Often times I will see old cars/trucks that have sat for years and come with no title. Usually the seller states the previous owner lost the title so it comes with a bill of sale. How hard is it to get these lost titles?

 

Replacement title difficulty varies with the state. I jumped through hoops, spent quite a few dollars many years ago to get the title to a T bird. Generally, the state web site has good information. BobJ or another of the Wisconsin boys will come along and give you some advice.

 

Depends on the state. It can be super easy to impossible.

 

As far as getting a 'LOST' title, generally the states will only issue a replacement or duplicate title to the person named on the last title. I see people selling old vehicles in TN claiming 'it's easy to get a title in TN', what I have found is that is not true. Usually when they tell me that, I'll respond, "OK, well I'll give you an extra $50 when you have the title" I have never had them take me up on the offer.

 

SEMA an advocate for the old car folks has put together a state by state how to for regeresting vehicles
You'll get a lot of I got the run around it's a pain in the but the laws are the laws - Get your states information and follow it step by step - Sometimes it helps to take copy of the laws with you
SEMA Action Network (SAN) TAG_TITLE_TOOLBOX

 

From what I've gone through it's next to impossible to get a title to a vehicle in WI if you don't have a title. I bought a '48 F-4 some years back without a title and the DOT told me I was out of luck if I didn't have a signed title, a bill of sale is no good in WI. It became a parts truck for the '52 F-4 I do have a title for. But unlike many other states in WI you can take a title into the DMV and have them give you a new title in your name without them inspecting the vehicle. So as I've known, they don't do a thorough inspection for VINs on the car. Wisconsin has gotten a lot more stringent on titling old vehicles. Before you could walk in with a title, pay the fees and walk out with a new title and if you wanted collector plates pay for them at the time you got your title and they would send them to you. Now you have to submit pictures of the vehicle.

The last car I registered I sent in my money along with pictures of the car, front, back, both sides and interior. I got a call from the DMV and the lady asked if the car was driveble. From the pictures it looked really rough. I told it wasn't driveable yet and she told me they wouldn't issue a license plate for it but they did send me a new title and registration. I asked how long it would take to get a license plate once I had the car road worthy and she said they have a fast track program they don't publicize that for an extra $4 they'll get you a license plate issued in 48 hours. My suggestion is if you're going to title a collector vehicle in WI take the pictures before you do any work to it. Once you have all the work completed it's not going to look like the $500 beater you started with and they'll give you a hard time about it.

The reason for the pictures, I wanted collector plates, is because they want to make sure of two things. If you want collector plates you have to sign a paper saying the vehicle is all stock. They don't want someone using the discounted pricing of collector plates to operate a modified vehicle. Second, they want proof the car is worth what you are stating you paid for it. They want their tax money. If you bought a completely restored '57 Chevy and the seller marked the title that you paid $500 for it they want to see if it's a $500 car or a $50K show car and you're not trying to pay sales tax for a $500 car that you should really be paying taxes for a $50K car.

The title situation is kind of silly when it comes to our old vehicles. I know they are trying to prevent stolen cars from being bought and sold but most of our vehicles are made up of so many vehicles it's hard to tell where the original base of the vehicle stops and where many of the replacement parts start. In my F-2 I have major parts from at least three vehicles, my panel, F-4 and '37 are the same. I have more replacement parts than original parts on all of these vehicles.

 

Kinda like asking, "how long is a string?"...as most have already said, it depends. California used to be a PITA when it came to the DMV...now the state is so strapped for cash that the DMV will issue a title with almost any paperwork. Go to your local DMV and ask them what they need, if they are anything like California you may have to go to another office to get the answer you like.

 

In Indiana it so easy as ,bill of sale ,cop looks at vin number go to DMV done

 

In Oklahoma all you need is a notorized bill of sale with the name of the registered party, but that only applies to vehicle already registered in OK. Out of state vehicles, or ones that havent been registered in 20 years or so have to have a title. You can also "title 42" a vehicle here. That's a mechanic/storage lean. I went thru a title company, paid $120, and had a title in 3 weeks with no effort on my part besides paying the guy. Thats what I'm doing on my 52, it hasn't been registered in Texas in so long they can't find records of it.

 

since your in madison i assume you want a wi title. As bob said bill of sale is no good if it's a lost title from the state of wi not a problem. if it's a truck that was bought with a bill of sale and being sold agian with a bill of sale not worth it

 

I'm curious, the title you bought where did it come from? Did it have the VIN from the vehicle you wanted to register? How did it get linked to the vehicle you were registering?

 

Lots of good information here. I appreciate all of the replies.

 

Enjoy it while you can, I think discussion of titles, which are legal matter, is frowned on by the admins of FTE.

 

It is a clean green title with the VIN. A title 42 is a mechanics lean. If you don't use a title service it can be done cheap. You fill out a form from the tax commission, pay a tag agency for an owner history report, send a certified letter to the last known address asking if someone is interested in paying the "storage fee" which you name the amount of. Then run an ad in the local paper for 2 weeks along with posting letters in three public places. After all that the state will print up a fresh title if the original owner shows no interest. $120 was well worth it to me to not do all the leg work. It's all legal, it's what shops and storage lots do to claim vehicles that weren't paid for.

 

I agree, $120 is cheap for all that work. I don't know if that will work in WI