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Sat Mar 17, 2012 7:33 am

Hello All,

I am about to purchase my first Splittie, the price is right and I can check out the bus in person, however the seller does not have a title. I have sent emails to the following title company - Classic Titles, NY but have not yet received a response. Are they still in service? Has anyone used them before? Their advertisement says a few Samba members have used them in the past.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1245349

OK, am I getting in over my head considering the bus is missing the title? The bus will require some work, so it will be some time before its on the road thus allowing me to wait for the paperwork. The bus is in NC and I live in VA. Has anyone attempted to register a bus without a title in VA? I searched the forum, but didn't see any threads with titling vehicles in VA, many other states including NC, but not VA.

Thanks in advance for your comments and advice. I just wish I could find a nice Splittie camper along the Mid-Atlantic, any suggestions?

Regards, Richard - Dying to purchase his first Splittie!

Sat Mar 17, 2012 8:08 am

I live in Florida, but I personally haven't had an issue using the title companies. Basically the way it works is you sell them the vehicle on paper. They register it in a state that only requires a bill of sale for older vehicles such as Alabama. Then they sell it back to you on paper, providing you with the registration and bill of sale from Alabama, as well as a letter explaining that Alabama doesn't issue titles for vehicles older than 35 years. Florida motor vehicle took the information with no questions, and issued me a new title. The lady in the DMV even thanked me for the letter, because she would have forgotten that Alabama doesn't issue titles on old vehicles. I have done this for both a bus and an old boat with no problems.

Sat Mar 17, 2012 8:41 am

i don't think you need a title but you would need a bill of sale. i looked on the dmv's web page check it out. i've also been wondering this as well. it would be awesome to see some split windows driving around our parts. http://www.dmv.org/va-virginia/title- transfers.php[/u]
copy and paste the link. theSamba would not let me post it without putting a space between title and trans...? something about spam? i hope this helps.

Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:07 am

You need form VSA 12 "In Lieu of Title" (below). It might take a couple trips to the DMV. Just make sure you have a bill of sale, and make no mention of it being bought for parts, or non-running, etc.. Also, take a paper rubbing of the VIN stamping and a couple digital pictures to the DMV with you to back up your case if you get someone who doesn't want to deal with it.

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/pdf/vsa12.pdf

Sat Mar 17, 2012 10:36 am

I bought my bus in NC and live in Va.It had no title when I got it. I filled out a lost title affedavite (The form Dan linked) from the DMV got it notorized and a month later I got a title in the mail.

Getting a title is not as hard as everyone thinks. The hard part is finding someone freindly and helpful at DMV. The first asshole I dealt with did not want to help me and told me basically I was screwed and could not get a title. I tried again on another day and the lady was very knowledgable and told me what form I needed. There are several ways to do it but this was one of my experiences.

The next problem I had was when I took my year model tags in to get them registered the moron behond the counter did issued my registration but wrote in black marker across my title"invalid VIN" because it only had 6 numbers. I told her this is not a 95 chevy truck. VWs in the 50s only had 6 numbers. She still didn't believe me so I have a title withthat crap still written on it.

Sat Mar 17, 2012 2:15 pm

I bought a '61 bus a month ago with no title that has been sitting since the early '80s at least. I didn't use a title service to obtain a title,I registered mine in Vermont,then transfered the registration to my state (WV). You don't have to live in VT to register a car there,and no titles over 15yrs old to register in the state,just a bill of sale.

There are a few threads on the process on here,a lot of people have done it on vehicles that have been untitled or registered long enough to not be in the dmv database.

Took about a week for VT to get me the tags and registration and cost a little over $100 ($65 for 1 yr tags,plus sales tax obtained from bill of sale) all together,and the process was painless. Nothing needed notorized,etc. I figured a few bucks too high on the check I sent,they even sent a refund check for the excess. Worth every penny for how easy it was.

WV DMV required a VIN verification by a law officer to accept the VT registration,but that isn't a big deal. I'm not sure how Virginia handles that part. As of last saturday I have a WV title. I know people in virginia who've used title services with good luck,this is just cutting out the middle man so to speak. I don't see why this would'nt work there too.

Sun Mar 18, 2012 9:09 am

I just got 3 titles by taking my cars to a local tow company they held the car for 45 days did a lean sale on it $250 bucks and I got a title back in my name no problems. I'd recomend calling some tow yards in your local area to see if they have a program like that.

Sun Mar 18, 2012 9:35 am

just curious, what bus are you buying? is it for sale here on the forums?

Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:56 pm

Bryan,

Yes, the bus is listed on the samba, plan on picking it up Tuesday. I sent you a PM with a question.

- Richard