Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 10:32:50 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CYBERMESA.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CYBERMESA.COM>
Subject: Re: A Cautionary Tale of Titles - Part II
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David,
In my home state of Alaska you could apply for an abandoned vehicle
tag/registration. You would have to take your bill of sale in to the DMV and
present with it a title bond and they would issue a new registration. The bond
must cover three continuous years. As I recall the bonds are not terribly
expensive. Depending on which borrough(county) you are in when you apply, you may
or may not have to have an emissions inspection. Other than the exhaust system,
there are no other inspection parameters....no brake check, stop lights, etc.
Only drawback in your case is that you would have to actually be there. The
Alaska DMV is a real stickler for protocol in vehicle registration and drivers
license issuance. Mainly because of the the enormous benefits Alaska citizens
receive in regard to hunting and fishing rights, and Alaska Permanent Fund
Dividend payments. There has been a lot of fraud purportrated in Alaska by
newcomers to the state, anxious to "cash in" on the benefits. So they are rather
stiff about matters that can be used to identify one's eligibility for these
thins, vehicle registration, and driver's license being a couple of them. So, the
Alaska DMV will not do this for you by by mail. You must physically go to the DMV
office to conduct the transaction. This is for a new registration. If your
vehicle has already been registered in Alaska, and this is just a renewal...not a
problem. Can be done by mail.
A relative or friend in Alaska with your power of attorney, might be able to do
it, but you have to have a physical address there, and you must have an Alaska
drivers license already issued to you. So that won't work.
I lived there for 30 years, and when I made this extended trip south, and bought
my current '88GL, I wanted to register the vehicle in Alaska....after all...it is
my home, but because it was a new vehicle to me, I had a devil of a time getting
the registration. I finally went the route of trusted friend with the power of
attorney. Of course I have a home there. So it was possible to do. Of course I
could have registered it in the state where I bought it but I wanted the new
personalized Alaska tags...which are really cool....blue and white with a scene
of the mountains in the background and a caribou in the forground, plus I wanted
the year 2000 on the tag.
Good luck in your titling effort.
John Rodgers
"88GL Driver in New Mexico
David Hunt wrote:
> Al Brase wrote:
>
> David:
> I can see two problems with this:
> 1. This vehicle can never be registered again in Florida without BIG
> problems.
> 2. What if the Texas guy or the Florida guy wants to make a stink? If
> he's as shady as you say, maybe the Texas guy might do just that!
> I'd see if the Texas guy could just send me the Florida title along with
> a power of attorney letter authorizing his signature to sign off the
> thing to you. This would be necessary if he's already inserted his name
> into the buyer blank.
>
> Al,
>
> I don't see any problem with Florida. I don't plan to ever be registering
> anything there. However, If I suddenly moved there, they don't think it
> exists any more since it's not in their current computer system. Apparently
> anything older than a few years which wasn't currently registered was dropped
> when they went to the new computer system. The lady said, if they had
> anything, it was on a microfiche "in a box somewhere". I can imagine a
> filing system like the last scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
>
> As for Texas, the law doesn't allow "skipping" a title. In other words, once
> the title has a buyer and seller signature, the buyer must register it before
> he can sell it again. I think there may be a way around for dealers with
> dealer plates, but that's different. The guy in Florida doesn't even
> remember it and says he has no records. I have a signed bill of sale from
> the goober the Texas, so I feel secure.
>
> David
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