Hey all, So i have a 1976 F100, I bought it back in 2009 or 2010. When i bought it and pulled it out of a field where it had sat for 6 years, the owner didn't have a title for it. The old man who he had bought it from had past away. There's a tag on it from 98 i believe. Anyways does anyone know how to get a title for an abandoned vehicle where the last title holder is unknown? I've heard of people taking a pencil rubbing of the vin and a picture of the vehicle and getting a title that way. I mean if you go and find a car in the woods of some land you just bought, (which happens quite often) you don't know who the owner was so there has to be a way to get a title right? Any help is appreciated.

 

The comprehensive answer is to "FILE for a LOST TITLE" which is best explored at your county seat. If you know the family that owned the land it was on - they may be helpful.

But oftentimes a machine will be left without an owners family surviving either, and that is where the "LOST TITLE" comes in.

At the worst, store it on your property for a while, and then file a mechanics lien for possession.

Before doing another single thing - I CAUTION YOU STRONGLY to have a local cop run the last known vin number or tag to see if there is a good reason why it was left in the weeds...
They will do that for free. If it comes out bad, and money has changed hands, it can either be set right, or it will be a hard lesson for the future.


NO PAPERS - NO DEAL!!!

On the other hand -
If you get good at running down titles, there is a lot of money to be made, you betcha! Tow truck and impound companies get away with murder all the time...


What happens with the machanics lien, or storage lien, is that you eventually SELL IT TO YOURSELF at whatever price you decide to put on it.
~All it means is filling out the appropriate spaces on the back of the new title or filing the forms

1) You will need a bill of sale, probably witnessed by a local Notary Public
2) Notary publics are generally very inexpensive. I think I paid out five bucks last time I had to go to one (She runs a bait shop and gas station down the way from Glenn Springs Lake)


~Fierce old lady though - she don't take poop from nobody...

 

I was digging through my old threads and thought i would update this. Did some digging on the dmv website and found a form that pretty much is for my case, being a vehicle 30 years old or older. All i had to do was register it so i got antique tags momentarily and in about 2 weeks i got a title in the mail. It was an awesome feeling to say the least and a whole lot easier than i expected.

 

Great info, thanks