Problems with titles - what are my options?

[DannyH]

I bought a used 1976 scamp Monday and brought it home. The guy I bought it from had an original title from the person he had purchased it from and never signed it over. The condition of the title was not great (it had been through the wash and was taped back together) but it still showed the persons name, address, that she signed it off and other trailer data. I also got a signed and dated receipt from the guy I bought it from. I have purchased used cars this way, title not signed by buyer along with receipt, and never had a problem getting a new title. I went today to the Oregon DMV and was told the title was to ratty looking to use and to see the Washington DMV. I went there and was also told the Title was not acceptable. They gave me the current address of the title holder and a paper that when signed by this person and notarized will give me a clear Washington title, which I will take to Oregon DMV to get an Oregon title. I tried to find a phone number of the title holder, but it's unlisted. The address is about 1 hour away. I sent a letter with my address and phone number explaining the situation and saying that I would meet her at her address or a bank/ Washington DMV in her town. So now, it's all in her hands to contact me. Both Oregon and Washington DMV have said I need this to get a title.

My question is if I can't get her to sign this off, what are my options. I know others may have had similar situations. I thought I remember someone saying they got an abandoned trailer title, and have 7 years that it can be claimed by the original owner.

Thanks for any help.

[BobB]

Hi Danny,

One option would be to take the trailer back and ask for a refund. Let the seller do the footwork to get the title issues straight. I'm not sure about OR or WA, but in our state there would be substantial penalties and fees for not keeping the registration current. Good luck!

[Lizbeth]

Hopefully she will answer you and everything will work out just fine. I wouldn't touch the trailer till it's ironed out.

In California we have to sent a Certified letter to the last known owner. If the letter is returned as undeliverable one can register the trailer depending on the value a bond may be required.

We just bought a trailer in Oregon with expired tags. In Cal that would have been big trouble (money/fines). In OR we just ran down to the DMV and asked for a trip permit, 30 bucks gave us that. When we registered it just over the border in Cal it was very important the we had that trip permit "registration" in our name all paid up.

Every state is different, it's baffling!

[Raya]

Danny,

Rats - title problems are a pain. I had a couple of glitches because of buying my trailer in Canada and not completely understanding the process (of course now I'm an expert).

Have you contacted the seller to see if he would help you out? Of course, having said that, he would probably just be contacting the previous owners too, and they may be more helpful to you than to a guy who never removed the title from their name (tacky). In fact, maybe that could work in your favor. I mean, not to hold it over their heads in a mean way, but just to mention that you would like to get the trailer out of their names and into yours. They might appreciate that.

Have you tried searching the previous-previous owners on the Internet, and perhaps getting an e-mail address?

One more potential option would be to title it as a "homemade" trailer. That can work as a last resort in some states, although I'm not familiar with Oregon.

I hope it gets ironed out for you soon so that you can enjoy your new egg.

Raya

[DannyH]

Thanks for the replies. One member mentioned going to another DMV office, which I did this morning. What a difference in finding "Mike", who was willing to go the extra mile. I explained the situation and Mike spent a 1/2 hour looking up regulations and also talked to his supervisor. What we finally came up with is I'll wait 1 week to see if I get a response from my original letter. If no response, I'm going to send a registered letter to this same house. I'll either get it returned, they except it and no call, or they except it and call. If I do not get a response, then I will get a copy of the registered letter, a copy of all paper work to this point and send it along with a form that Mike printed out to Salem Oregon. They will take 45 days to review and decide if they want to give me a title. I brought up the idea of sending a registered letter, because Mike said they want to make sure that a person tried everything to contact the original owner. He said he didn't see a problem with them not granting it, especially with the price, age and weight of the trailer. So hopefully within the next two months, I'll have a title in my name.

[Donna D.]

send it along with a form that Mike printed out to Salem Oregon.

Thanks for reporting back Danny, it sounds like you're on the road to success.

Could you possibly tell us specifically what the form is called?

We know someone in the future will run into this same problem here in Oregon and any information we can provide will certainly help.

[Roy in TO]

It was suggested to me earlier here on FGRV that there are companies in AZ that get titles. You sell them the trailer on paper without a title, they get a title for it and then sell it back to you on paper. The trailer never moves.

[DannyH]

Good idea Donna, the form has three numbers on top right side, ORS 803.045, ORS 803.050(1) & ORS 803.205. The name on the form is "Certification of ownership facts".

[Donna D.]

Thanks Danny. I'll see if I can track down an electronic copy of this forum and try to provide a link to Oregon DMV. But if that's not possible the information you provided is great. THANKS!

[Herb Sutton]

In Arizona they inspect out of state vehicle serial number before they issue anything.

I have in the past seen ads in antique car magazines for titles for "orphan vehicles", I believe they were in Alabama.

[DannyH]

Well, good news in the quest for my title. I recieved a call over Memorial day weekend (we were gone) from the original owner in Washington, saying to send the form and she would get it signed and notorized. Along with the letter, I sent a stamped, self addressed envelope, a letter thanking her and $5 in case a bank charged her to do the notory. 5 days latter I now have the signed and notorized form. I was all excited to get the Washington part finished so drove Saturday 1/2 hour to a Washington DMV that was located in an Albertson grocery store (had a hard time finding it). I talked to the supervisor who said they could give me the title with the form as signed, but 6 weeks ago they changed the rules and require that they call the IRS to confirm that I live in Oregon so as not to pay the Washington sales tax. Being that it was Saturday, the IRS office was not open. Before the change, they could just accept my license. Oh well, I worked this weekend to finish a job so I'll have Monday morning free to get this done. I'm just thrilled that the nice woman took the time to sign and notorize my form. Yippy.

[Lizbeth]

Congratulations!

Hopefully the rest will go smoothly!