TheSamba.com :: View topic - Buying Bay window bus w/no title title with bank loan.

Mon Feb 06, 2012 7:57 pm

I found a bus and the seller said he lost the title.
I went to the DMV and it from a dealership with a loan on the title.
The seller called the person he got the bus from and they said it was their dead fathers and they said no way its got a bank loan.

Long story short the DMV said if the seller owns the house then they can put a title sell up for storage fees.

Hay its a busted dead old bay van, no one would care
other then the DMV paperwork issue.

They wont tell my who owns the title at the DMV with out filling out and mailing in $5 (Even though she can clearly see on her computer)

The seller said he will give me what ever paper work he gets from the previous owner and let me do the work.

IM GOOD AT SORTING OUT BAD DEALS and making them work for me!

Im tempted to hall the van home with what ever paperwork he has and then sort it out as time goes on.

Its been sitting for 10 years!

What are my options?

California title and I get some kind of paperwork tomorrow but the actual owner said they have no knowledge of any loans, hell its a junker I cant imagine any one gives two poops about this.

Advice please.

Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:33 pm

If you don't get a title when you give the person money, run, don't walk, away.

Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:37 pm

He will present "Something" tomorrow.
Some paper work of some sort.

Dangit, I really need a ride.

Mon Feb 06, 2012 9:39 pm

Ummm, good luck with that!

There is so many things wrong with this I don't know where to start.

Unless the seller has the title, you don't know if he has legal authority to own or sell the vehicle.

If the DMV says there is a lein on the title, you will have to satisfy that lein before you can get it titled in your name.

This also means the legal seller whoever that is MUST satisfy the lein before they can legally sell the vehicle.

The best advice I can give anyone buying a used car regardless of its condition or the circumstances is really simple - No Title, No Sale!And NEVER get attectched to a car without a title! And never ever spend any time, money or effort on it until you have good paperwork in hand!

Yes there are ways to get an out of state title, and they do work in most cases. But until you have a good clean title in YOUR name, YOU don't own the car!

If this is a car you really want, you need to understand this can take a LOT of time and a LOT of work and it can be a very frustrating ordeal trying to get good paper.

So if it is a car you just can't do without, give the seller a SMALL deposit and have them work with you on getting a title! And if ANY of it starts to look even a little bit shady, RUN AWAY!

They made MILLIONS of these things and there are still plenty of them out there with good paper. Don't get sucked into a BAD deal. Your dream car can turn into a nightmare very quickly!

Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:21 pm

EDIT: Im getting the vin number from the dash and the seller has the pink jslip and said the DMV said its clean. Its old and moded up so perhapse the bus was registered along the way with the door VIN (I don't have the door vin tonight)

Could I have done a mistake in the VIN Number?

Is their a zero or an o?
The number 9 looks like an o with a dot.
Its an old rusty photo so I cant tell tonight.

Tomorrow I will know,

Seller said he went to the DMV last night and no issues, 100% fine.

Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:39 pm

It scares the hell out of me the number of people talking about buying ACVWs on this site without titles. You can't piss here without hitting someones ACVW and people still feel the need to potentially buy a stolen vehicle. They crush more a day than you've seen in your life, buy one legitimately.

Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:53 pm

If I was buying stolen cars im going for stolen megga yatchs or something better then some rusted out crappy bus?

He has also produced a "pink slip" that he ordered and paid for with the actual owner.

Now I will tell you I had a 21 window bus stolen 20 years ago.
Pretty bad but it ran and drive.

My blood still boils, typing that was hard.

When I steel cars they are not rusty.

Wed Feb 08, 2012 9:00 pm

Believe it or not people steel rusty cars. People steal anything they can sell to someone else. You may not have bad intentions but nether did the person who purchased a bus from the guy who stole yours. "pink slips" are useless. Janitor at work bought a stolen Chinese scooter just last week that came with one. Cop didn't give a poo about it. Titles are there to protect you and me from our self's.

Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:43 pm

Jaybus wrote: EDIT: Im getting the vin number from the dash

The number on the dash plate means nothing. Everyone knows how to use pop rivets. And it might not even have the original dash. We switch them when we find a better condition one.
Then there is the tamperproof sticker on the door jamb if the bus hasn't been repainted. And the original ID factory plate on the bulkhead behind the seat. It was put on before painting but it's still riveted on.
Then the permanent one stamped into the top of the frame in the engine compartment.
Did someone mention that the little plate on the dash really doesn't mean much? :shock:

Thu Feb 09, 2012 12:31 am

Personally, I would seek another vehicle... In preference of keeping my stress level low and avoiding wasting my time.

Thu Feb 09, 2012 8:38 am

If you think nothing can happen to you, read this thread:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=496747

And this thread:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=385148

And then keep thinking to yourself "It'll never happen to me". :roll:

Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:25 am

This is a no-win situation for you. As drscope said, if he can't produce a title in his name, he cannot legally prove that he owns the Bus. And be wary of lien sales, too; I got burned pretty bad going that route once.

Unless you're looking at this Bus as a parts donor--and possibly even in that case--you're best off following notchback's advice and running away.

Thu Feb 09, 2012 1:35 pm

So, you are too cheap to pay $5 to the DMV to get something in writing! :roll:

Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:42 pm

clearing up the title is no big deal if you know who the last owner was, even if not its still ok,
the lien is no bigh deal and is considered VOID if the lien date is over 10yrs old, PM me, i can help i have straightened out alot of titles for members on here with a little work and creativity knowing how dmv works, im not going to go into detail how and why on here,
Its an easy fix 99% of the time and I get it strightened out, most everyone on here will tell you it cant be done, run away dont buy it ect!!!....because they dont have any clue how to do it, im a dealer and deal with fucked up titles all the time, its not a big deal and if it was a calif title its even easier for me to do it... :wink:

Fri Mar 02, 2012 1:52 pm

I sent a certified postal letter to the old dealer and yeah its now a strip mall and 4 days later I got a "Dead letter" and they registered in my name

DONE DEAL!

$900 plus $100 for tow truck driver and its regestered already in my name.

The floor is not rusted out! All electrical works!
Tent is not rotted out!
Perfect tires!

Big oil leak! Its sat for 10 years. No idea where to start, rear main seal kind of thing.

Some bondo and rear lid wont open.

Shoot Look at the closet and all the parts are there but the refrigerator and stove and Im not fond of leaking cooking fuel any way.

Motor starts right up but appears to not have loads of power. Clutch?

Actually some large patches of bondo from dents. I might poke it out next year.

I do not plan on restoring this other then pergo flooring.

PHOTOS!!!
http://s250.photobucket.com/albums/gg272/100www/1970-Camper/

Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:22 pm

Jay, congrats on the bus. Looks pretty good. The headliner and other tid bits could be worked out in a weekend. Then it's a good hard look at the important parts. I cant say I've seen you here...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=5

Stop on by if you haven't already.