Posted by Brian in Oregon on September 30, 2000 at 14:06:11:
In Reply to: Title woes posted by Thomas on September 30, 2000 at 10:12:29:
If you have no title, the state will conduct a title search.
If they match up the last known owner, then you must obtain a release from him/her. A friend went this route, but the owner wouldn't sign the release. He didn't want the car back, but he was pissed his son sold it, as it was a gift to him. My friend merely put a mechanics lien on it for storage, and when the storage fees exceeded the cars worth, he filed and claimed it.
usually though, no record shows up, and the state issues a new title. In some cases the actual serial number is not visible, so the state will issue a new unique number.
I have a good spare M37 that has no title, and will check with DMV to make sure it is not stolen before I spend time making it run or sell it. Another M37 that I'm scraping due to severe frame damage from a collision has no numbers that match the title, even though the license plate does. I have no clue where they conjured up these numbers.