Not sure if this is the right location but hopefully it is.

So I randomly read some comment online on a forum about some guy buying a car that he had to pay a ton of money when he went to register it because of it sitting for so many years. I will try and give as much background info as possible.

1987 Iroc unknown miles (Box C) title that I recieved for car is clean and I believe the last titled date was the year 2000. So basically 15 years. The guy I bought it from said it sat for a few years. When I get this thing road worthy, I'm going to get the title put into my name and then try to register it. Should I expect to get bent over for this or does it not matter? Seems odd that I would be penalized since I am not the one who left the car to rot. The plates were gone so I did read that if the previous owner let the registration expire and then returned the plates, it shouldn't be an issue and I won't get hit with any fees. He had the title notorized about a month before I bought it, maybe slightly less, which was new years eve. It was either November or December 2015 when it was notorized. I'm kind of nervous now and I'm hoping somebody here has gone through this and can shed some light as to what can/might happen.

 

Anything you hear here is just gonna be speculation unless an actual Arizona RMV (or whatever you call your "Registry of Motor Vehicles" in AZ) official happens to pop in , which don't seem likely . So , of course , your best bet is going to be to get the right info straight from the right source , the people at the RMV who are actually registering cars 8 hrs a day 5 days a week . Realize also , that although I do happen to know a bunch about the laws of the State where I live regarding my RMV , from getting caught up in em once or twice , those may not apply to your AZ RMV since motor vehicle law tends to differ from State to State .

 

Hard to say... every state is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

Which means, if somebody comes on here that hasn't ever DONE IT IN AZ (which would include myself), ignore them because no matter what they tell you, it's WRONG.

I've titled some cars in similar situations in other states, never in AZ. I can 100% POSITIVE IRONCLAD TAKE IT TO THE BANK BET YOUR LIFE ON IT GUARANTEE that every single time I've had to do it in a different state, I was bumfuzzled and gobsmacked by that state's Byzantine processes; but at the same time, I was able to get it done, EVERY TIME.

"Fees" are the least of your problem. Don't come on here and P&M about that, we'll all just laugh at you and tell ya that ya gotta pay if ya wanna play. Just pay em and get it over with, they're less $$$$ than letting your car sit up on blocks being an ornament in front of yer trailer. Bribery and graft is legal when it's written into the laws. In fact, if you find you can pay EXTRA (cash only, no checks or credit cards) and not have to comply with some pesky obstructive statute (wink wink nudge nudge) it's probably to your advantage to do so... after all the public official that asks for such a thing, stands to lose more than YOU for YOU paying it to em.

 

Can't say about your state, but in GA. you are only charged fees on a car from the date you bought it.

 

You're go'n about this assbackerds, get it put in your name FIRST before spend'n a dime on it. While do'n so ask YOUR DMV what kind of registration fees your look'n at when you do get it up and run'n.....

 

Listen to Rob here !

In the first response to your question I told you to go to your RMV and ask . Beat Sofa by a whole minute with exactly the same advise . Now Rob has given you your second great bit of advise . Why ? Because till that car has gone through the RMV's process of making it yours , you have no way of knowing if something's not right , numbers wise . Could be stolen for all you know or there could be other RMV weirdness with that VIN number , and only putting it through "the system" will prove for 100% certainty that it's truly yours . THEN ya dump the mad $$$ into it and make it what ya want it to be .

PS , here's a little side story that has nothing to do with you , cause I'm on the other side of the country from where you are ;

In Massachusetts , if you buy a car , get the signed title and then don't put it through "the system" but instead let it sit while you work on it , after 45 days the unpaid sales tax begins accruing penalties and interest that over a few month's time can add up to more than the car is worth ! So even if it's a total rebuild case that you wouldn't be driving for a year's time to fix it up , you still would have to do at the least what's called a "Tax & Title" so that the fees don't pile up while the rebuilding is going on .

I'll bet EVERY state has crazy zingers like that to suck dollars from the pockets of the unsuspecting public , and that's why I told you to go to your RMV and ask .

Good Luck with it !

 

Haha as always, Sofa doesn't hold back.

Yeah it makes sense to get the title in my name so looks like that's on the agenda to get done sometime this week then.

I'm trying to go through this as fast as possible. All I need to do now is head work or get new heads, and a cam, and any cleaning/painting with the engine and it's ready to drop in. But then I have replace basically the entire brake system and fuel system as well before I can drive it. I would venture to guess at the very least, a month before I'm ready to test it but probably 2 months before it's ready to drive and emissions tested so I can register it.

I was kind of hoping somebody who has gone through it in AZ would chime in because they would have first hand knowledge of potential forms or other BS they spring on somebody that can maybe help prepare me for it. I would like to believe they wouldn't penalize a person for not registering a vehicle they just bought right away because the PO left it to rot and I'm trying to restore it. But gubmint always wants their tree fiddy, and they will get it one way or the other.

I'm pretty committed to this iroc though. So if I had to pay a ton of money I'd still do it, I'd just silently cry to myself for a few days.

 

And so far the only money I have put into this iroc was the purchase price and trailer rental to get it home. Everything else has been labor. Everything I'm doing can just be transferred over to my 88 if there turns out to be some sort of issue where I can't press forward with the iroc.

 

I bought an 88 IROC last year and even though I knew the mileage on it, I didn't have to tell them because the title read "EXEMPT" on the mileage. I don't know if the title for this 87 you're looking to register has this, or even how the previous owner managed to exempt the mileage. Just thought I'd share that piece of information. Good luck with it!

 

I believe that is because it's way passed the threshold of the year requirement to report actual mileage. I'm not sure if it's something that only certain states do or what, but in some states after a vehicle is 10 years old or older, you are no longer held to the same mileage guidelines as newer vehicles. So often times people will write the mileage that is shown plus the text "exempt". I have yet to actually see one in person and every vehicle I have ever owned has been more than 10 years old when I bought it. The title I received for the 87 Iroc has mileage written on it, I think it's something like 6,000 miles ish and then underneath it is marked Box C meaning mileage unknown. It would just be a guess at this point what the mileage is but it has an overhead console and it looks like it maybe records mileage. It stopped at 90 something thousand. It's really hard to tell though because this car sat for probably a minimum of 3 years but I wouldn't be surprised if it was longer.

Anytime I have 're titled a vehicle after buying it, I was asked what the current mileage is, and whatever I said was written down on the new title no questions asked. It may or may not be a combination of the employees that I just happen to encounter on the days I have gone, and maybe lax laws in AZ, but really that is just speculation.

 

Check your state's Department of Motor Vehicles web site. The site may have a registration fee calculator.

Just to put your potential bend over factor in perspective, the estimated back fees and penalties to re-register my Camaro is $758 (State of CA; 2007 to current).

I'm sure this estimate is low.

 

I strongly advise against "speculation" in such cases. You may "speculate" all you want, but EVERY BIT OF THAT disappears the instant you walk up to that counter. Even worse, when you are otherwise under suspicion for some other illegal act (pulled over for a traffic violation or for not having a license plate for example).

Stop "speculating" and go find out what the rules are in your state for obtaining a title on a vehicle that lacks one. DO NOT spend even ONE THIN DIME on it until such time as you have the title in your hand, because until that time, you have absolutely no legal protection whatsoever against loss, and might even be liable yourself for someone else's loss. If the car has ever been reported stolen for example, you could even end up in jail.

Get the facts, fix the paperwork, FIRST. Whatever it costs you is a pittance compared to what you stand to lose if you don't. It would indeed be handy for an AZ person to chime in, but in the absence of such, go BE that person, and tell the rest of us what happens. Then maybe some of the rest of us can tell what we've had to do in other states.

 

I think you mis understood me there sofa...
I was implying that last part that I said as speculation, fully intending that nobody takes that as me stating that as fact or what I fully believe. It was a response to the guy talking about the Exempt text on a title and not really pertaining to my situation. Also, I stated that I currently have the title for the car in my pocession. I just need to get it put in my name which in going to try and get done this week.

 

I'm guessing you are saying if you re register a car that hasn't left your pocession. I am not sure if that would be the same as my situation or different. I have never registered this car because I didn't own it until recently.

 

I know it's a pain to call or go to the Department of Motor Vehicles. So again, go to the AZ MVD web site and read carefully:

http://azdot.gov/mvd/VehicleServices

I read through the Vehicle Services titles in the left hand side bar. It pretty much spells out what you and the seller should have done or need to do when the car was sold and how to transfer the title into your name.

 

I checked that out. Had no idea there was a certain amount of time you had to title the car before a penalty. I got it on new years eve so I'm passed the 15 days by like 2 days. But those 3rd party places are open on weekends so I can probably get the title redone in my name tomorrow and take care of it then.

 

it's all going to depend on ur state laws in Florida you have 30days from the date written on the title to transfer the title to ur name after that it's $10 penalty fee every 30days you don't transfer it.so like the story you where saying if someone bought a car from someone that didn't transfer it but had the title dated with in 5years it would tack another $600 on to the transfer fee

 

This is why a lot of private auto sales are left with open titles, or at least non dated. Owner/seller signs his name in the correct spot, puts no date on it, and seller does not sign title yet.
Write up a bill of sale with names, dates, vin, etc.

Now when you go to title the car in your name, date the title and sign it for that days date or a couple of days before.

GA. use to be you had 30 days from date of sale to put it in your name, but now it has changed to 7 days IIRC.

 

here in MN, i'd just go to the deputy registrar's office the next town over and give them $45 to transfer the title in my name and another $40 for plates.. they don't care what kind of shape the car is in- or if it even exists- they just want the cash..

 

Oh yeah; if it's a $10 fee, or even $50, that doesn't hurt too bad, just do it and get the pain over with... $750 on the other hand sounds like it's designed to take cars that die and sit around extensively off the road. Especially in CA where that kind of car is likely to come back to life as a pollution non-compliant zombie.

 

Talk about nickel and dime-ing you to death......

 

I live in Arizona and went through the process of obtaining a title for an "abandoned vehicle" and titling and registering it. Dealt with dmv a lot. Do not go into your local DMV and ask them what to do, they don't care about you or your situation, they do not want to spend time looking up laws and procedures and forms, they want to do licenses, registration and a simple title transfer. I learned this when one employee told me there was no process for getting a title for a car with a lost title and no employee would do anything for me. You need to call in to your Arizona area's state office, the number for which you can find online under the phoenix region. It's not the number for your DMV down the street it's the number for the people who know what they are talking about.

I'm not clear on your title situation, did the person who sold you the vehicle have the title in his name? And they signed it over to you?

As long as the vehicle has no leans on it anything the prior owner did or did not do is not your problem.

When you do the title they will make you do the registration unless you fill out a De-Insured certificate. With the certificate you will not have to waste money on having the car registered when you are working/restoring it. In Arizona it is illegal to not have a vehicle registered unless you have a De-Insure certificate.
https://www.azdot.gov/apps/vehicle-d...ed-certificate

 

The guy who.sold it to me had the title in his name. It's a clear title. It was titled the end of 2000 in his name. He had it notarized the end of November 2015( exact day I can't remember without pulling title out of the safe) signed and dated. It's exactly the same way I have ever had a title handed over to my when I bought a vehicle, with the exception that he didn't have it registered and it wasn't driveable. I didn't get a chance to go this week so tomorrow I'm going to go to a third party title place and at least get the title put into my name to avoid any issues for waiting too long.it's been 2 months since the notary date or it's about to hit the 2 month mark. I didn't think I would have issues titling it necessarily, more registration, and that was just from reading stuff online. But I think none of that had to do with buying a vehicle that sat with a clean title notarized correctly. I can see it causing some sort of flagging because I don't know when the PO cancelled the registration. I imagine he knows what he's doing since he said he has 30 cars he starting to sell off and a lot of them are in worse condition than this iroc.

 

Also, I think technically it's illegal in every state to not registering your car, right? That's why you get hit with late fees. And they get worse the longer you wait. I believe the PO told me.he cancelled his registration and turned over his plates and that was enough to do it and not have the government go after him for it.

 

It is illegal to have expired registration and drive on any public roads in any state, yes. However Arizona wants you to have a de-insure or registration no matter what and will come at you with legal notices if not. I know because when I bought the Camaro that I've been working on I didn't register it and in short time I received a letter from the state saying purchase registration or file a de-insure. Illinois never did anything like that, you could let the registration expire and work on it for as lo g as you want. I hadn't heard of a de-insure until I moved to Arizona.

 

Man that is awesome...
It's crazy that AZ is so lax on many things but they get strict on registration stuff. I appreciate the information and I seriously doubt I would have gotten this information from the third party places or the dmv people either. I will file the de-insure after I get the title in name later today. Thanks!

 

With the de-insure you can have full coverage of the vehicle on insurance for around d ten bucks a month. If anything falls on it,it gets stolen, fire,whatever, it's covered. I think it's a great deal.

 

Not so in Pa. I've left vehicles sit in the garage for over 8 years before re-registering them. And no back fees or such either, just the yearly registration fee needs to be paid to get the tag. Along with getting the vehicle insured.

RBob.

 

I live in Arizona I did not register my car for five years and all I had to do was put in writing that my car was in storage and have it notarized that was it.....

 

So, sounds like you or the dmv did a de-insure certificate.

 

In my case I left it insured. To nice of a car to leave uninsured. once or twice a year I would go on line and print a three day registration to blow the cobwebs out of her.