got screwed on a 280Z!

[ajmcforester]

EScanlon,

Your correct I just tried to put it into more understandable terms your like reading something my Mom the banker would say or my brother when he did title insurance. I think the right thing to do with this car is find out why California notes the car as having a lean and see if that group has the title.

[eatingZ]

thanks for all the info, just a little tired of dead ends with all this, hence the interest in the VIN thing...

i looked harder at the name of the dealer that loaned the 2nd owner the $ for the car (it was double typed rendering it pretty hard to read) after some cross-googling i have the contact for them so i can try them tomorrow to see the status of the lien... do appreciate the help!

[FastWoman]

got screwed on a 280Z!

Kinky!

But seriously, I agree... Contact law enforcement before doing anything else!

Edited August 22, 2011 by FastWoman

[Travel'n Man]

Do you know the value of the lean and is the car worth paying the lean to get the title? What was the lean for and the date of the lean? Did somebody need some fast cash or was it a mechanic's work that was involved.................a couple hundred dollars is one thing - a few thousand is another. When you purchase a car from anybody you expect proper title work when you get your tag and pay the taxes - I think I would be calling the Police as well.

[eatingZ]

i do think the police are an outside chance after i make sure the ownership of the car and the status of the lien.

i'm pretty sure i would chance losing the car or being told it was my responsibility to see through a proper sale, which i feel i did not do.

i did a bit more double-googling and have tracked down the car dealer that made the loan, so i should hopefully make a bit of progress there today...

thank you so much for all the input!

[5thhorsemann]

I think you should lock this thread and send our friend to the local "Tag and Title Service" in his jurisdiction to get accurate and prudent advice on what path he should follow to gain legal and outright ownership of the car. The passage of time, legal status of the P.O.'s (ie; dead) the disposition of the lein and who now ownes it and has it been written off, or is it active etc. etc. etc. all will play a part.

The one thing I can tell you that is 100% accurate, get ready to fill out ALOT of paperwork, welcome to red tape hell.

[eatingZ]

it's already been a taste of hellish time/energy consumption...

the credit union that loaned the money did tell me today "we no longer have interest in that loan". i got it out of him that this was a coded way of telling me that the loan has been definitively paid off.

now if i am correct, i need to make contact with the 2nd owner and get her to send me a "lien satisfied" form letter from the credit union, and get a copy of the bill of sale between her and the 3rd owner before going to the CA dmv...?

[bounce]

you had a good idea...find another Z with title and now you have spare parts for it! but swapping VIN is bad..mkay?

[John Coffey]

I'm probably the only person in this thread who has, at least ten times, legally titled S30s that were missing titles, had shady pasts, or got legal title through lien sales. And my posts get deleted. The only other person I know who has done this more times, successfully and legally, is Tony D. And my posts are the ones that get deleted... Funny.

[Zed Head]

I'm probably the only person in this thread who has, at least ten times, legally titled S30s that were missing titles, had shady pasts, or got legal title through lien sales. And my posts get deleted. The only other person I know who has done this more times, successfully and legally, is Tony D. And my posts are the ones that get deleted... Funny.

I assume it was the recommendation to "tell a story" to the PA DMV that got it deleted. I thought the rest of the advice was good, (if I recall correctly) use the PA DMV and the lien holder to get clear title.

eatingZ, did you ask the credit union if they could give you a letter confirming full payment of the loan? Sounds like you almost had half the job done but missed the opportunity. If they were the lien holders, the person who took the loan out and used the car as collateral, or didn't pay a debt and had the lien placed on the car, doesn't matter anymore. They didn't loan the money, they borrowed it. Only the lien holder and the person who's name is on the title matter, or the person holding the title if interest has been released. The car could have been "sold" 50 times since. No reason to contact any of those people if they don't have the title.

Edited August 23, 2011 by Zed Head

[John Coffey]

I think people are assuming that its your duty to do all of the title research and present that to the DMV. Its not. Its perfectly legal in all 50 states to purchase a car via a Bill or Sale and then go to the DMV and have them do the title research and help you obtain a clear title to the car. You're not doing anything illegal or shady.

How people screw up is by involving previous owners, potential lien holders, etc. in the process that is essentially between you and the DMV. By bringing all of this information to the attention of the DMV, or even worse, having those third parties bring it to the attention of the DMV, the bureaucracy now has to act upon it. At a minimum you will pay all the fines, fees, and penalties that those other folks have avoided.

Tell the DMV the truth, you bought the car for x dollars and the seller gave you a bill of sale. Don't volunteer any more information.

[eatingZ]

hhmpf. John, that last bit sounds really appealing. and is that how you have titled these 10 or so cars?

the dmv's, both CA and PA, didn't make that offer available to me as far as i could tell from questioning them about it...

the Credit union would not release any info beyond what they let me know, and from what they said, can not release the "lien satisfied" form to me, only to the loan holder. they mentioned that they are happy to send me the lien satisfied letter, once the loan holder contacts them to have it resent to her.

john, do you really think i should try taking the bill of sale to the dmv in PA ahead of all this other digging? and in which states has this been successful for you?