A cautionary tale, of old car titles. Options

[gandalf_025]

I'll try to make this short...

I bought my 914 in 1973.. Since I was a kid, I registered it in my mothers name.
In 1975 I titled it in my name and I still have that title.
The car has been off the road since the late 80's and is now
sitting on a lift in my garage bothering nobody.
3 years ago I decided to put some sort of insurance on it just in case of fire
or some other loss. Car isn't registered.. Just an agreed value policy.
A month ago I got a notice from my Insurance Agency asking for a
copy of the registration.
I ignored it.. Yesterday came a more pointed e-mail asking for the registration within 15 days or the Mass Registry of Motor Vehicles will cancel my insurance.

Ha... Now the State is involved.. Sticking their noses where they don't belong.

I know what the underlying issue is. The State of Massachusetts purges Title Files over 20 years old that seem inactive. They can't find the 914.. So they want me to BUY a title and pay sales tax with compounded interest and penalties..
and I'm sure the car having a 10 digit VIN makes them even crazier..

I talked to the Insurance Company and they have no clue.. So I'm doing nothing till somebody make another move..

So, if you have a very old car title... you may want to check it is still active before
trying to sell the car... But then ... this is Massachusetts and they are known to suck
to deal with.

[mepstein]

I usually use the local Wiggins auto title & tag company. They fill out the paperwork and send it to the state. They know which paperwork to use and since they “pre screen” the application, it always seems to sail through. No matter what the sales price is, I’ve never gotten any pushback from the state. Easily worth the $50 or so dollars that it cost me to have them take care of it.