Finally, a Title & Registration...

[Harvey]

Well, after more than a month waiting I finally received yesterday, the OK from DMV to get a 'Bonded' Title for my 13' 1984 Scamp that I bought in January . It's been a real hassle, & while not terribly expensive, cost more than a regular Registration/Title transfer. The PO didn't have a title, only a bill of sale from the previous owner & an old registration from 2001/02. Since he lives in Mississippi we had to do a title search there as well as in Arkansas. I had to get VIN verification from local law enforcement, two statements of value from RV dealers & send it to the State DFA along with all the papers I got from PO . Yesterday I got the OK letter & today I purchased a Surety Bond (to protect the state if someone makes a valid claim against the new title??), added the Scamp to my personal property tax list, & went to the local Revenue (DMV) office. Took only a few minutes & a check for $41 & I left with reg certificate, permanent license plate, & a receipt that says I should receive my new title within 3-4 weeks . Been holding off on spending much money on modification/renovation 'til I was assured it is really mine & I have the paperwork to prove it. Now I can get the new axle ordered along with new wheels, new roof vent, tail/clearance lights, etc.

Some advice for any of you folks that are tempted to buy a vehicle with only a Bill of Sale. Thoroughly check out your state's requirements for replacing a title (if one is required). I'd briefly looked at the Arkansas Code & it seemed simple enough. I've heard tho that some states are much more restrictive &/or require more documentation/paperwork. The entire process wasn't difficult or overly complicated, just slow & time consuming. I'm gonna say it was worth it but, if I'd known about all the hassle, I might've held out for something a little better for more money & a clear title .

[Bobbie Mayer]

Good point! But it still took you far less than the ten months it took me to get a state registration and I had a title. My problem- not doing it in person.

I'm going to be selling a boat in Washington so in preparation I got a duplicate titles for boat and trailer from California- this time I went in person so that any errors on the forms could be instantly corrected, and it worked, took about a week to get the titles.

[DannyH]

Harvey, I had a similar problem and waited until I had a clear title to put any money into mine. The guy I had bought it from had washed and damaged the title and had not signed it over to himself. I ended up having to find the original owner and mail them a request of title transfer that had to be notarized. I sent $10 in the envelope for the trouble and was lucky that I got back with everything done. Then I had problems finding the VIN number on the trailer. It was a hassle, but it's legal now. I'm glad your s had a successful conclusion, now you can get busy getting the trailer the way you want.

[Lizbeth]

Glad it worked out for you!

At least you didn't find out it was stolen like I did.

[Donna D.]

Whew. I love it when a plan comes together.

Good for you Harvey!

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Harvey

I've heard tho that some states are much more restrictive &/or require more documentation/paperwork. The entire process wasn't difficult or overly complicated, just slow & time consuming. I'm gonna say it was worth it but, if I'd known about all the hassle, I might've held out for something a little better for more money & a clear title .

Thanks for posting your "cautionary tale", Harvey.
Maybe it'll save another buyer from having to go through a similar experience!

I'll second Donna's "WHEW!" and add:
Folks reading this thread would do well to read about Cyndi's l-o-o-n-g struggle to license a trailer she bought on one coast and took to another in her thread at:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post250274
It's a real eye opener.

Best thing is, Cyndi also managed to work it all out in the end!





Francesca

[Dennis Clinton]

My Scamp was a military surplus vehicle, thus no title, only bill of sale. DMV really struggled with it, finally suggesting I buy a salvage trailer and switch the VIN plate. Did this and no trouble. Salvage trailer cost me $150. DMV said to get clear title on the original Scamp VIN would cost over $600!

[Francesca Knowles]

Hi, Dennis

Lucky you!
What State are you in?

Francesca

[Alf S.]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Hi, Dennis

Lucky you!
What State are you in?

Francesca

Hi: Francesca Knowles... State of confusion...if trying to title the untitled!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Dennis Clinton

My Scamp was a military surplus vehicle, thus no title, only bill of sale. DMV really struggled with it, finally suggesting I buy a salvage trailer and switch the VIN plate. Did this and no trouble. Salvage trailer cost me $150. DMV said to get clear title on the original Scamp VIN would cost over $600!

Even though someone at the DMV suggested it, that does not sound legal to me.

In my state if you combine parts from multiple trailers you can use the vin from either trailer, but they specify that at least 3 major parts have to be switched. I don't remember all the parts that qualified (the axle was considered one part) but the vin plate was not a major part.

[melissab]

Stolen?!?!?

How did you get to keep the trailer since it was stolen? Or was this a different one?

Originally Posted by Lizbeth

Glad it worked out for you!

At least you didn't find out it was stolen like I did.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by melissab

Stolen?!?!?

How did you get to keep the trailer since it was stolen? Or was this a different one?

The same question came up in http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ion-45971.html

Here's the whole story as posted by Lizbeth in that thread:

5/11, 09:06 AM #42
Lizbeth
Senior Member



Name: Liz
Trailer: 1979 13 ft Boler and 1987 Bigfoot 5th Wheel
So Cal
Posts: 1,604
Registry: My Trailer Profile
Before the hack here there was a long thread about saga but it was in the section that disappeared forever. I have saved a thread about it from another board and I will copy it here as I am too lazy right now to type the whole thing out, it's also the board where I met Frederick.

From 2004;
"From: MSN Nicknameflygirl4x4 (Original Message) Sent: 3/21/2004 3:10 PM
I have a new project trailer but have hit a major snag with registering it. Here is the story, it falls under a "buy it now and ask question later" saga.

I've been researching and wanting a small fiberglass "egg" for year or so. Due to money issues I knew it would probably not happen soon. Plus living in So Cal these trailers are few and far between, making the chance of finding a cheap fixer upper very remote.

So I've joined some fiberglass rv boards, lurking and occasionally posting questions in hope of learning all that I can about them. I tend to research thing that catch my interest to death. In a post on one of the boards a man ( Bob) mentioned finding a very beat up Boler but passing it up because he feared registering it would be a nightmare (smart man) and plus he had already purchased another trailer. I knew Bob lived in So Cal so I contacted Bob to find out some info on the trailer. He had a phone # that turned out to be a motel and he didn't have a exact address but remembered how to get to the house where the trailer was located.

So off my husband and I went to see if we could find the trailer. The young couple that owned it were staying at this house (in a very bad area) with some friends before they moved to Ohio. I only talked to the young woman and her story was that the Boler had been given to her boyfriend as debt repayment from a friend of theirs a couple of years ago and that that friend had inherited it from his grandmother. The title had been lost but she had a bill of sale from their friend but had never registered it or changed the title to their name. I was not too alarmed as we have bought trailers and cars that had lost titles before.

The poor little Boler was in very bad shape. All the windows but the front are broken (the little kids that lived at the house had thrown rocks at it), it has spray paint on it, no cushions, fridge is broken, all the lights in and out need replacing, water tank is broken, wiring is a mess, no propane tanks, and it's dirty and smelly. Just what I could afford hehe. So we came to an agreement about a price. She wrote us a "bill of sale", was very nice about helping us get it out of the back yard and hooking it up. Then we drug it home.




I went to register it and it was still on the DMV rolls tho it should have rolled off a few years ago (my bad luck). It's registered to an INSURANCE COMPANY! ack!
So I sent off a registered letter with hope beyond hope that it would get returned unopened. Nope...the company called me and wondered what the heck was up and I explained the situation to them. She told me that it might be a stolen trailer that was never recovered, and that it would take them 24-48 hrs to research it...that was 12 days ago today. I called last Wednesday and they had no info yet and "that they would call me when they found something".

So I have a trailer that may not ever belong to me sitting in my driveway. I can not contact the people that I bought it from because they have left for Ohio (plus I believe she was telling me the truth as she knew it). In retrospect I should have made her go the the DMV with me to check the title. Hindsight is 20/20. Besides the possibility of loosing money that I can ill afford to loose I've fallen in love with it and so badly want to start working on it."


The rest of the story;
It took the ins. co. many months to determine that they no longer had the paperwork on the theft that appeared to have happened 10 years before. They sent an adjuster to see the trailer. He determined it had no value and it would cost more for the ins co to deal with than it was worth. At that point the ins co signed it over to me and the rest is history. So in the end my Boler has a great story.
__________________
1979 Boler B1300 | 1987 Bigfoot 5th Wheel

[DaMScampers]

Harvey, I am in that SAME SITUATION for a '93 scamp in great place. No one has ever titled it correctly!

My question:
• what was the value of yours?
• how much did you have to bond it for? Double?
• what was the cost of the bond?

Thanks.
David & Megan (DaMScampers)

[Harvey]

Hi David (& Megan) - I'm still looking for the paperwork on the Ins Bond but, best I remember the State assigned a valuation of $1200 & I was required to purchase a bond in that amount. I'm pretty sure the bond cost me around $150 but it remains in effect 'til the statute of limitations for claims against the title have expired (3yrs). The bonded title is completely negotiable & I could sell/transfer it to anyone with complete confidence (on both sides) that it would be defensible against any/all claims of prior interest. I've done that in the past with automobiles.

I have an old 1985 Ford Diesel P/U that I've owned since new but I'm unable to find the title (haven't seen it since probably early 90's ). Now I gotta go apply for a 'lost title replacement'. Fortunately I have the original title # & copies of most of my old registration slips so it should be just a matter of paying them 'ransom' for a new title.

[DaMScampers]

Thank you Harvey. I have the advantage of sleeping on this one tonight. I think I am going to have to do just that! We will see what shakes out tomorrow...