No Title... By runningslow (Read 1,701 times)

[runningslow]

Been looking around on the local Craigslists for motorcycles and I have a question.

Seriously... why are there so many bikes without titles??

Are they all just stolen bikes?

[Bashan]

From what I've read that's just one of the reasons. Another is that people don't consider bikes to be as valuable as a car so they're more cavalier about just picking one up as part of another deal or as a payoff on a debt. They're not so worried about the paperwork and just think "I'll get the puppy home and see what I got". If that happens a couple times to the bike there's a good chance the paperwork gets forgotten. Same applies to cobbling parts together to make a whole bike. Yeah, you end up with a bike but where does the title come from? It seemed like a fun project at the time but now what do you do? I know! Give it to some guy as part of another deal....problem solved. Rich

[roboscoot]

in my state if you have some kind of paperwork...bill of sale......and the scooter(brand) is listed at the dmv...on record as acceptable..AND AS RE EMISSIONS.....there is a good chance that you can get another title...if not a salvage title......

[kz1000st]

Here in New York if the vehicle hasn't been registered in five years, you're out of luck. I tried. They want the last person who had the title to apply for a new one, send it to you and then you might be in luck. If it hasn't been registered in the last five years the record has been purged and they don't want to know about bills of sale. "A bill of sale is not proof of ownership". The title is a holy document. You can find titling agencies that might be able to help but they want $500 or more for the privilege.

[bigkahuna427]

towing companies end up with vehicles all the time that are abandoned. In my state they go through a process where they advertise in a paper they have the car and are making claim. Sort of a this is your last chance to come and get it. After that process they can get title. What happens to a vehicle you are storing and has been abandoned in your state?

[jct842]

In Ar. if the bike is over 20 or is it 25 years old, all that's required is a bill of sale, $9 and you got a new title. It would be easier to register an old stolen bike than it would be to get title to a brand new one THAT YOU OWN, but did not come with a manufacturers birth certificate, mso or what ever they call them. And that's why I will never ever again buy an internet scooter that is not shipped with the papers. John

[kz1000st]

Jan 30, 2012 13:27:50 GMT -6 bigkahuna427 said:

towing companies end up with vehicles all the time that are abandoned. In my state they go through a process where they advertise in a paper they have the car and are making claim. Sort of a this is your last chance to come and get it. After that process they can get title. What happens to a vehicle you are storing and has been abandoned in your state?

I spoke with a woman who does the paperwork and books at the local garage about that. She gave me the name of the title company she uses. "It isn't cheap." She said. They have to spend the $500 to get a title on every car abandoned there.

[kz1000st]

Jan 30, 2012 13:38:36 GMT -6 jct842 said:

In Ar. if the bike is over 20 or is it 25 years old, all that's required is a bill of sale, $9 and you got a new title. It would be easier to register an old stolen bike than it would be to get title to a brand new one THAT YOU OWN, but did not come with a manufacturers birth certificate, mso or what ever they call them. And that's why I will never ever again buy an internet scooter that is not shipped with the papers. John

I also asked about that. The people at the local DMV said, "If it was built after 1973 it had a title. If it doesn't have one, don't touch it."

[bigkahuna427]

In my state no title required for anything 250cc and under or more than ten years old.

[kz1000st]

Jan 30, 2012 15:19:04 GMT -6 bigkahuna427 said:

In my state no title required for anything 250cc and under or more than ten years old.

Actually:
Blue title application (if 300 cc or greater and is a model year 1995 or newer)

From:
www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/registration/mcreg.htm#mcprivate

Don't ask me how I know. It's way too painful.

[kz1000st]

You want to see what kind of bungling bureaucrats we have in this State? Here's the core of my correspondence with DMV over the bike.

This vehicle has been through numerous hands over the years. I bought it from Michael E of Binghamton, who bought it from a man named George B of Honesdale, PA. In refurbishing the motorcycle I determined that this motorcycle hadn't been run in five years or more based on the condition of it's fluids and the debris in the carburetor. Mr. E had no title for it, neither had Mr. B from what I was told. Since your agency purges its records every five years I can not locate who titled it originally nor can Pennsylvania. A title for it has most likely been lost and I personally had to apply for a new title on another vehicle I owned once, even though I did have the original title. Reason, because the vehicle hadn't been re-registered in seven years. If I had an outdated title I might still have run into this problem once your title bureau became involved.

Again, you need to obtain the proper proof of ownership in order for us to be able to issue you a title to this motorcycle. You should be contacting Michael E who needs to contact George B. Mr B needs to transfer the title to Mr E who needs to obtain title in his name. Once he has done so he can then transfer the ownership to you.
> Dan J
> Title Services

Since I know this vehicle hasn't been stolen, how about a salvage title? It wasn't running when I bought it and I had to do considerable work to make it legal. I'm certain it will pass a NYS motorcycle safety inspection. This vehicle is thirty years old and finding the person who may have last titled it is probably impossible.

Once again, you need to contact the person you bought the bike from to request they obtain proper proof of ownership in their name and then transfer it to you. We cannot issue you a title without the proper proof of ownership transferred to you. From the information you have provided in your correspondence its apparent that you are in contact with the person from whom you purchased the bike from and they know the person from whom they bought the bike from. Obtaining a salvage title is not an option here. You should send a certified letter to Michael E requesting he obtain the proof of ownership and transfer it to you.
> Dan J
> Title Services



And like most sales it's not like Mike and I were peachy pals. I deleted his phone number from my e-mail at least a month before this duel. I paid a pittance for the bike and he had it in his garage for five years before selling it to me. Would you go through this grief for a bike you unoaded w/o a title. George B was probably either long gone or changed his phone number.

"I'm a civil service employee, they don't pay me to think." is probably Dan J's mantra.

[tmec]

replacement title services are out there here is one

www.its-titles.com/

[bcgreatness]

im not so sure about street legal bikes, but ( dont ask how i know ) some friends used to "obtain" dirt bikes and 4 wheelers, they would then order a bare frame for the matching bikes which comes with its own vin. they would swap all of the parts off of the bikes and put them on new frames, take the new bike down to the dmv, and get new titles for them.

[kz1000st]

And there's these:

www.titlerecovery.com/

www.getnewtitle.com/

Get this part:

www.getnewtitle.com/how-it-works.html

I tried using a similar plan. After investigating for six months NY caught me and denied a title.

[runningslow]

Nice discussion. I was mostly window shopping on Craigslist, but it kept popping up and I got curious. One of these days, I'll get myself a motorcycle. I'm not sure yet if it'll be new, or an old beater to fix up. I'd rather not deal with the headache of getting a title-less bike titled.