Posted by Henry Jacobs on August 09, 1999 at 10:35:19:
In Reply to: NO title: What to do???? posted by dave on August 09, 1999 at 05:37:16:
My company actually does this on a regular basis and there are two solutions, at least in Arizona. The state *should* let you post a bond for the value against the possibility that some part of its ownership history is improper, i.e. it was once stolen. You pay a bondsman for the bond and they let you title the truck, if a legitiamte owner ever appears, the state claims the bond. The fact that your truck has no previous title history may make this option difficult for the Motor Vehicles Department to comprehend and you certainly won't solve the problem at the agent level, you will need to get a supervisor involved. Try this approach and see what happens. You could also try filing a claim for the truck as an abandoned vehicle but the lack of title history will probably cause similar problems with MVD officials giving you doleful looks and mumbling about "civil remedies" i.e. you must get a lawyer and sue the MVD to get a title - you don't want to go this route if you don't absolutely have to.
The other option is to use a "title service". These organizations are located in certain Southern states in which title laws are more lax than elsewhere. I use Broadway Title Service and have had good results from them. You send them a bill of sale and some money and they send you a title from Alabama. There are a couple of hitches: they don't do military vehicles at all, the vehicle must be at least 10 years old, and they assume no responsibility for the prior title history of the vehicle (i.e. it could have been stolen and that's your problem - you assume that risk).
I would go down to your local MVD and get a title history on the VIN for a few dollars. If it's not on the system, try to get them to give you a bonded title, if that doesn't work go with a title service, it doesn't sound like there is much risk here. If you want some professional advice, contact a local attorney or title service for help.
HLJ