Chance to purchase 1959 2dr Lark Station Wagon with no title

[Loyd Bonecutter]

Found a 2 door Lark Station Wagon for sale in Central Indiana with Serial Number 59S-8256, with no title.

Is there a way to secure a title for this vehicle?

[Skip Lackie]

Every state has different regs about titles and registration. Did you look on the Indiana DMV website?

[Loyd Bonecutter]

Have, but do not see a clear path, with just a possible bill of sale. Hoping for answer from somebody with experience. Wondering if the statement of automobile of $5,000 or less, according to NADA average retail or clean retail value is interpreted, from their literature.

Being pre 1980 with short Serial #/VIN there are limited resources for Title search.

[6hk71400]

From Google:

Indiana doesn't accept bonded titles.

They do, however, allow for court order titles under special circumstances. If your title was lost or stolen before you transferred ownership to your name, or you never received a title when you bought your car, you may need a court order title.

How to get a title for a car with a bill of sale in Indiana?
A Bill of Sale may only be used in rare cases to title a motor vehicle. If you purchased a vehicle in a private sale and the seller did not provide you with a title, you must obtain a court order (https://www.in.gov/bmv/titles/specia...stances/#court).

Hope this helps. Arizona has a different process.

[Topper2011]

I've used a third party service that has taken care of titles for me. They have the power of DMV and saved me a lot of time and frustration. Unfortunately, the last time I checked, they were no longer in business.

[Silver Hawk 59]

I used a third party to get a (lost) title for a '52 Packard. The elderly gentleman who owned it had dimentia (sp.) and it ended up taking 2 years and around $1,500.00 to get through it all... beware!

[GrumpyOne]

If you know someone who resides in Rhode Island, just have them buy the car for you and then sell it back to you. RI only has titles for the first ten years of it's life..

[StudeRich]

Many States only require a "VIN" (Original Serial Number) Inspection to apply for a "Title in Question" Registration to drive the Car and wait for any Claimants to claim it a given amount of time, until you can buy a title, you have to talk to a Indiana Motor Vehicle Licensing person and ask your options.

Having a friend in a "no title State" register it, would work also.

[Daan]

When I bought my Hawk in 2020, it didn’t have any paperwork. The state I live in has a Bonded Title project. I got all the documents I could get together and turned it all in to my local DMV, and then Covid shut everything down that same week. Months later after not hearing anything I called the DMV office to see what was happening and was told they had no idea what I was talking about, and had no record of my vehicle. 🤨 I went to the office once it reopened in 2021 and they had signs up “NO VERMONT TITLES” because apparently a car theft ring was stealing cars in the Twin Cities, and washing the titles through Vermont and Wisconsin. So my “plan B” got spoiled by Bad Guys. I really wish we had one set of rules for the whole country so registering an old car wasn’t so painful.

[rockne10]

As Skip indicated in response number 2, anyone can relate what may be required in their own state, but only your DMV in Indiana can provide the straight skinny for Indiana.

[Jeffry Cassel]

I've licensed a couple cars that had no licenses. A 1964 Wildcat that didn't have a title because, in 1964, the state didn't issue titles. They issued registrations. No matter what I did or how I appealled the idiots at DMV they wouldn't recognize the registration. I ended up buying a bond to get the car titled. The 1958 Packard had no paper work at all--only a bill of sale. That was really easy. So, go to the DMV, but if they tell you you can't title it, don't believe them since they're all on salary and get paid whether they actually do something or not. You might have to use the computer to research the problem. Chances are good you can get a hold harmless title to it. States just understandably don't want to get in the middle of acustody battle over a 1959 Studebaker!

[Crider]

Go to saintsengine.com They are located in Nashville, TN. I've used them to get titles for a couple of different projects in the past. It's not the cheapest, but they are reliable and quick. Usually within 2 weeks you get your title