count26

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to scoop up a 92 sc400 in california.

Seller presented title but its still registered under previous owner.

Previous owner has signed off on title however I dont think seller has registered the car yet. (its been about 5 months)

Can seller transfer ownership to me?

TIA

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I'm not sure on this. Judging by how strict California laws are, I don't think it can be done. A friend of mine bought a car like that in Oklahoma and couldn't get it registered.

chex

On the title it reads that the ownership must be transferred within 10 days (of whenever the signature was signed). I've taken 2-3 weeks to register a motorcycle before and it was fine...no penalty or anything but it all depends. Also how sure are you that this vehicle is indeed his?

I bought a motorcycle from a friend who had the pink signed by the Previous Owner for the transfer. But he didn't fill in who was receiving the vehicle. That way he can just flip it real quick, in which case i ended up buying it. The only difference is on the pink its gonna say the previous owner and not the guy you're actually getting it from....If it wasn't a buddy I wouldn't have bought the vehicle if you get what I'm saying.

7 months without title transfer....not in his name...condition of the sc is?? (stolen or just plain shady too)

Within a few months of a title transfer the DMV must receive notification of liability insurance....chances are the previous owner is racking up fees right now for probably cancelling his insurance and it didn't get insured yet by another person.

Secondly there's a detachable piece on the title that the Previous Owner is supposed to sign and turn into the DMV which basically tells the DMV he no longer takes responsibility for the vehicle....just in case the next guy doesnt register it and racks up some parking tickets and etc.

Who knows what paperwork has been submitted...but I know most people are gonna tell you...you're buying a vehicle thats not coming directly from the owner on the pink. Alert for being stolen or just a wary transaction...I'd back away unless he can contact the previous owner and you get confirmation

sc3tech

iTrader: (3)

sure it can. as long as its not dated but try to see if you can get a bill of sale from when he bought the car. i know people that dont transfer the titles right away to sell cars

count26

The seller has filled out the back of the title already with his info. During examination of the title. I see that registration expires on 4/11. The seller did bring a blank bill of sale with him. He told me that after completing this bill of sale form the sale should be good even though ownership has not transfer yet to the current seller.

He claimed he had registered it with the dmv already and have not received the new registration. I think he might've been lying because he said he did it like a couple of months ago.

I really want the car. I test drove it and inspected it. The engine is in excellent conditions. There a bunch of cosmetic damages but I can live with it as I'm very impressed with the ride.

Anybody here have this situation come up yet? I dont want to get shafted later.

imDementeD

iTrader: (7)

i went through the ringer on my title registration..same situation to an extent..i bought my car from a seller who has an auction lic. and he signed it but never registered it..then signed it over to me with a bill of sale..because he never registered it..i had to send it to his brothers dealership in NY (he used his brothers lic. to buy cars at an auction here in florida) ..then wait for them to do whatever necessary paper work..send it back go to the dmv...forgot my insurance paper..come back....found out i needed the bill of sale because the dealer forgot to add the price which was stated on the paper work sent to them..then finally get back to the dmv with everything to find out the last number on the VIN was one digit off...thankfully the head lady that kept overseeing the tellers that were helping..took me cause she knew i had been there so many times and kept having to leave and come back that i didnt have to wait in line and got me taken care of...
thankfully everything went through and car is registered in my name..no issues after all that mess..

SuprCilver

Yes you can purchase the car legally from him. However there are several forms you would want to fill out and submit to the DMV. Every state is different but since you are in california you will want to take a look at the DMV website. I've purchased cars in the same fashion. I've also purchased cars that were titleless.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/buyinfo.htm

check that out.

chex

Wait.. the seller said he already registered it with the dmv a few months ago and just hasn't received the pink...when you register the vehicle at a DMV don't you have to turn in the previous owner pink then in a few weeks they send you a fresh one with your new info?...unless he decided to turn in a bill of sale and some other stuff when he registered it instead of the pink....but it just makes no sense.

Enigma8246

As mentioned by others, every state is different. DMV would probably be your best source of info.

MongooseGA

iTrader: (6)

Called 'jumping titles' here in VA. It mostly happens when people are flipping cars and don't want to pay to register them for just a few weeks of possession. All the title holder does is sign the slip to you (the buyer) as if they were the previous owner. For lack of a better term, they forge the PO's signature.

It is technically illegal here. I've been flipping cars since high school. Naturally, out of the dozen or so vehicles I've 'owned', only one of my wholesale cars was ever registered to me. Most of them I just stuck old plates on too.

The benefit of this to the new buyer is: assuming the seller were to be someone to fill out info correctly on the title, you only have to pay your property taxes on whatever the PO sold the vehicle for. Example: PO traded in a vehicle I currently have at for $4,500. When I sign the title to the new owner, the sale price to them will be documented as $4,500, so they save the tax amount on the remaining $2,000(+/-) that I profit. I also don't owe any personal gains or income tax on it either.

Good ol' tax evasion... You only have to give the government what you think they should have...

xxtoobsxx

iTrader: (4)

I just did that, bought my second sc in oct. The pink was singed by the previous owner not the seller in march. I registered it in november, they didnt even notice! Here in CA too

count26

What if the seller already filled in the buyer portion and hasn't registered it?

xxtoobsxx

iTrader: (4)

nope...my info was there!

count26

I guess thats my problem. Seller might to registered the car and pay registration fee then in order for him to transfer it to me. I think he might ask for more now.

shawnlexus

get a bill of sale and you should be fine