Paying for a trailer

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by floyd

I see you are in California, things are a lot different here in the U.S.

At least Californians have pride in their state..... IllAnnoy?

[stevebaz]

At least in California with bad paper you can get a title bond on on the trailer or vehicle. Its not easy but can be done. Try getting bad paperwork through in Philadelphia. Title, registration rules are different everywhere. Be aware of what your stepping into. Clean paperwork goes through everywhere but bad paperwork can run the gambit between very easy and impossible. Your the one plopping your money down, maybe You can afford to side line allot of cash and take the risk. Why disparaging California has anything to do with the rest of the US is beyond me. I am no martyr for California but as disgusting as we may be we carry and pay more than our fair share of the issues in your side of the US.

[Bob Miller]

A title bond usually won't be issued in the event of "Bad Paper". For about 5% of value a bonding company isn't going to take any more risk that you or I might take. A Title Bond is usually used to cover misplaced or lost paperwork. It adds some cushion, but I would doubt if a bond would be issued in CA on a 3rd party seller with a hot title from TN.


Out of state, 3rd party, titles are just bad news unless you have a personal connection with the seller. They are breaking the law in the first place, so why would they have to be honest with the buyer?


Here's some background on title bonding in the Golden State:
How to Get a Bonded Title in California | eHow

[David Tilston]

I am not in the U.S. I live in the wild wild west. I have registered a trailer with a hand written receipt. Some registries are more picky then others.

Technically, it would be easy to steal a trailer, then get it registered in your name, but I am guessing that has not been a big problem yet. Though my neighbour, who used to run a trucking company, had a transport trailer, that he built, stolen. He recognised it in a parking lot and called the police. It was registered to the "owner" under a different serial number, after he ground off the one on the trailer. But my neighbour had stamped his serial number in a number of places on the trailer, for exactly this circumstance.

He now builds small dump trucks, and trailers, for fun, I think, in his back yard. BTW, best neighbour ever!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

At least Californians have pride in their state..... IllAnnoy?

True that! God made California a paradise.
Then there's men,
Perhaps Shell Silerstein may have said it best...

Smart
My dad gave me one dollar bill
‘Cause I’m his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
‘Cause two is more than one!
And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes—I guess he don’t know
That three is more than two!
Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just ‘cause he can’t see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!
And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!
And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head---
Too proud of me to speak!
--- Shel Silverstein

[Ttocs M]

It would be appreciated, Barry, if you could share with us the ownership issue you encountered, so we can learn?

[BuzzBunny]

Originally Posted by M Scott

It would be appreciated, Barry, if you could share with us the ownership issue you encountered, so we can learn?

The gentleman selling the trailer was not the owner according to the paper work. He was supposedly the third owner but the ownership papers were still in the name of the original owner and buyer of the trailer, a person from Tennessee.
So it would be difficult to purchase the trailer and explain why the ownership was in the name of an American citizen and not a Canadian, meanwhile the trailer had Canadian plates.
So if we had bought the trailer, it would be up to us to explain all this and who knows what kind of issues would arise, while the seller would no longer be liable for any of the mess.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by monB

If I withdraw a large sum of money from my bank for a trip, or whatever. I carry it in a bank envelope *WITH* the bank printed withdrawel receipt. Pretty easy to prove where it came from.

Mon

Wow! and some of us worry about thieves at the other end of the sale?? Yet we have to fear the lack of due process?
Another bad thing about cash... if you sell for a large sum of cash and deposit it, it will be reported as a suspicious transaction.

[Bob Miller]

At my bank, (BofA) when I have deposited over $10k in cash (happens all the time ya know!) they just have you sign a small slip of paper with something like "Sold motor vehicle" written on it. Easy Peasy. If you make multiple deposits just under $10,000 they are also supposed to report that as well, as a certain congressman just learned the hard way.