change depending on what DMV you are at or who helps you. Sales tax definitely sucks, I've bought cars off of family members before and we just wrote down "gift". I wouldn't do that with anyone but family, though.

Now for some pics of the new ride, unless I missed that thread somewhere.