long story
I'm trying to title a motor cycle.
I was told that north (south?) dakota has a more lenient DMV and that I might want to pursure getting a replacement title (legally) from there...

I bought a motor cycle with an out of state title.
the owner (original owner too) had titled it in penn.
when he passed, it was given by the excutor (kids) to the next door neighbor and the executor of the will legally signed the title over.

when my seller moved from penn to maryland he kept the title open and never retitled it in maryland.

years go by and now I'm the fool that bought it with an open title.

my guy also started to sign the title (even though he is not a dealer)
I've since learned that only liscensed dealers can sign over an open title.

so I ship the bike to colorado and go down to the DMV with my title in hand
they inform me that the seller has screwed up by signing an open title and that I have to go back to the original owner (whose name is on the title) and have the original owner send me another Blank correct title.

well you can see where this is going
original owner is gone.
after contacting his children, they want nothing to do with this and won't help get another title.

my seller lives in a different state and can't take the title in to get one issued in his name because he would have to have the bike visually inspected in maryland (shipped back to him) in order to get a title.

so the DMV says that my only option is to pay for a replacement title which will cost approximately $500 because it involves having the bike appraised by a dealer (plus their fee) and then purchasing a bond in the amount of 2x the appraisal value (bond fee). Plus the associated title search fee's to the state.

the whole bike is worth about 800
I paid 400 to ship it here
so now I've got 1200 into a bike worth 800 and I need to spend another 500 to drive it?

whew... I'm an idiot!

so grasping at legal straws here
I was told that some states were more lenient about replacing titles and accepting open titles.

could I legally sell the bike to someone in one of those states
pay them for their time and effort
have them legally title the bike in that state
and then buy back the bike from them with a legal title that colorado would then accept?

I'm not trying to defraud anything or break the law

2nd question, do all states require a visual inspection?
I'm kinda guessing so, which means I would probably need to haul/ship the bike to the state of this transaction?

thanks for everyones advice
maybe I just part the thing out and cut my losses, although that is a such a shame for a 1 owner (2 owner) bike in original condition

did I mention that the original owner bought the bike in japan and drove it there for a year before importing it... cool story with a bad ending I guess.
brant

I don't think all states have a visual inspection rule. I did not have to do that when I bought the 73 that I have the seller lived in NJ but had a title from PA from when he bought the car. I don't remember if he signed the title or not but I had no trouble getting a VA title for the car.

EDIT: Maybe you can contact the state of PA and get a copy of a death certificate as a matter of public record and present that to your DMV

I bought a group of cars in oregon off of evil bay. As it turns out the best of 3 didn't have the correct title. It was a CA car. The Or and CA DMV couldn't waste their time to help me and treated me like a car thief. Someone put me in contact with the "lien Goddess" <The Lien Goddess (541)607-2840)> in Eugene, OR. For $50 bucks and a months wait she put a lien on the car, and gave me papers to have an public auction which curiously I was the only one to bid on the vehicle . With the paper work declaring I had a lien and a bill of sale on this car the OR DMV treated me like a king and in 2 weeks I had a clear title. Best and easiest $50 I've spent. Give her a call. If she can't help you directly, she might be able to talk you through the process in your state.

I was assigned to a graduate school in SouthEast SD when I was in the military. DMV is very different there. Here in California think 60 people in an office and 58 of them don't have a clue. In SD there were maybe 5 - 10 people total and they were very friendly and accomodating.

I had a motorcycle license from Minnesota that said I was licensed to drive 350cc and below. They said "well if you can ride them you can ride all of them"...

This process may work for you: http://www.revenue.state.co.us/mv_dir/formspdf/2711.pdf
Or do a lien search on google such as "automobile lien service colorado".
Or if you know someone in the wrecking business ask them how its done in your state. The lien process allows wreckers and others who come into possession of abandoned vehicles to legally gain possession of them. By going this route you might be able to avoid a whole bunch of b.s. and cost the the dmv would like to put you through.

Do that Brant. There used to be a joint in Denver that did that back in the 80's. I used them a couple of times back then. Never a problem. Unfortunately they don't exist any more.

I've had the CO and CA DMV criminal treatment too. It absolutely blows!

In california if a car has not been registered in over 10 years it basically falls off the books. If this is the case you can then just have a police officer come out and do a vin inspection and go file for the title. I am in the process of doing this I will let you know how it works out.

Thanks to all of you
I'm going to definitely make some calls and try some of these techniques

thanks a ton!

brant

I had an issue with a title from Ohio, went to the title office in Texas and they said it would cost $500 to transfer due to new resident fees and some tax since the vehicle was older. I did not want to pay $500, so I left.

Just by luck, I went by a month later on a Friday about 30min before close. Same lady as before, but she did not remember me. Title was transferred and cost $35.

Maybe she was having a bad day the first time, or maybe it was closing time on Friday and she wanted to go home. Either way, it worked out to my benefit.

isn't that amazing...
no consistency at all

I'm kind of afraid to go back, because the 1st time the guy was typing notes and my VIN number into the computer. I figured it was so that I didn't go to another office and try a story.

The sad thing is that I told him the truth and if I would of lied and said that I bought it from the deceased person whose name was on the title, it would of probably gone through... however now I think my story is in the computer and I have to jump through hoops

Being in CA I think our DMV is the worst. I bought a bug back in the day for $200 but without a title, lost. Got a bill of sale and went to the DMV. Long story really short the best I was going to do for my $200 car was $800 in reg fees. I ended up dumping it in a school parking lot and it got towed. DMV actually came after me for the tow fees claiming it was my car, even though my name wasn't on the title and I had to pay them. I told them to send me a title and I'll pay the fees.

Ya, didn't get the title & lost me $200.

www.broadwaytitle.com I know of several people here that have used this company and have had no problems so far. $150.00 and 8 - 10 weeks and everything is done. We just had to get the vehicles inspected and take the paperwork down to our DMV and get them registered.

Lien sale is probably your best bet.

I have taken to calling or going in to the DMV with the VIN and asking about back fees and required paperwork.

I'm in CA and the DMV here is bad but not always.

A few years ago, while trying to register an out of state car the lady told me I needed a signature from the previous owner on 1 of the documents. I said he is in Colorado! She told me "You need his signature right here, go check the parking lot maybe he is out there. When you get his signature come back to my window so I can finish your paper work."

Good Luck

Jim

David,
your the second person recommending broadway
I think I'm going to give them a try
what "inspection" do I have to do with them?
is it a VIN inspection, or an appraisal inspection?
(their website is apparently written for people smarter than I)

Jim,
I think if I had been smarter, I could of solved my problems with a parking lot signature. But that was before I was honest and they documented it into the computer.

oh well.. live an learn
thanks again guys, this is feeling less overwhelming than previously.
brant

I guess I should have been a little more clear on the inspection. The last person that I know of that used Broadway (my next door neighbor and his 55 Belair) said the process was like this: Print and fill out the application/Bill of sale from the Broadway website. Send them a money order or cashier's check for their fees (his was around $150.00 or so) with the completed application. Wait about 10 weeks for the paperwork to return to you. Take the paperwork to the DMV. In Texas ,when you register an out of state vehicle, you have to have a state inspection before you can register the vehicle. My neighbor said it was really very easy, only thing that he didn't like was the wait, but it was quicker and easier than a lein sale or getting the thing bonded, etc. I got a free 72 914 several months back that I am thinking of trying them out with. Lemme know if you need anything else !!!!