Bought a car with no title. Oops.

[Deadwake]

Hey guys,

This is kind of a weird one and I'm not sure what to do about it. I bought a parts car for 300 dollars, its a 1999 540i/A. The person I bought it from said it had low compression in some of the cylinders (When I started it up to get it off the flatbed it sounded terrible and felt like it had 12 horsepower) I bought it for the wheels mostly, my car had some ugly, oversized chrome replicas with no tread left and these were style 33s with fresh rubber. Also swapped out some body pieces and trim that were in better shape and some other bits (water cooled alternator, intake manifold, fuel pump, ABS module and hood struts).

Anyway, when she first showed up, she said she forgot the title. If I was buying the car to drive, I wouldn't of taken it but I figured for parts... whats the worst that can happen? It gets repo'd? I planned on selling it to a junkyard anyway after I got the parts off.

So anyway, this was in October it is now almost February and she has been insanely flakey, I message her every weekend to remind her, I even said she could just mail it or I could come get it. The past 2 weekends she has just straight up ignored me.

The car is stored at my Dad's house as I don't have a garage and as you can imagine hes getting pretty sick of seeing it, I have no idea what to do, salvage yards wont take it without a title, the Utah DMV has no information on how to get a title without registration with my name on it. I'm thinking of just calling the police and reporting it abandoned... Has anyone had any experience with something like this? Am I liable for it if it gets towed?

[JimLev]

Strip all of the parts off it you want.
Options.
1) If it has wheels on it have it towed to her house and leave it.
2) Tow it a few miles from your house and leave it on the side of the road. When the police find it they will look up the VIN and get in touch with her. The car is still in her name, not yours.

[Deadwake]

Strip all of the parts off it you want.
Options.
1) If it has wheels on it have it towed to her house and leave it.
2) Tow it a few miles from your house and leave it on the side of the road. When the police find it they will look up the VIN and get in touch with her. The car is still in her name, not yours.

Option 2 is the only option, I don't have her address. I know I gave her plenty of opportunities to get me the title but I still feel bad. Impound lot fees can be absurd.

[DennisG01]

It would be worth the effort to track down her address - then remove the wheels when you drop it in her front yard. The tow truck company might offer some help once you explain the situation - especially if you go to them in person.

Did you use a notary for the transaction?

As far as if you're liable if it get's towed/removed... you'll have to pay to have it removed. A towing company is not going to remove it without payment - and they're not going to try and track someone down for it after the fact. They will simply say that if you want it gone, pay up.

Otherwise - go with #2. Park it somewhere and give the the police a call. This would certainly be the route that would entail the least hassle for you.

[effduration]

Rob Siegel (aka hack mechanic) has written about how to get a title in Vermont, and presumably other states when you don’t have one. Please search on it. It might be cost prohibitive in your case

[JimLev]

I wouldn't call the police, you don't want your name associated with this car.
If she reported it stolen and you have it you'd have some explaining to do.
Does she live close to you? If you have an email or phone number it shouldn't be too hard to find her.

[wagons ho]

It's not that hard, just takes 2 weeks in my state.
Call the police non emergency number, and tell them you need paperwork for an abandoned vehicle.
They will come out and run the vin, and fill out paperwork that you mail to the last registered owner.
After a 2 week wait, you can use the paper to dispose of it at a scrap yard.
That way you can properly strip the car and not have to keep it rolling to dump someplace.

[ross1]

This deal reeks of a liened title. Lemme guess a flakey seller with a POS car and a bust out's title loan.
Clearly the seller doesn't have title, not unencumbered anyway, and official proceedings will cost you $$.
Where I live the wreckers can and some do take cars without titles. You'll need to identify yourself and sign something to the effect of "I didn't steal it" which IF stolen means the JY is off the hook. I doubt it will turn up stolen, only some greasy pawnshop guy has a claim to it.* If you can identify him have then HIM come and get it. I'm sure he'll not want it.
If that's not a remedy then I'd keep my name un-associated with it and use Jim's idea but wouldn't even bother towing it anywhere, just push it to the curb after taking what you want and then let the police do their job. "Not my car"
* sometimes these guys don't even bother to file a lien($) but simply hold the physical title.

[Dave Sal]

In my state it is a violation for a seller of a vehicle to fail to transfer title to the purchaser within 20 days. Assuming you have a bill of sale you could call the police and they might be able to "convince" her to transfer the title as required (assuming the laws in your state are similar to Illinois).

[crazy4trains]

OP;

How did you pay? Check, cash?
Did you get a receipt?

[wagons ho]

Please note that as a property owner, you can get an abandoned vehicle document for removal of non owned property off your property for this very reason.
Doesn't matter if there's a title with a lien, which is why I say take what you want, then call.
Part of the process is the 2 week wait for the last registered owner to come claim it.
They never do. I've done this many times.

[FireTumbleweed]

How about doing the honest thing and confirming it's not stolen/liened and going from there. If it is stolen/liened, put the parts back on the car and eat the loss as a lesson, rather than keeping stolen/liened property. Speaking from history, I'm sure everyone here wouldn't be too happy to have parts stripped off their stolen car by someone who didn't use common sense to ensure the seller had the right to sell them the car.

"If I was buying the car to drive, I wouldn't of taken it" ...because I might be driving a stolen car and could get caught... "but I figured for parts... whats the worst that can happen" ...no way can they trace the stolen parts to me...?

If it all checks out legit, follow all the good recommendations here, otherwise your just trying to justify something to yourself.

[Mike WW]

Did you at least get a bill of sale? That would make things much easier. Other than ideas, what works in one state might not work in another, DMV laws vary greatly from state to state, especially in cases like this.

Or if you really can't find a way to get rid of it, cut it up. You don't need paperwork to dispose of car parts, just cars.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Pull out the sawzall!!!! But first.... Stupid question...... You bought that POS for the style 33’s??? ! Or the tires?

[wagons ho]

Pull out the sawzall!!!! But first.... Stupid question...... You bought that POS for the style 33’s??? ! Or the tires?

I thought the same thing, but I was just trying to help with the issue at hand.

[StephenVA]

Have problem? Dig hole, place problem in hole, cover well. Problem gone. Hey this works in Jersey!

[Deadwake]

How about doing the honest thing and confirming it's not stolen/liened and going from there. If it is stolen/liened, put the parts back on the car and eat the loss as a lesson, rather than keeping stolen/liened property. Speaking from history, I'm sure everyone here wouldn't be too happy to have parts stripped off their stolen car by someone who didn't use common sense to ensure the seller had the right to sell them the car.

"If I was buying the car to drive, I wouldn't of taken it" ...because I might be driving a stolen car and could get caught... "but I figured for parts... whats the worst that can happen" ...no way can they trace the stolen parts to me...?

If it all checks out legit, follow all the good recommendations here, otherwise your just trying to justify something to yourself.

Hope you can hear me all the way up there on your high horse, but she showed me the registration matched her ID when she didn't have the title because I didn't want a stolen car. Also, the car is trashed, valve covers are warped, low compression, low coolant, pretty sure it overheated. The interior is just as bad, I was going to pull the driver seat cause it doesn't have tears but decided against It on account of the absurd mold growth under the rear bench. So yeah, if it was my car I'd be thrilled if someone stole it and I could claim some insurance money.

- - - Updated - - -

Pull out the sawzall!!!! But first.... Stupid question...... You bought that POS for the style 33’s??? ! Or the tires?

I misspoke, style 32s (with new tires), but the real crime is the original owner of my 540i swapping out his factory mpars for the fake 19 inch chrome wheels that I bought it with.

[crazy4trains]

Interesting thread. Keep us informed of your eventual solution.

[FireTumbleweed]

LOL....you throw a post about some sketchy car deal. Now your looking to unload a car you bought from someone who you admit might not have legal right to sell ("whats the worst that can happen? It gets repo'd?")...after you strip it of parts......don't need a horse for this....chuckle...

[Deadwake]

Interesting thread. Keep us informed of your eventual solution.

Not a very interesting solution, called the police, they came and took a look at it, ran the plates, contacted the owner and will tow it in 48 hours if she doesn't come get it.

[E39 Newbie]

Not a very interesting solution, called the police, they came and took a look at it, ran the plates, contacted the owner and will tow it in 48 hours if she doesn't come get it.

Not interesting, but the best solution. Although I did like the "dig a hole" suggestion...

[StephenVA]

You all do know the OP could just stop any cop in town to say “I am looking to buy a car and the owner seemed a little weird. Can you check this serial number before I get too far along in the process? Answers will give you your next steps
Be prepared to proved her info
location of the car
Your bill of sale and cancelled check/ source of funds will protect you if the answer is questionable.
Now your local DMV can provide the answer on title that has a lien against it.
The steps above will solve the problem. Posting on the internet only expands your liability.
Known solution to any problem:
Ask knowledgeable experts
Act with conviction and speed upon receiving insight.

Multiple car guys have gotten out of similar situations. Example, one of my clients purchased a early early Porsche speedster, completed a complete mechanical, body, drive train restoration and when it was shipped over to the trim shop he went to DMV where they announced the car was reported stolen in 1964 from the original owner in CA. Whoopsie. The Insurance company now wants their car back. Negotiations are under way. He may have to pay current value.
Do your home work and there will not be any surprises along the way.
Works in life too.

[Mike WW]

Now your local DMV can provide the answer on title that has a lien against it.

Not necessarily. I went there to the Calif DMV one time to check if a prospective car was stolen. They wouldn't tell me. CHP surprisingly was of help on that, and dumbfounded at the DMV. The car was not stolen, BTW.

[StephenVA]

This an excellent example of why you should ask for a supervisor on any non routine process as the training and helpfulness of any DMV clerk is always poor. Imagine working in CA DMV, Where every idiot comes through with half baked papers, no title and a scrap of paper saying this car is mine can you give me tags?
After sitting in DMV lines and hearing the stories it is a wonder the staff is not all crazy.

Meanwhile any cop with a terminal can help. Every area has a team working vehicle recovery if they can not help, then you are in a backwater and just strip and drop off the hulk at a Walmart when done.

[ross1]

Not a very interesting solution, called the police, they came and took a look at it, ran the plates, contacted the owner and will tow it in 48 hours if she doesn't come get it.

Glad you got it sorted out. Did you get the parts you want?