Question about selling a car that's not on your name

[Conki]

OK so here is the situation:
I just bought an E34 with a broken timing belt.
I am planning on fixing it and selling it for profit.
The PO signed the title as the seller, but I don't have any of my info on it as buyer, nor the mileage, nor the selling price.
However, we signed his release of liability slip.
Oh, and the car is currently in non-op status.

So I was thinking, why transfer it to my name if in the matter of weeks I'm going to sell it? I'm not even going to drive it around, only to make sure it works well after I fixed it.

How illegal is it to have the new buyer sign the title that the PO signed as seller, leaving my name off of it completely? Also, is there a legal way of doing this?
How much would be the transfer of a non-op car's title anyway?
And what can I do about the release of liability when I want to sell it, since the old title doesn't have it anymore?

I'm mostly interested in experiences of CA drivers.

It's not that I want to break the law by all means necessary, I would just simply like to save some money, wherever I can.

Do you guys have any input?

[///digitalme]

I did this once with an e30 mainly because the head gasket blew and didn't have money to register it. I never signed the paper as the buyer and sold it within 3 weeks I didn't hAve aproblem. I don't know if it's illegal or not. I did let the new buyer know and I made a written receipt that informed him he was aware I never registered the car and that he was aware of any risk if any. He didn't have a problem registering it.

[daniel]

maybe just check with the guy you bought it from to see if it is ok with him?

[Conki]

maybe just check with the guy you bought it from to see if it is ok with him?

I don't see why it would matter to him once he got his money and is not liable anymore. I'm more concerned about the buyer and the law.

I did this once with an e30 mainly because the head gasket blew and didn't have money to register it. I never signed the paper as the buyer and sold it within 3 weeks I didn't hAve aproblem. I don't know if it's illegal or not. I did let the new buyer know and I made a written receipt that informed him he was aware I never registered the car and that he was aware of any risk if any. He didn't have a problem registering it.

Thanks, that's what I'll do if there is no other problem with the whole deal.
I don't want to lie to the buyer, I just want to save money for all of us.
As of now I'm not even sure if I'll make any profit off of the whole thing, but I couldn't let the car go to waste after I saw it on Craigslist. It really is in good condition, other than that stupid engine.
I might even keep it, I'm not sure, however I don't need two cars. And actually I have a friend who is in need of one, but he is trying to get rid of his E30 right now that's causing him a lot of trouble lately, so I'm not completely sure that he wants to buy another old BMW now:)

I'm just exploring my possibilities here.

[whodwho]

I doubt it has changed much but I used to do this ALL the time. As long as the title has a legit sig of release and you give the next person a bill of sale you shouldn't have any issues. You can also write the current mileage on the bill of sale.

[MrSlacker]

Its legal as long as you don't drive the car.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Yes, you can resell without registering, there should be a second line on the DMV title for the next seller/owner transaction to be signed for.

[quikveedb2]

i bought my e30 from a guy who never got the title transferred to his name when he bought it, he purchased it, never registered or drove it (much), and sold it to me. the title had been signed by the po (prior to the gentleman i bought if from), i had no issues getting the car titled & registered.

[pureaudio]

Just sign the title and then fill out a bill of sale from you to the new buyer, all you need is a paper trail and the DMV is happy.

[Conki]

Thanks guys for all the constructive comments, it seems like there shouldn't be a problem with my plan.

[NKRoberts]

I did this once with an e30 mainly because the head gasket blew and didn't have money to register it. I never signed the paper as the buyer and sold it within 3 weeks I didn't hAve aproblem. I don't know if it's illegal or not. I did let the new buyer know and I made a written receipt that informed him he was aware I never registered the car and that he was aware of any risk if any. He didn't have a problem registering it.

I have done this in NV 2 or 3 times and had no problems. its easy enough

Just sign the title and then fill out a bill of sale from you to the new buyer, all you need is a paper trail and the DMV is happy.

I had a buddy sign the title as a buyer and then get a bill of sale to a new buyer, never registered the car (your same situation) and the NV DMV gave the new owner a lot of crap, it was a huge headache.

[EWAustin]

I don't know about California but in Minnesota title jumping is illegal. But I've done it anyway.

[MoparJ]

Just sign the title and then fill out a bill of sale from you to the new buyer, all you need is a paper trail and the DMV is happy.

This, pretty much. I used to do it all the time; the DMV only really cares about getting paid.

The original title I received for my car when I bought it had been stamped with a charity org. signature, and I know for a fact that it had been sold twice since then without being registered (two bills of sale in the glove compartment) before being sold to me. The only thing I had to do was smog it (usually the seller's responsibility) and pay the normal fees.

Not having a title at all is where you start to run into problems.....although it's still possible, registration is much harder.

[Need4Speed1299]

Just sign the title and then fill out a bill of sale from you to the new buyer, all you need is a paper trail and the DMV is happy.

Dont do this, because then the new owner wont be able to register it, only you will.

Just title jump it. You take responsibility as an unlicensed dealer. The new buyer would have to make a complaint to the dmv for you to get in trouble. Explain to them your situation and i doubt it would become any sort of problem.

[NKRoberts]

Dont do this, because then the new owner wont be able to register it, only you will.

Just title jump it. You take responsibility as an unlicensed dealer. The new buyer would have to make a complaint to the dmv for you to get in trouble. Explain to them your situation and i doubt it would become any sort of problem.

this. this is how it works in NV not sure about anywhere else