Title Woes

R

rmak

Senior Member
I live in Ohio. I bought my 29 roadster project with a title from a gentleman in New York state. He had never transferred the title to a New York one, so the title I got was from a western state, Kansas or Nebraska if my memory serves.

The reason I didn't transfer the title was because the car would not run and was not street legal. In Ohio you need to present the out of state vehicle for inspection before an Ohio title can be made. Since the car was a project I was waiting to be able to drive it to the title bureau.

Now for the woes part. Our house was broken into and our safe with all of our documents was taken. the un-transferred title was in the safe.

I attempted to contact the previous owner in New York for information, but that was a dead end.

I am wondering if anyone here has any idea how I can secure a title. From everything I've read and heard, Ohio is one of the worst states for dealing with title issues. No one from our department of motor vehicles was able to even offer a suggestion.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Make a copy of your police report on the robbery of the safe etc. and take it to your state's title issuing department. If you get a hard time work your way up the chain of command.
 
Don't know if this is any help but in Mi. you can apply for a title with a Bill Of Sale and the motor/vehicle #. That info with the police report should start you on your way.
 
the problem i see with posts 2&3 is that the title was never transferred into rmak's name so he wouldnt have a legal leg to stand on
just go through the states procedure of obtaining a title from a project car
 
Last edited:
rmak,

I would contact my insurance company and see if they can sell you a Surety Bond in order to obtain a Bonded Title.

I did a quick search regarding Bonded Title in Ohio and came up with one company (open 7 days a week) who claims "• BONDS - AUTO TITLE SURETY BONDS WHEN NO TITLE IS AVAILABLE" • BONDS - Ohio Auto Title Company
1-877-845-2368

In Alaska, I got a bond for my Phaeton for $100.00 which was in effect for 3 years, nothing appeared on the Title so after the 3 years my Title is clear. A bill of sale was required and DMV wanted to verify the engine number and make sure it was assembled and not a pile of parts.

Good luck, Lookings Free

Darryl in Fairbanks
 
I Just put together a 30 ccpu from parts that I have bought over the years. I didn't have a title so in Indiana I applied for a assembled vehicle title and had no trouble getting it.
 
An inspection is not required in OH
everyone claims this state is difficult, but it is not
not the easiest state, but certainly not what it is made out to be.
PM me at rdz69@aol.com
 
RHOLDE said:
I Just put together a 30 ccpu from parts that I have bought over the years. I didn't have a title so in Indiana I applied for a assembled vehicle title and had no trouble getting it.
Click to expand...

Yes, good, but last time I looked, Indiana laws did not work in Ohio.

This,as well as other posts here and on the HAMB only continue to illustrate how important titling a car can be. If you are reading these posts and don't settle the titling issues now, you have only yourself to blame and better not come crying to us. Fix it now!

For the OP, I'd contact your state representative for help with the DMV, plus AAA and possibly a lawyer. Best of luck.
 
Hi rmak,

You may want to first inquire if your state is similar to some other states which allow judges & even local district justices-of-the-peace to review your predicament & issue an order to direct DMV to issue a vehicle title & override all DMV rules & refusals to issue you a vehicle title.

Worth a try -- hope this helps.
 
I had a similar problem. I bought a car last titled in Wyoming from a guy in Colorado.

I suggest you contact your circuit court and inquire into a "declaratory judgement". You can use all the evidence that you own the car (photos, BoS, receipts etc). A deposition of the events is good to have as well. I hired a lawyer to go to court for me.

Essentially you'd be asking the court to declare ownership, and then direct your state to issue you a title.

I just did this and I now have a clean title with no restrictions....
 
ronn said:
An inspection is not required in OH
everyone claims this state is difficult, but it is not
not the easiest state, but certainly not what it is made out to be.
PM me at rdz69@aol.com
Click to expand...

You are absolutely 100% incorrect. If you buy a car from out of state, an out of state inspection to verify the Vin match the car and the title are required. I went through this a year ago in Ohio. Title will not be issued without the inspection.
 
After buying a car from Texas with no title I went to the local court house in Norwalk Ohio and asked how to get a new title.I needed to contact B.M.V. in Columbus and have them send me a letter stating that the car was not in the Ohio data base.After that I wrote a note describing how I received the car and stating that I owned it outright and took these back to the court clerk.She put the matter on the court docket for the judge to look at and charged me 50 dollars court fee.after about a week I had a court order for B.M.V. to issue a title.I did not have to have the auto inspected.
 
Way to go droptopper .......... !!!!!!

Proud of your courage, bravery, outstanding intestinal fortitude to investigate & move forward & beat the hell out of this ridiculous lopsided system that most do not care to fight.
 
DROPTOPPER said:
.......She put the matter on the court docket for the judge to look at and charged me 50 dollars court fee.after about a week I had a court order for B.M.V. to issue a title.I did not have to have the auto inspected.
Click to expand...

I'm going through the same thing here in Missouri on my '31 roadster. I have a signed bill of sale, a verified vin check by the highway patrol and a clear search by the county sheriff's office to be sure it doesn't appear on any stolen car list but still the DMV would not issue a title.
According to the DMV the only recourse was to go to the local circuit court and file for a declaratory judgement against the state DMV requiring them to issue a title.
So I went down and paid my $43 to have the court file an action against the state.
After about 2 months the state finally sent a response to the action stating essentially that they had no information that would prevent issuance of a title.
So far it's been over 3 months but I finally have a court date later this month to have the matter finalized and get the form to requiring a title to be issued.
In the meantime I'm racking up late title application fees every month beyond the 30 day grace period for getting the car registered.
It's been a hassle but better than having to get a salvage or builder title as this way it will be a clean Missouri title.
 
Don't tell them you the car is titled from New York, they don't know. Just apply for a new title in your state. If they want documentation have some buddies write you sales slips for a couple hundred worth of "parts".
 
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