Out of curiosity, does anyone know of a website with information as to what
each states title requirements are? As my automotive tastes get odder and
odder, and my frequent flyer account grows I am finding it more and more
feasible to go far afield for my toy purchases!
I can say from my own experience that Maine only requires titles for cars
84 and newer, and New Hampshire only titles for 10 years from the date of
first registration. In each case, if the car is old enough to not require a
title you can't get one even if you want one! The records are DELETED by
the state. In my case, in 1997 I bought a 1985 Peugeot in NH - no title,
older than 10 years. I had to register it in Maine where it needed to have
one - newer than 84. Since this is an impossible situation, Maine has an
"out" on the books - if you buy a car in a non-title jurisdiction that
needs to have a title in Maine, you must supply a notarized bill of sale,
instead of the signed one you would normally have. I simply had to have the
1985's bill of sale notarized and all was well in the world. Maine sent me
a new Maine title for the car in due course.
That said, the simplest solution to Bill's problem would seem to be to sell
the car to someone in a non-titleing jurisdiction for a nominal amount
($1), then jump through whatever hoops his state requires when a car was
purchased from a non-titling jurisdiction. This would seem to me to be
perfectly legal and moral. What the original seller did is another story
entirely....;-(
Kevin Rhodes
Portland, Maine
74 Spitfire
84 Jetta GLI
85 + 92 Peugeot 505's
At 01:07 PM 9/28/99 -0500, Bill Miller wrote:
>I bought a very early 71 spit in missouri. I was told that it was complete,
>and not that bad of shape. Well when I got there, it was in a lot worse
>shape than I expected! Rot in rear wings, NO floorboards, motor incomplete
>(though "SAH tuned") and frozen, and unfortunately NO TITLE! At least the
>frame was solid and it had a restorable hardtop. Well, I tried to back out
>do to "no title" and they would not return my deposit. Several agruments
>later, I wound up taking it home with a signed, complete, bill of sale for
>just the deposit ($375) but no title. I had a cop friend run the commission
>number and the vehicle was not stolen. Do any of you have a clue how to get
>a title, or is this poor spit going to be a parts donor only. A friend at
>work suggested Hemmings, but I can't find anything in the latest copy. I
>hate to part out a "restorable" spit, but what can you do without a title??
>
>Bill
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