Cars with no title worth the chance?

[djorgensen3]

I keep finding cars that I want to buy for my project but several of them have no titles. What are your opinions regarding this? Is it worth it to take a chance and go for an abandoned title or should I just pass. I just found a great 2nd gen with no rust and no title.

[gearheads78]

All states are different but unless its a too good to be true deal I am not afraid of project cars with no title. In TX its pretty simple to do a bonded title. The first time I did it I was expecting a lot more hassle than it was.

[waynieZ]

When I bought my car in 2003 it had no title. In Ma The guy I bought it from never registered it so all I had to do was get the last registerd owner to sign the bill of sale. Luckally I knew the last owner.

[70rs]

It can be a real pain in the a** here(Washington). Check your local laws and proceedures. It may be easy, it may be tough. But if you know before you buy then you're one step ahead. You also may be able to use that as a barganing tool.
I do know that any car from out of state without a title is going to ber a HUGE pain in the A**. Those are ones I would never buy.
Good luck!

[djorgensen3]

Well I live in Az and the car is in Ca. The only issue I am worried about is forking over some cash and the possibility of a previous owner being contacted and wanting the car back. The current seller doesn't have the title and can't get in touch with the owner previous to him. The DMV here gives 30 days for attempted contact of previous name on title and if there is no contact it would be mine.

[70rs]

Originally Posted by djorgensen3

Well I live in Az and the car is in Ca. The only issue I am worried about is forking over some cash and the possibility of a previous owner being contacted and wanting the car back. The current seller doesn't have the title and can't get in touch with the owner previous to him. The DMV here gives 30 days for attempted contact of previous name on title and if there is no contact it would be mine.

I would do the safe thing and pass. Or get the previous owners info and you try to find them. You could be buying something that does not belong to the seller. Did he ever have the title(the seller)? Was it EVER in his name? Can he prove it with the registration?
I guess you could look at it like this, are you willing to take that cash and flush it down the crapper? That could happen. Or you could end up with a car and little hassle with the title. It could go either way.

For me #1 out of state with no title=NO.
#2 can not locate previous owner, no title=NO.
#3 Current owner can't prove legal ownership=NO.

All of these are huge red flags to ME. And I am not much of a gambler. I would walk. There are A LOT of cars out there for sale right now.

Just my .02. Best of luck either way you go.

[djorgensen3]

Well the latest news is the guy has come down on price by $700 and is going to get me the VIN so I can at least check it out. So I guess we'll see this weekend.

[70rs]

Originally Posted by djorgensen3

Well the latest news is the guy has come down on price by $700 and is going to get me the VIN so I can at least check it out. So I guess we'll see this weekend.

Do you know anyone in law enforcement, insurance business, DMV od lic dept? Any of them can run the vin and check for you. If you know someone in insurance they can see if there has been any claims (accidents) with the vehicle. This only tells you if it has been wrecked but might include some previous owner info too. Or at least who it is currently reg to.
I have done that here with every used car bought and it has saved me from buying total loss/rebuilt cars. Keep in mind it is not a 100% accurate system. But it might help.

[mstennes]

No, not for me anyway, to many things can go wrong, resulting in the loss of the car.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33794623...ws-spokane_wa/
Just saying......