Buying a van without a title

I am thinking about buying A 1961 Econoline pick up from a guy in Californian.
The truck has no title or registration. He said it is no longer in the California system.
Not really sure what that means, here in New York we had just registration cards pre 79
And titles after that.
My question is has anyone bought a van without a title, and if so what do you have to do with DMV to get it titled in your name?
DMV is a nightmare here in New York, which is probably the same everywhere. What am I going to have to deal with?
Thanks,
Donn

It probably means the state of CA wants fees and taxes on it since it has been sitting Unregistered. maybe california guys will Chime in and Help us understand how thi works. i think once its out of their system for a few years, it costs big money to get them to release the title. I'm not really familiar with the CA and NY DMV laws, but if you buy that van, you may end up having to pay big money to the state of CA in fines before you are allowed to get this van legal. Amie on vcvc bought a van from ca with no title and has had nothing but trouble ever since. CA wanted her to pay all the back owed registration and fees on the van, and the seller stuck her with the problem. Personally, I won't touch a vehicle with no title. Sounds like a shady deal better to avoid the problem and look for a different van

Depends where you live and who you talk to. TN told me several times I could not. Then when doing the title on my 3rd van the dude remarked about an old VW he used to have. So I told him about the no title issue with my 2nd van and what do you know...there was a form to let me do it. And he even told me what was not included in the list of stuff needed per the form. What it boiled down to:
1. Bill of sale
2. Two registered return receipt letters trying to get the title
3. Two responses saying title could not be found
4. Pictures of van including VIN plate
5. Inspection by city police officer or county sheriff

And then I got my title. :-)

just my 2 cents, I would go talk to aaa or known as 3a's they know a lot more than the dmv would tell you.  you can ask them about a lost title as well  also hope some one in calf, will chime in about title , I don't understand why the owner would not have the title?? opposed to the dmv having it ???

donn, I think NY is the same as RI on old autos you just need a current registration, if that's true there are ways to get one.

Check with your DMV. It should be possible in every state.

In NC there is a paperwork process, and you have to buy a 3-year bond, which cost me about $50.

I almost bought a van in Cali.. come to find out it wasnt in the system but before it could leave the state the DMV fees had to be paid. Now my van that i have now does not have a title which im required to get a bonded title. Im hoping i dont need to get info or a signature from the P O which will be hard. I have seen titles from Broadway Title Co. Every state is different.

The pickup I am looking at is in the e for sale section listed today at 9:03 its a 61. Maybe someone knows it?

dix wrote:just my 2 cents, I would go talk to aaa or known as 3a's they know a lot more than the dmv would tell you.  you can ask them about a lost title as well  also hope some one in calf, will chime in about title , I don't understand why the owner would not have the title?? opposed to the dmv having it ???

Dix,

Who or what are the AAA's? Sorry you lost me there..

In cali, they have issued titles for a LONG time. The vehicle should have a title in the seller's name. Often there are issues (lost, sold on to new owners without transfer, or the big worry, stolen) that keep the seller from providing one.
Being "out of the system" usually means that it has not been registered for at least 5 years. If this was done by changing it to a "Non-Op" before the registration was due (unlikely if they also lost the title), there are no back fees. Cali can waive back fees if the owner brings in all legit paperwork, signs a "Statement Of Facts" that the vehicle was stored on private property and not operated for the length of time since the registration expired, OR they can hit the owner with all back fees PLUS late fees totaling hundreds to thousands of dollars. It's really a coin toss and depends on what paper you have, what's on record (sure isn't going to fly if there are tickets on the van during the time in question) and the attitude of the clerk.
If any inquiries are made at DMV about the title or registration, it can restart the clock and trigger the start of the penalties. This often happens when you show up with incomplete paperwork, so it's important to get everything straight first before setting foot inside! There are many cars that change hands without a title, but they are all outside the system.

You can:
require the seller to go through the process to get a legit title in their name (which by law they should do).
Request a substantial drop in price since they are unwilling to provide the required title and you are assuming ALL the risk.
Have the license and vehicle number run through a cali law enforcement check to at least provide a measure of protection against you buying stolen property, then have a cali resident go through the process of 'buying' the van for you, going thru the process of getting a legit clear title, then 'selling the van to you. You can then transfer the title to a NY title in your name. If you are a NY resident only, you can't do the process in cali yourself, then transfer.

Here's the web page for you. They don't really have a page for "buying a car without a title" because that is NOT how it's supposed to work. There are ways to do it though, but it depends on what you can supply as a paper trail of ownership and what they have on record for the individual van.
http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffvr32.htm

Statement of facts page
http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg256.htm

I researched the DMV in your state and found that the process looks much easier than in my state.

Here is the link.

http://www.dmv.ny.gov/proove.htm

Be sure to get a bill of sale from the current owner and whatever CA documentation they might have, like an old registration card.

I thought Triple A, AAA, was only an auto service company,roadside assistance. I have it. Not aware of them dealing with title issues. They plan trips for you also.

Thanks for the help guys..i am thinking that this is to much of a hassle. The only way I would buy into this is if I can get the truck cheap enough that I could make my money back by parting it out.
This might not be possible as I have to get it transported across the country ..

Would rather by an unfinished project that someone maybe tired of... if anyone has something or knows of one please shoot me a PM..
Thx

EconoUSAparts wrote:I thought Triple A, AAA, was only an auto service company,roadside assistance. I have it. Not aware of them dealing with title issues. They plan trips for you also.

in rhode island anyway AAA have a registry in them