California title questions from an out-of-stater

[DeadStang]

There's a '69 Mustang a guy is trying to sell w/o the title, and of course it's a total pile of junk, so I'm interested--what else is new.

The car has the old black plates which were last registered in 2003. Is it likely that the car has a title that has just been lost, or could the registration of the car predate actual titles and there isn't one? This is what he told me:

"I bought it last year from a guy in the SF Bay Area. He told me it was left behind years ago. I was going to try to hunt down the original owner to get the title, but have been too busy, and the car needs to go now. He was cleaning his property, and then was off to Mexico."

The current seller bought the car w/o a title, and now he's selling the car w/o the title. Could this be that he tried to title it and wasn't able to and is trying to unload an albatross, or could he be legit? I'm in Oregon, and it looks like people in California cannot use the Broadway Title services, period. It may be possible to obtain a title in Oregon, but maybe not, if the car still exists in California's records.

Opinions/ideas (besides run far away as fast as possible)?

 

[gtscode]

Sorry I'll stick with run.

 

[JeffTepper]

California was a title state in 1969 so if that car was registered here back then, it was titled here as well unless the car came here from out of state with an out of state title being held by an out of state lien holder (extremely uncommon). If the car was last registered here in 2003 and not registered "non-op" it is most likely no longer in the system. What you do depends upon what you want to do with the car. (part it out, repair it and register it for the road, or something else). I'd check with California DMV to see whether it is still in the system and proceed from there. Also check with Orgeon DMV and see what they require. Do this before money changes hands!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DeadStang]

It's on the edge, but it's not a parts car--it actually runs and drives and is still salvageable at this point. Being out of state, do you have any suggestions on how I'd go about looking into whether it's still in the California system? I dug around on the Cali DVM website, but couldn't really find anything useful. Have you ever messed with anything like this? I think Oregon is a lot less of an issue in titling, but just a plain old "bill of sale" isn't going to cut it.

Unfortunately, the seller is confusing rarity with desirability, so he may not go for my offer of what I think it's worth, anyway. He tells me "...If I had a title, I am sure I could get over 10 grand for it." :wtf uk

 

[Sacbill]

He tells me "...If I had a title, I am sure I could get over 10 grand for it."

Uhhh, no.

Usually, the car's registration falls out after four years, I believe, so yours might be out of the system. When I started the registration process on a car that had been last registered in '80, the DMV checked both the registration system and the "list of stolen cars" (don't know the proper name) to make sure it wasn't showing up anywhere else already. Since I had an original "pink slip style" registration, I had to fill out a "Statement of Facts" form explaining the situation. Going through all this allowed me to keep the black plates that came with the car. (Not your situation, I know, but I'm trying to give you the rest of the story.)

Check this page for more info on registering a car with no title. (For that matter, the current owner could do this. I'm sure it would be worth the 10 grand he stands to gain for his efforts.)

If you're out of state and planning to register in OR, then I'm not sure that it matters with what's going on in CA. Wouldn't you want to check out the rules on registering a car in OR that doesn't have a title?

Bill

 

[DeadStang]

If you're out of state and planning to register in OR, then I'm not sure that it matters with what's going on in CA. Wouldn't you want to check out the rules on registering a car in OR that doesn't have a title?

In Oregon, it depends upon where the car is coming from--whether it's title state or not. I bought an old Buick once from Alabama, where old cars weren't titled and had no issues with the DVM registering it off of a bill of sale and a little registration paperwork. But I don't think that will fly from California.

 

[fordrule]

hmm i am out of the california law things. I haven't lived there in almost 10 yrs. When I got my mustang there I didnt have a title just a bill of sale, I now have a california title for the car and need to reregister it since it hasn't been registered in many moons, If i can get ahold of some clean black plates I would install them..it only had one black plate and I was unfornuately unable to use it since cali has the 2 plate law. so i have the white plates.

check what the info on the car with the dmv and stolen vehicle registry. oregon might be ok with a bill of sale and a registration of the car in the old owner.