Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 21:48:01 EDT
Reply-To: DAVIDTHEKM@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Hunt <DAVIDTHEKM@AOL.COM>
Subject: A Cautionary Tale of Titles - Part II
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Dear Volks,
Since this is Friday, I thought I would update you on the latest in my quest
to get a title to my AdventureWagen. I also want to clarify the questions
some were having about whether you need a certificate of insurance and/or a
certificate of title to register a vehicle, in Texas at least.
You may recall I had bought a non-running '82 air-cooled Vanagon
AdventureWagen in great condition in July. I also bought a used engine on
E**y, which has been sitting in my backyard on a pallet for the last month.
I bought the vehicle on a Friday evening and towed it 200+ miles home. The
man I bought it from said the title was in his lockbox, and that he would
mail it the next Monday. Two months and numerous phone calls later I still
had no title. I finally had my attorney send a letter demanding the title or
a refund.
After my first posting, the seller called my attorney. He admitted he had
never registered the vehicle in Texas. He only had the Florida title that
was signed over to him from the original owner. He said he had been planning
to register it after he fixed it up. He never finished, and it has sat at
his place since 1992. He said he would be willing to register it now IF I
PAID ALL THE COSTS INVOLVED, which would be about $100. He promised he would
then sign the Texas title he would get over to me. There are several
problems with this idea. First it would require me to trust him again, which
would never happen. Second, and here's where the confusion came in, to
register a vehicle in Texas, it has to have a current inspection, as well as
proof of insurance. To get a current inspection, it has to be running.
Although we don't require a smog check in the county where I live, the
inspector has to be able to drive the vehicle to check the brakes. That
means I would have had to spend all the costs of having the new engine I
bought installed, plus the new fuel lines I will install when the old engine
was out, plus whatever else it needs, BEFORE I could get an inspection done
so the old geezer who tricked me the first time could get it registered IN
HIS NAME. Not a good idea all around. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me
twice, shame on me. Truth is I shouldn't have let myself even be fooled
once. My attorney, however, could offer no other suggestion.
Although several people offered me VIN plates off junkers, I only wanted an
absolutely clean, legit title. One of our list members saved the day. He
suggested I contact International Title Service. They are at
www.its-titles.com or call 1-800-543-8626. They work under the laws of the
State of New Hampshire. For vehicles 11 years or older, New Hampshire will
register and title a vehicle with only a bill of sale. You fill out a bill
of sale, using ITS's forms on their website, get it notarized and send it to
them, along with an affidavit that the vehicle is not stolen, doesn't have a
loan on it, and that you're not planning to commit fraud. They in effect buy
it from you, although no money changes hands. They get it registered in New
Hampshire, and then sell it back to you. You get back from them a New
Hampshire registration, a bill of sale and a letter of title. They said this
takes 2 to 3 weeks. Since N.H. doesn't issue titles on older vehicles, just
like someone said Alabama doesn't also, you can then register it in your
state with their bill of sale and get your own title. The cost is $120 for
older automobiles. They also do trucks, boats, motorcycles, motorhomes and
airplanes for varying amounts. In addition, they say they do a large amount
of international business, since the vehicle doesn't have to ever physically
be in New Hampshire, so here's an idea for our non-US members. I consider
the $120 to be very reasonable and a better investment than my attorney. It
is also probably no more than I would have had to spend to reimburse the
original owner, who I located in Florida, if he had applied for a lost title.
It will certainly be faster. I'll let everyone know if it really works as
well as it sounds when this transaction is completed.
David Hunt '68 Crewcab '74 Thing N****n transportation appliance
'82 Vanagon AdventureWagen (soon to have a new title and new
engine)
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