Vin problem and questions

[Dallas DuPont]

hey guys, Well I have a problem. I have a 66 chassis with seat tracks that is in outstanding shape. Problem is the State of Florida has no record of this VIN being titled in Florida. With out a previous owner to locate I cannot title it.

This stinks because we used to be able to file for abandoned titles here but that changed a few years ago.

On that note I have a 65 chassis with a Clean title that needs a lot of work. Is there any easy way to replace tunnels??? or remove the good pans from the 66 with out damage???

Also I still have the title from my 68 ghia that I had that was scraped???

I was thinking about grinding off the numbers and stamping the 68 ghia numbers on but I pretty sure it might be illegal.

This is not going to be a show car just a cool Baja so number matching not an issue for me.

Any LEGAL ideas ?????

FYI there is no record of the 66 being titled or registered

[windsoreight]

Can't you just through a title company like Broadway title. I think it is around $250-$300 to get a legal title.

[Dallas DuPont]

Well for that I could probably get the pans swapeped or close to it

[drscope]

Trying to take the pans off one chassis and use them on another is probably not worth the effort.

Working with new metal is a lot less work.

The old pans are spot welded on about every 3/4 inch. So you need to drill out all those spot welds, then clean things up and weld them onto the next chassis. But that is a decision you need to make depending on your wallet, tools and time.

You need to be really careful with your serial numbers. Grinding the old numbers off is a federal crime. So you do run the risk of serious legal issues if this happens to bite you. Depending on the circumstances, you may never get caught, but why risk it when there are other alternatives?

Title companies, or a Vermont title are probably the way to go. But a lot of the title companies have really tightened up what they can and will do for you, so that may no longer work.
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[Dallas DuPont]

You guys are going to love this.

I had the local sheriff's dept. come and do a vin check just to see if this chassis was hot. Turns out it was not. I got the name and an address of the owner. the owner now resides in Reno NV. I called her and told her what I had and she was surprised that she still owned it. She claimed that she would sign all the Florida paper work. I was to send them with a prepaid envelope to send back to me. 2 weeks go by
I call her up again. She told me that she went to the Reno auto museum and talked to the people there and they told her that she should ask for 2000.00 for the car LOL.

Long story short she wants 2000.00 or no title

[kevhum]

Tell her to come and get it and pay for storage fees to the amount of $2000

[Dallas DuPont]

Well I tried that and she did not care. The fact is The chassis is here in Florida and she is Nevada and the only thing that I can do is file a civil suite through the court system in order to get a title. In Florida you can't charge storage fees unless you are a business.

its not worth it unfortunately. It sucks that she is REALLY serious too OMG

I went from "I will help you in anyway that I can and I hope to see it when it is finished" to " I was told I should get $2000.00 so that is what I want or you don't get the paper work"

The Sheriff dept. told me that I can set it on the side of the road and then it becomes her problem and will be penalized for a abandoned vehicle on a roadway. I am so upset about the principalities that I want to drop this thing off in the median of I-95 LOL (id never do though) it would be pretty funny.

[GB2S]

Have you done any work, and store the vehicle? If so, go to your local DMV and file a mechanics / storage lein. Follow the instructions and you should be able to get a title. It may take awhile but be patient.

Geoff
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1963 Ragtop

[drscope]

This is just another in a very long list of reasons to NEVER get involved with a car that doesn't have good, clean title!

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I went through this many years ago and that was enough for me to never deal with a car or seller that doesn't have a clear title.

Your biggest problem now is that the registerred owner can report the car stolen. This will keep you from being able to get a title from another state. And if you can, you still run the risk of the law coming knocking on your door in the future.

This woman wants her car back. You have it. She has your name and address.

This could get really messy.
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[cory464]

[drscope]

Without legal ownership he doesn't have the right to scrap it.

Do you have any details on how or why the car left her hands to begin with? If you can prove she already sold it and was paid by a previous owner then you, but the title was never changed over, then you may have some defense if this ever goes before a judge.

But the title IS the proof of ownership for whoever's name is on it. So regardless, you will have a very difficult time if she plans to push the issue.

I think your best move at this point is to take pictures of the JUNK that she can identify as "her" car and mail that to her.

Show her how bad it is and that you only want paper work so you can move on with your project. If she is unwilling to sign ownership over to you, then let her know she can make arraingments with you to come pick it up.

This could very easily turn into a very bad situation for you. Usually these kinds of things don't go anywhere, but you never know what steps this woman may take.

If you have an attorney in the family it may be worth asking them to write that letter for you. Or it may even be worth paying an attorney to do it just to cover your ass if things get nasty.

Remember, legally the car is still hers! You have it and she has proof of that. If she pushes the issue and law enforcment gets involved there is the possibility that they can come knocking on your door in the middle of the night and put you in a cage.

That probably won't happen, but again if she is being unreasonable, you don't know what she will do.

There was another thread here a while back where just that thing happened! The swat team showed up, kicked the door down and took the guys car away. He lost his car and a LOT of money trying to defend himself from a previous owner.

If someone can find that thread, it may be a good idea for you to read up on what happened there!
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[Steve22]

Do you have a bill of sale from where you got it?
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'65 Karmann Ghia 'vert
'73 Super Beetle
'59 Beetle ragtop

[GB2S]

How did you come to have possession of the car?
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1963 Ragtop

[Low67vdubinnocal]

I think maybe a couple hundred bucks for the persons trouble might be fair. Like the good DR. says above do it legal or there can be serious problems in the future. I think a while back there was a vanagon thread and a guy from idaho bought it in norcal from a shop and the owner had never signed it over and the law towed it to impound and he had to pay the lady that owned it to get it back and signed over. That would suck for sure. Maybe show the old owner its not a complete driving car just a shell not worth 2 grand.

[xeno]

Well maybe all she needs is proof of it's worth? Take it down to a scrap yard and ask for estimate of worth (or used car dealer or wherever) $200? Send here the estimate and 50% ($100) check with the memo saying "final payment for transfer of ownership".

That will give you a bit of recourse, though she will probably fold and sign and send it to you.

You never know, she might think you have a show car and in a bind to get it on the road, after dumping 20k in it. When in reality it is just a pan.
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1952 Crotch Cooler Deluxe (US specs delivered to Stuttgart, Germany GI.)
1955 Early (Competition Motors - Hollywood, California)
1974 Thing (US specs - Mexicanos)
2008 Rabbit S (Wolfsburg DE)
2012 Golf TDI Tech Package (Wolfsburg DE)

[sharkskinman]

its-titles
las vegas
i have used them 3 times
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4/71 ~311 "Bettie" (F.I./Auto)

[drscope]

[smitty24]

Years ago, there was a factory '65 ragtop kombi I had to have! It was sitting in an old European motor's back junk yard. The owner actually had the registration but his friend (an old deadbeat burned out hippie) had "given" it to his friend (owner of shop) years ago and lost the title. After weeks/months of me pestering the owner to contact his friend, I gave up on that route--shop owner gave me a signed bill of sale, along with registration, a note explaining what happened, and a lien service. Long story short- took me a few months to have the bus liend in my name, since I was a mechanic performing duties on the car that had not been paid for. The service setup a court date and of course, said PO didnt show...so the bus was liened to me and I was able to get a title.

The bad part= I bought another splitty from a German farmer in CO a few years back--same situation. Got the whole bus going and $5000 later went in to my local Oregon DMV for title. Turns out, they dont do these type of lien service things or out of state online companies that provide you paperwork, anymore. They made an exception, but I would NEVER try it again. Too much BS with people and the laws nowadays. Too much risk out there.

[Dallas DuPont]

Well the law has already been involved and I have reports, so I think I am good there if she tries to claim it stolen or what ever. I highly doubt she will.

When I first spoke with her she said she gave it to her son in 1994

Florida has gotten to be a pain for titles/ownership's. As far as work and storage and such, I cannot claim that because I am not a business. Florida does not do abandoned titles anymore unless you are a towing company. The only thing I can do is call a tow company and have an abandoned vehicle removed from my property OR contact the owner and request them to remove it from my property at there expense since they will not release ownership. That might get her to sign the paperwork due to the fact she is in a different state.

I do not have any paper work on the purchase of it. I traded a manx body for this chassis and the title I got did not match the chassis and that's how I got into this mess by not checking. I traded because the Chassis was in good shape.

Lesson learned Always check numbers before buying

[drscope]