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| Possible Title Problem: Looking for advice | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 24 2010, 01:01 PM (1,402 Views) | |
| Jim-Bob | Nov 24 2010, 01:01 PM Post #1 |
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Junkyard Engineer
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When I bought my Metro, I got it from a garage that had gotten it from the previous owner. She had signed the title in the appropriate places but left the other information blank. I have since filled in my information on the title, but I am wondering if that is going to get me in trouble, or make it so that I cannot get a title to the car. I am unsure of how this will work in Florida, where I live. I do know that a bill of sale is not required by law to title a car here, just a title. What should I do? I don't want to buy any parts for the car until I can resolve this. If I can't title it then it just becomes a parts car and I'm dead in the water. |
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| nerys | Nov 24 2010, 01:05 PM Post #2 |
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Grr
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you should be fine. SOME states (such as PA) require a notary from the seller but only a few do this annoying step. if the title is all signed and what not you should be just fine. |
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| billy508 | Nov 24 2010, 02:29 PM Post #3 |
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billy508
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Should be ok. Dont talk too much. Just smile and say something nice LOL Maybe you will not get the Title bitch from hell. Every tag office has one. Do you have a previous vehicle that you have titled and no longer drive? Might save you the 200 new wheels on the road tax.
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| Shinrin | Nov 24 2010, 03:10 PM Post #4 |
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I bought my car from a reseller, in Fl. It was signed with the last owners name. I signed my name in the buyers spot, and he gave me a handwritten Bill of sale. That gave me some problems. They could tell the bill of sale wasn't written by the same person. They stamped my title, told me to get a bill of sale from the original owner. They gave me the paper. I went home, filled it out myself, forged a signature. Took it to a different registration office and they took it no problem. Point is, act innocent. Don't give extra info. You bought it from a guy that owned it, thats all they need to know, don't throw out extra details. If they reject it, get a bill of sale and try again. You should be okay. I'd call and ask if a bill of sale is a requirement there. If it is, pop in and get one and fill it out yourself. It is a felony to do that, but if it looks decent you'll be okay. When I had an actual bill of sale, they glanced. Just don't show up with one written on notebook paper. |
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| billy508 | Nov 24 2010, 04:25 PM Post #5 |
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billy508
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Act innocent. Don't give extra info. You bought it from a guy that owned it, thats all they need to know, don't throw out extra details THIS!!
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| superduty5.9 | Nov 24 2010, 06:56 PM Post #6 |
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Metro Defender
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Here in Ohio it's the same way. Why do you have to take a title to someone to witness a sale? It makes no sense to involve anyone else especially since some states do not require this. Aren't all 50 states equal? |
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| nerys | Nov 24 2010, 11:13 PM Post #7 |
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Grr
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the point was (i disagree with the "title" process in general but understand the intent here) that the notary would see the seller and the seller's ID to confirm they matched with the title. as noted above forging this stuff is pretty easy. |
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| Jim-Bob | Nov 25 2010, 03:51 AM Post #8 |
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Junkyard Engineer
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Thanks for all the advice so far. What I have decided to do is call the DMV and ask if a bill of sale is needed with a filled out title. If not, then I will go to the DMV and try to title it. If that fails, I think they give me an affidavit that has to be filled out by the previous owner. What I will do then is write her a letter sent by certified mail explaining the situation and enclose the affidavit along with return postage and money enough to pay for a notary. I will also offer to meet her somewhere like the DMV or a bank to get it over with and give her my cell phone number so that she can contact me. I figure that if it is an honest deal, she likely will want the car out of her name for liability reasons. If it isn't, she likely will contact me and give me an alternate means of resolution. I do not wish to be in possession of stolen property and will offer her the car back free of charge and as I found it ( but a little cleaner). I am out $350 that way, but also off the hook legally. Could this turn ugly? Yes. It could. However, I tend to think this is the best course of action. If I can't get a title and can't contact the previous owner, then I will strip the car of all it's parts and cut up the shell for scrap. Then I will use the parts to build another car, this time with a proper title done correctly. I do not wish to forge signatures to get the car as that is fraud and carries serious jail time. It's not worth it for a non-op 19 year old Geo Metro-or any other car for that matter. I value my good name too much to try it. |
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| billy508 | Nov 25 2010, 06:30 AM Post #9 |
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billy508
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That sounds like a good plan. I did a very similar thing titling one my cars a few years ago. But being you have a signed title I think everything will be fine. If you find the need to contact her, first I would just send a regular letter(certified letters scare the hell out of some people) and state your business. Go for broke. See if she will meet you at the DMV and take care of the issue. Google the name of the title A bit. You might can find her that way. All in all you have to do what YOU think is right. I commend you for taking the high road. Not to long ago running mis assigned tags and cobbled up registrations was not a big deal. Times have changed. Good luck and hope to see you on the road soon.
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| Woodie | Nov 25 2010, 06:41 AM Post #10 |
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Holy Mackerel! You're over thinking this. You've got a signed title, done deal. |
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| billy508 | Nov 25 2010, 07:02 AM Post #11 |
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billy508
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TITLE TALE About 15 years ago I bought a car from a company that I worked for part time. It was a salesman's car and some one had try to steal it. They broke a window and ripped the out the shifting mechanism. The did not want to fool with it so they sold it to me. OK so far? The blue book on the cars was about 3000 and they sold it to me for 600. High mileage, needed repairs as I stated. So the owner and I go to the DMV and swap over the title. All is good, He is happy I am happy State is happy. Wrong!! About 6 months later I get a bill for the state of Florida saying I defrauded them of their tax money. They said I paid the guy more than 600 for it and misreported the sales figures. I either had to have the owner to sign a paper they sent saying that 600 was the true amount or pay a big fine. I called BULL SHNIT. I had already been to the DMV with the owner already. They sent me a few more papers but I did not do anything. I said there was no way they would cut a warrant and come get me for just because I did not send back a paper. It gets even better. I got one final certified letter that said if they did not get the paper or the money in 10 days they would cut a warrant for my arrest. I did not push it any further the owner and I signed the paper and I sent it to them. End of story. As I reread this post, This really sound like bull shnit, I dont think the guys will believe it. But it happened. You could not up shnit like this.
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| superduty5.9 | Nov 25 2010, 10:53 AM Post #12 |
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Metro Defender
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As Woodie said the title is signed just some info is missing. Probably by mistake. If you filled in the rest it would not be the wrong thing to do. If it makes you feel better call the lady. Nerys a notary might help cut down on fraud but a lot of states do not even require this. Think about this a newer John Deere combine costs about 10 times of an average new car. It doesn't require a title cause it's off road but also doesn't require a notary to change ownership. One odd thing here in Ohio is a 4 wheeler (quad) requires a title but is off road only. Billy I had a similar situation a few years back. I worked for a concrete company. We had a Ford Ranger with a blown engine. The truck was worth say $3500-4000. The company didn't want to put anymore money in to it so they sold it to me for $750. A few months later I got a letter from the DMV saying $750 is way below market value and I was avoiding tax by putting down a lower amount. All I had to do was fill out an affidavit and send in. That took care of it. Never heard another word. |
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| nerys | Nov 25 2010, 11:05 AM Post #13 |
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Grr
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thats because combines are pretty damned tough to steal hide and resell and transport. while cars and quads are stolen every few seconds :-) I don't quite agree with it I just understand why they do it. as for the taxes and warrant issue I would have ignored them said issue your warrant see you in court. I don't take kindly to threats. |
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| billy508 | Nov 25 2010, 11:53 AM Post #14 |
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billy508
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That would have been a option. Have a warrant served, post bail, go to court and resolve the problem.. All of these would required more time and effort than I chose to expend. I just sent the paper they requested back. Occam"s razor.
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| nerys | Nov 25 2010, 12:37 PM Post #15 |
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Grr
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thats fine and I don't think thats a bad decision. but for me it is worth it. I would not post bail I would just sit in jail (and I would resist) I do not take kindly to threats. if ENOUGH people did this they would stop with the pathetic threats and concentrate on the ACTUAL crime around us instead of the REVENUE sources. the very idea of paying tax on a used car is disgusting to me. Immoral illegal in my book (double taxation since the original buy paid the tax already when they bought the car) makes me madder than hell to then have them call me a liar and threaten me? oh yeah that would not go down well. I am the kind of person who would have said FU see you in court. If they came to "arrest" me I would resist. forcefully if required (but not enough to harm the officer he is after just legitimately doing his job) |
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Times have changed. Good luck and hope to see you on the road soon. 
7:17 PM Jul 10