Getting a new title for old cars

[Mike Sal]

Some states are easier than others to get new titles for old cars which no longer have one. Can anyone offer suggestions? I have a friend in Ohio trying to get a title for an old Mercedes which was imported from Europe.
thanks,
Mike S

[jts359]

There are people who advertise in Hemmings magazine who specialize in such things , I would get a copy and make some calls , Ed

[tsenecal]

In Nevada you can take it to a towing company yard, leave it for 30 days for the sheriff to inspect, and the towing company to run ads in the newspaper, and you get a new title for $300.

[lark63]

any ideas for Illinois?

[studegary]

Some states are easier than others to get new titles for old cars which no longer have one. Can anyone offer suggestions? I have a friend in Ohio trying to get a title for an old Mercedes which was imported from Europe.
thanks,
Mike S

It partly depends on how old and how it was imported (gray market?).

[Mike Sal]

I have been thru this in Illinois. A notorized bill of sale, a notorized appraisal, a sheriff's verification of VIN number document, a title bond (easy to get from your insurance company....$50), and the application for new title document (with a $134 check). The local DMV office didn't have any experience and didn't give me all the right forms & I went thru 2 rejections before getting the job accomplished. Took 5 months (when the reject your application, they don't look it all over, they just stop at the first hiccup and return it.....if there are more hiccups, they just keep rejecting it as they uncover them....very frustrating). There is an 800 number you can call at Springfield to ask questions, but they are not all that helpful. I did this for a 1957 Simplex motorbike 2 years ago.
Mike Sal

[Mike Sal]

Almost all of those out of state title companies are scams these days. The one in Nevada used to be ok years ago, but the original operator passed the business to his son, who was a crook.

[TWChamp]

10 years ago I just happened to go to the worst DMV to get titles made up for 2 Model A's I bought. They didn't have a clue what to do, and neither did the bonding company. It took my 18 months and cost $500 before I finally got the 2 titles. Others is Minnesota have got titles in days because they went to better DMV's. Ask around before turning over any paperwork, so you might get lucky.

[studegary]

10 years ago I just happened to go to the worst DMV to get titles made up for 2 Model A's I bought. They didn't have a clue what to do, and neither did the bonding company. It took my 18 months and cost $500 before I finally got the 2 titles. Others is Minnesota have got titles in days because they went to better DMV's. Ask around before turning over any paperwork, so you might get lucky.

How true. There is a big difference in who you get and what office that you go to. When I was on the road, I went to as many as four different DMV offices in two counties on the same day. I knew that I owned the vehicles, but the paperwork was a little more convoluted than the usual. Each time an agent had a problem, I just asked for everything back and went on to another office until I got the car registered (transferable registration, not title, for pre-1973 in NY). This was always with Studebakers - sometimes from in state and sometimes from out of state.

[clarkwd]

New York has no titles for cars older than 1973, but it's a piece of cake to get a car registered. If you can not contact the previous owner, you fill out a form attesting that you have had the car a year and can not locate the PO. They take a bunch of forms and your money, shuffle, sort, and staple papers and hand you plates and a temporary registration. About two months later you get a transferable registration in the mail.
Bill

[t walgamuth]

I am in Indiana. I did not get a title with my CE. After some effort and sanding we found the serial # on the frame under the drivers seat. I had to take the car and have a policman verify the serial number, advertise so anyone having a claim could come forward and appear in court. After all that I had to go back to the license branch and get the title and a plate. All told it took about $750 or so and a couple months. Not too bad. They charged sales tax on its original sale price which they said was about $500 or so.

[studegary]

New York has no titles for cars older than 1973, but it's a piece of cake to get a car registered. If you can not contact the previous owner, you fill out a form attesting that you have had the car a year and can not locate the PO. They take a bunch of forms and your money, shuffle, sort, and staple papers and hand you plates and a temporary registration. About two months later you get a transferable registration in the mail.
Bill

Most people do not want to wait one year before they can register their car. With that system, it would be at least 14 months before I could resell a car that I legally purchased. I have had many new and used cars that I owned less than one year (also a couple owned for more than 15 years).

[wittsend]

In California you can't "lien" a car just to get a title. There has to be a justifiable cause (unpaid bill etc.). Meaning you have to be a company that did work/stored the car. Then it has to be offered for lien auction. So, your secret, prized barn find becomes anyone's business. And, even if it was originally offered to you for free you are subject to paying the increment above the second highest bidder. So, maybe you just take the car and make it a nice yard ornament.

[DougHolverson]

How about Nebraska or Iowa?

[RDWEAVER]

How about Nebraska or Iowa?

In small town Nebraska I was with a guy that pulled out of a canyon an old coupe, a 1937. Probably had been there for 40 some years. He found out the name of the old man who owned the old car. The owner had been past away for at least 30 years. He started building a street rod out of this car. A couple of years later he went back to that small town Nebraska and went to the county seat to ask a junking certificate or records of ownership. The gal at the DMV had no such information but she knew the grandchildren of the old man that had once owned it and parked it there. So I guess this was good enough. She asked him if he wanted a duplicate title and the rest was history.