Unfortunately, in California this probably will not work. Here is why.
In California, if you request a DMV search from a Plate # or a VIN, the DMV
must first get permission from the RO (registered owner) of the vehicle to
release the information to you. (Of course, this falls under the California
DMV variability, it varies with the attitude of the person behind the
counter, but it is supposed to happen as described above.)
If the car is abandon, then there is a good possibility that the only
address the DMV has for the RO is the address the vehicle is abandon at.
And a request to release the information sent to that address probably will
not get much of an answer.
Also, a look at the tags on the plate will give an indication how hard this
could be. I mean: If the registration tags on the plate are eight years
old or older then the vehicle has probably dropped out of the computer at
DMV. If so DMV will have nothing on this vehicle. The exception to this is
if the owner was paying for tags but never putting them on the plate, or if
the owner was carryinbg the vehicle in a "Non-Op" status with DMV for a few
years. Anyway, the vehicle will drop (be purged) from the DMV records after
seven years of no activity.
Several years ago I purchased a Jag Mk IX from a friend of mine, and he had
not registered it in several years. I got a bill of sale and a signed off
title at the time, but the car sat in my yard for a few more years. I
eventually got around to it, and got her going. So it was time to go to the
local DMV and transfer it over. It had been over seven years since there
was any activity on the file for this car, so it was no longer in the
computer. But in the mean time I had misplaced the signed over title (still
had the bill of sale). I made the mistake of telling the DMV the truth
about this, and started the lost title process. Here is the kicker, because
I had told the DMV that I was not the owner on record on the last title, and
I needed to get the title transfered over to me, I had to get the owner to
explain the situation, in writing. The last registered owner had died two
years before this dance at DMV. DMV wanted me to contact his estate and get
his estate to sign off on this issue. He had no surviving relitives that I
could find. This was spiralling badly... Anyway, I ended up going to a
different DMV (as nothing had gone in the computer yet) and just telling
them I had owned the vehicle for the last nine years and had misplaced the
title. I got paperwork on the vehicle before leaving the office and had my
title in a few weeks. Sometimes honesty just doesn't pay I guess. Sad,
isn't it?
Darrell, in the High Desert of California
62 TR-4 CT 5368 LO (daily driver)
62 TR-4 CT 10440 L
62 TR-4 CT 13108 L (long term project)
65 Spit FC 51603 L
67 Spit FD 2890 L (daughters car)
77 Spit FM 62888 UC (other daily driver)
79 Spit FM 98233 UC (wifes car)
>From: TexasTR4@aol.com
>
>Let's see, in California that would be, 1. Shop e-bay for "collectible
>title
>and number plates from a British car"...
>
>No really, jot down the Vin and Lic. Plate # and contact DMV. This should
>be
>public info...or ask a real estate agent to find out who is being billed
>for
>taxes on the property...then look them up for a line on the car.
>
>RH
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