I'm looking at an 89GT and the owner says that the previous owner lost the title and he has a bill of sale and some dmv paper work.. How hard would it be to get a new title? What would i need to do? I dont want to fall in a hole i cant get out of.

 

Maybe try calling your local DMV?

 

first take the plate number and vin and get it checked out

after that ask the dmv person for a 'lien sale packet' for a vehicle less then $4,000

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr7.htm

thats how I got my name on the new title

 

The guy is sending me the vin so i can get it carfaxed. Dont even know if its salvaged or not.. Thats what im finding out now. What would the vin and plate number determine? Fees or legal owner?

 

if its stolen, fees, legal owner, his last known address(which you'll need for the lien sale)

 

The owner now never registered the car into his name. From what he told me.. He has the bill of sale from the guy he bought it from and he has all the dmv registration paperwork. He said he is willing to go down to DMV with me. He also said it has current stickers on it. Im going put the vin and plate numbers in those calculation forms on DMV.CA.GOV. Would calling DMV be better?

 

I bought my car from a guy who was the landlord to the registered owner, the landlord kicked him out and the registered owner never came back for it. so I bought it, kept it for awhile, filed the lien sale under the pretense of a car I fixed and was never picked up, sent a letter to the registered owners address, letting him know of the lien sale, if your lucky like me, the letter bounces back and your free to conduct the lien sale, if it doesnt 'sell' you can claim the car

 

Looks like you where in a more sticky situation with your car. lol. I know the current owner has only had the car for a few months so it wouldnt be hard to track down that owner. Im just mainly concerned about being stuck in a hole. The guy seems like he is honest and is going to the air force in a month. So im alittle more comfortable. I grab the plate number and the vin number and do some background checks on it though

 

aslong as its not stolen, you'll be fine, do you know the registered owner?

 

Take my experience: DO NOT MESS WITH CARS THAT HAVE TITLE ISSUES. My car even HAD the title in my hands, and that was the worst headache I've ever had. They are so incredibly picky about everything it's not even funny. You do not want to have to go back and forth with tons of different people just to get your car registered. Now if they don't have the original title in their name with no liens and signed in all the necessary spots I will walk away right then and there.

Moral of the story: Dealing with title problems is such a headache you don't want to even get started with. Talk about a total waste of time.