Disclaimer:
I did things wrong here. Please don't judge me or tell me what I should have done. I'm hoping that I can get some good Ideas that won't cost me unreasonable time or money. I just want to get my Camaro Registered.

The Story: Recently I bought a Car on Ebay. At the time, I was in Afghanistan waiting for a flight home. The car looked good and I was excited that I had won the auction. During Demob, I insured the car and called the owner. He assured me that the Car would make the trip from Louisville, KY to Shreveport, LA and he said that I could drive it home on his plates. In this way, I would satisfy the law. Technically, the car would not be mine, But I would be insured. It would be much like borrowing someone else's car. The plates would be good and the Insurance would check out.

I got a rental and drove to Louisville. When I got there, the car didn't look as good as I expected it to. I Managed to get the owner to knock $300 off the price. We agreed and he brought out the title which was already signed and notarized. I gave him cash and drove away.

After getting home, I took the title to the DMV with my insurance card. The told me that I needed a Bill of Sale and an affidavit of non-residency (Makes sure that the previous owner doesn't owe taxes in Louisiana). I called the PO and told him what I needed. He seemed more than willing to do the paperwork that I needed. I filled out the paperwork on my end and used the title to print the PO's name on the documents. I used the address that he gave me and sent the documents to him Certified mail with $50 in cash for the Notary. I waited, and waited, and waited. After almost a month, I texted him to ask him what the status was. He told me that he had not received the letter. I went to the post office to check and see if the letter had been signed for. It hadn't and they told me that it was just a couple of days from being returned. I texted him back and he went to the post office. He texted me that I had put the wrong name on the letter, but he has it now. The problem then became clear. He had never registered the car. The name on the title was the name of the person that HE bought the car from. I then told him that he needs to go to the person that he bought it from to get the signatures that are required. More time went by. I then texted him to get an update. He said that the PO would not respond. I then went to the JAG to see if there was anything that they could do. They told me that I could take it to small claims court, but it would have to be in Louisville, KY. I Tried to contact the PO myself by getting a background report to obtain his current address and number, but all the numbers that I have called have been changed.

In short, I have a Car and a Title, but I can't register it. I signed the title when I bought the car, So I can't take it back now. I just want to register the damn car. I don't want to sue for it because that would cost a lot in lost time from work, Hotels, and gas to and from Kentucky (750 Miles away).

What do I do?

 

OK so maybe it isn't the "right " thing to do, but i've been forced to do it before- fill out a hand written bill of sale using the name of the guy on the title and YOU as the buyer. The lady at DMV won't really care as long as it looks legit. paperwork wise it isn't right, but overall it just fixes a wrong- you bought the car, paid for it and now own it. no one will complain. Thanks for your service!

 

You cannot argue with your local license people. All they have to do, is tell you "no"; and it's final. Gotta do whatever they say you gotta do.

It's about a 10 - 11 hr drive from Shreveport to L-ville. (yes I know, I just drove from SW TN to SW OH a coupla weeks ago, what you've gotta do is only a shade farther) Pretty short for settling such a thing. Strictly a minor pain in the a$$, at worst.

Get in your car (or a rental) and go pay him a visit. Be decent, unthreatening, and polite; but insistent.

Sux to have to do that, but I guess it's part of growing up... at one point or another, we all have to confront difficult situations and difficult people. Sorry to hear you survived Afghanistan but came back home and got put into one of those by one of the people you risked your life defending.

In no possible circumstance would I advise forgery, violence, or any other illegal or unethical behavior. Those things have ways of coming back to haunt the perp, aside from just plain being WRONG. It's just a car; not a big deal in the grand scheme of thigns; certainly not worth going to jail over. Don't risk it.

 

yeah easy enough to find the guy YOU bought it from- but what about the guy HE bought it from- that's where the "right way" fails. he probably won't even remember where the guy lives any more. DMV doesn't take anybody to jail. if they don't like the look of your paperwork, they just send you away.

 

So let me see if I follow this. You have a title for the car, but it's not in the previous owners name, but in the previous, previous owners name. Did the previous previous owner sign the title over? It seems that the LA DMV would have some kind of option for you to fix this given the situation.

I had a title issue with my pace car, which was also bought out of state, where two digits were left off the VIN on the title by the issuing state. The CO DMV gave me the option of paying them to research the title history, which would basically allow them to verify the title and title history was legit. Fortunately, I didn't have to do that (I was able to get a corrected title from the issuing state), but it was an option.

It seems that the LA DMV should be able to give you some kind of option. What would be the case if the title was in the sellers name and he disappeared and you were unable get a bill of sale or affadavit, which is basically the case you are faced with? Weird things happen with titles all the time so I have to believe the DMV has some kind of answer.

My advice is to politely explain your situation to your DMV and see what they say. Believe me, I know it's frustrating -- I've sort of been in your shoes. You might also call the KY DMV and explain it to them as well to see if they can help you out.

Thing is -- it's going to take some back and forth on your part to get it fixed unfortunately, but again, I have to believe there's a solution. In my case, i had to make a few calls, take pictures of my car, send various documents back and forth, but the DMVs were both pretty helpful in my case. Hopefully they will be for you too. They wouldn't do the leg work, but they told me what I needed to do to make it right.

Good luck.

 

I almost bought an 88 Camaro last month and it was bought as a project car about 3 years ago and never put on the road. The guy that has the car never put the car in his name and was selling it. After some calls I found out that he would have to put the car in his name then sign the title over to me, but I could not take the title to the DMV with a PO's name on the title and not the guys name I bought the car from. Now I always ask if the car is in their name.

Here in Ohio you would be in the same situation and not much you could do from what I was told.

 

all these state have their own rules- some are quite unfreindly. " formerl69" offers some good advice. it s worth trying to talk to DMV to see if there is an easy way out. I bought a car last year from a guy on another forum. he was some kind of wheeler dealer. somebody had sold it to him and he never registered it....so i tried the "right way" first......sent the guy the sales tax form and bill of sale for him to get the last guy to sign.....waited weeks...never came in the mail...so i just filled out the sales tax form and put " jeremy's " name on it....no problem. got a good title now.

 

Never give the DMV more information than they need.

I bought a car that was a project that changed hands about 4 times without ever being registered but the title was signed by the last gut that owned it and stayed with the car through all of the moves. and the buyer section was still blank until i got it so i just didnt tell this to the DMV and there was never a problem.

A friend of mine bought a car that was never registered by the current owner but the guy was real nice about it and paid to get it in his name and then signed over the new title to him,

Another friend bought a car through ebay and have it shipped, we get the title and he signed on the section that he is supposed to tear off and keep for himself but not in the correct spot that we need for the seller, so rather than contacting the seller about his mistake and deal with mailing it back and forth he removed the part the seller should keep and had someone else sign the title. the DMV did not ask for a bill of sale or anything at all and he didn't tell then any extra information and there was no problem.

the last one technically isn't right but it worked.
so its all about if you want to be 100% on the up & up or are you ok with a little paper fudging. You could make a bill of sale and go to a different DMV
In wisconsin it is illegal for someone to sell a car without it first being registered to them, however they have no way to verify this. and i have never been asked to provide a bill of sale when registering a car. I do usually get one just because but ive never needed it even for out of state cars.

 

I think your problem lays on the guy you bought it from,what I can gather is that he has to register it in his name first and become the legal owner before he can sell it to you,as far as the state is concerned,HE'S NOT THE OWNER YET!!!so technically he can't sell it.And that is the law in all the states.

 

Right this is how Ohio is. I mean if I would have bought that Camaro I could have just not said anything and it would have worked, but I like to play it safe incase of an audit.

 

I wouldn't mess around either!!the seller has to register it and pay the sales tax that is owed to Kentucky,get the title in his name and just sign it over to 383power,theirs no way around it.Now the price may go up but he not legally bound to buy it.He can lie and say he paid less for it so the taxes would be lower.

 

There is no way he can register the car either. I signed the Title when I bought the car.

The State of Louisiana REQUIRES a Bill of Sale that is Notarized.

In Shreveport, The work ethic is Unusually bad. Lots of entitlement mentality and laziness. If she were going to help me, she would have to expend extra effort. When I went to the DMV the second time, I asked, "What should I do? Is there any other paperwork that I could fill out or additional fees?" The answer I got was "I dunno". She didn't appear to care about helping me at all.

If I just made up a Bill of Sale, that's setting me up for a very dangerous situation. I've got 18 Years in the Military and a State Gaming License. A felony conviction for auto theft and fraud would erase that. At this point, I'm not ready to take that risk.

 

I would imagine if you and he went to his DMV and explained the situation they could either 1, realized what you did and go ahead and let him register it,2,the very least obtain a new title.Their has to be something they can do for you,you just don't walk away from these matters,it probably happens often!!!What do used car dealers do!!!!