Titling an E30 With No Title

[roguetoaster]

So, a friend bumped in to someone a few months ago who had an E30 that they wanted to get rid of for free, but they had no title. Said friend didn't have time for a project and passed the car on to me. I checked that the car was not stolen, collected the car and got it home. In the interim I have been working on a way to get a title, but have not had any luck, and don't want to part out such a decent E30.

Current situation:

• Local sheriffs office helped me out and ran the VIN to check if it was stolen, but couldn't give me owner info
• Person who donated the car could not locate a title or bill of sale
• Previous owner is deceased as far as I can tell
• Have mailed a letter to the address on the registration in the glove box explaining the situation and providing my contact information
• Have called/gone to the MVA and been told to take a long walk off of a short pier
• Car is sitting in the driveway doing nothing productive and I'd like to save the car

Any ideas of legal venues I can pursue to actually own this car?

FYI, '87 325, manual, houndstooth, LSD, very limited rust, worst cosmetic issues in the pic below.

[rickycricketts]

You can register it in vermont then take your registration to your local dmv then title it. Make sure you have the paperwork printed and take it with you to pick up the car. There are spots where you will need the sellers info and signatures. Also your local police can do the vermont vin inspection.

This guy does it for VWs all the time and has some good info on it https://youtu.be/M8sWBqgP1PI

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[ak-]

In CA you would go to the motor vehicle dept. and fill out a form called 'Statement of facts' where you explain how you got the car, from who, where, how much, and all the info to cover your bases if something arises. It's a legal documentation.
You'd then get a little form to take to the sheriff so that they can inspect the VIN/car as you did and check it off for you that it's good to go.

Once the sheriff gives the green light on the form, we'd return to the motor vehicle dept. to complete the registration/title generation. I've done it on a bike and car before and yes the scariest part is finding out it's stolen/losing your money.

So it almost sounds like you might of gotten a bad apple at the MVA. Maybe talk to someone else and don't tell them anything else besides your friend having a car he wants to give you for free. Have your friend make the bill of sale.

[Julien]

Perhaps you could do a mechanic's lean on it? I know in NC some people specialize in it and it runs a few hundred $$

[nando]

in WA you can file for a lost title. I think they do a check to see if it's shown up in any stolen databases, etc, you sign an affidavit saying you're the legal owner, and you get a title in the mail a few weeks later.

Every state is different but I think there's some process for this, it's not like it hasn't ever come up before.

[Originale30]

What color houndstooth? Haha sorry I’m a houndstooth junkie


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[roguetoaster]

What color houndstooth? Haha sorry I’m a houndstooth junkie


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It's black, and it's not staying in the car anyway.

[cheffy30]

in WA you can file for a lost title. I think they do a check to see if it's shown up in any stolen databases, etc, you sign an affidavit saying you're the legal owner, and you get a title in the mail a few weeks later.

Every state is different but I think there's some process for this, it's not like it hasn't ever come up before.

i have one with no title either in WA. i filed for one... shouldnt be too long. i can however insure it without a title...


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[Kershaw]

Said friend checking in. MD is pretty uptight about this kind of stuff. :-(

[jeffnhiscars]

As has been said this varies from state to state, but I've bought cars without title and just had the seller sign a Lost Title application which, with a bill of sale has worked for me in 2 states. If your seller was not the last owner then I'd gather Bills of Sale back as close as possible to the last registered owner.

[Leeo]

It does look like a solid car. Should be saved