Do whatever............
 

you can to legally screw the Republik of Caliifornia out of what they THINK is theirs.:eek:

Trouble follows trouble.....

Abandoned, sold illegally, seller disappears, stolen, no title.

Whew - I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Obviously, it's not a Cobra. What sort of car is it? What's its value? Might be worth stripping it and selling the parts....

Maybe Jan Birdsall from the DMV can help...

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...threadid=47522

Or maybe Robert Morgester from AG's office...

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/show...threadid=41995

Seriously, run (don't walk) to an attorney.

Good luck,
Randy R...

If the mechanic did NOT file a mechanic's lien and did NOT establish rightful ownership to this car, the bill of sale you got from someone (whom you can't locate) whom the car did NOT belong at the first place will be meaningless.

When they do a title search, my guess is the car will end up showing as belonging to the original owner.
He may think he does not have any more claims, because rightfully so he probably thinks the mechanic who did all that work transferred ownership.
Once he finds out he didn't, you may have your handful with the original owner.
He doesn't owe you anything, and if his signature is required or a POA has to be secured, you will have a hard time.

Your best bet is to do whatever you have to do, to locate the guy who sold it to you, and have him file a mechanic's lien first and then sell it to you.

TURK

So, with all this said, I stand by my original postings to this thread. We have now come full circle. Thank you and have a nice day.


Bill S.

Yup, Bill was all over it the first time! :LOL:

I've been down this road buying cars (more than one) without titles. It has ALWAYS been a nightmare. Now? I won't even touch one without a clean title!

Ernie

Great.

I'm a bit lost on this as I cannot really understand how one can might purchase a vehicle without a proper DMV registration/ownership and Bill of Sale forms, could you elaborate on this sales transaction a bit? Exactly how did you purchase this? Was a bill of sale signed by buyer and seller? With sales price written down? Names in full of both parties written down with a driver's license as proof of identity and ownership? Did seller indicate he/she had lost the registration or that it would be coming shortly. Was this an ebay or other online sale/purchase?
The reasons for the questions are this may be a new scam being perpetrated by car thieves.
Hope all turns out well.

Robert transaction's like this is has been going on for years. Nothing special about it, not really a "scam". Often in the news paper you see vehicles advertised for sale with no title.

The price is usually quite good, cheap in fact! Various reasons people loose titles. Abandoned the vehicle at someones house or place of business is typical. The owner moves with the title, and somebody else "inherits" the vehicle. In this case, typical, the owner owed more money on the vehicle than it was worth to him. So he simply abandoned it, which of course leaves the mechanic up a creek and it's a BIG hassle to get the title. Often it aint worth the trouble.

Solution? Sell it cheap to somebody and tell him straight up, "I aint got a title". Heck, give 'em a bill of sale, the "mechanic" aint got nothing to hide (especially if he's moving shortly thereafter)! It's very unlikely the real owner will ever come forward and it's not like the vehicle is "stolen".

Just another day in the life of buying and selling cars, buyer beware and GET a clean title or "deal with it" later.

It's "fraud" when the seller gives you a title that DOES NOT match the vehicle. I check the VIN numbers for a "match" before I buy.

In Hawaii the vehicles TICKETS stay with the car!!! If you buy the car you WILL NOT be able to license it until those "tickets" are paid. They don't care WHO pays them, by the way, but somebody has to or no registration!

Ernie

Okay, now I get it, it was a mechanics/shop lien sale. The shop performed some work, the owner never came back to pay or pick up the car, the shop is able to sell it to get their money back. So this should have a good ending?
Thanks Ernie

Ernie,

Turk is right, the mechanic may have a lien against the car but he does not own it unless he goes to court and the court assigns the vehicle to him in lieu of the lien amount.

It IS receiving stolen property - the mechanic had no right to sell it. The mechanic effectively stole it from the customer and AsBio bought it from the mechanic.

AsBio,

I'm not trying to be a bad guy, I know you don't believe it is stolen but you need to be aware of this before you end up in very deep trouble:

Without a title, you will not be able to register the vehicle because you do not legally own it.

If the original owner ever reports it stolen - you'll be the first one in cuffs because you have it your posession. They will arrest you, seize the car and drag you through court. When it's all done you'll have no car, no cash and a record.

You asked for help - don't complain because don't like the honest answers.

I would add that if the car is deemed stolen, transportation of stolen goods across a state line would make it a federal offense(as in FBI).So if it was last titled in Nevada,it would probably be best to leave it in Nevada until entitlement is confirmed.As mentioned above,you need the advice of an attorney knowledgable in such matters.A proactive approach on your part would go a long way toward demonstrating good faith in the event this blows up on you.

100% correct about the shop owner having no legal right to sell the car. Until and unless he files a mechanics lien and wins, he aint got nothing he can "legally" sell. At the same time I'm not sure he is required to continue to "store" the vehicle either! Especially if he was "moving".

Until and unless the original owner complains about it there is no case against anybody. I would not charaterize the vehicle as "stolen" by the last guy to buy it, with or without title. But I would be worried that COULD happen at some point in the future! The car is "hot" no matter how you slice it.

Ernie

The best reason for keeping it off the forum!
 

"A proactive approach on your part would go a long way toward demonstrating good faith in the event this blows up on you."

If AsBio doesn't take a proactive approach after posting here, I hope the authorities don't scan ClubCobra. Wait... the California DMV already does!