Offer Insults Seller

[Pontiac59]

Lots of interesting comments here... good food for thought...

I'll add one more... if the vehicle in question is going to cost a significant amount of money ( like, more than $500), make da__ed-sure it has a valid, negotiable title whose vehicle serial-number can be found somewhere on the vehicle itself.

If it doesn't have a clear title, than it's "value" might only be that of a parts-car at best, or "Scrap" at worst.

And a signed, "open" title from five owners ago might not be valid today( especially if the last legal owner signed in the wrong place and has passed away or disappeared), depending on what state you are living-in / going to register the car in...

It really rubs salt in a wound to pay big $$$ for a vehicle, then have to spend further time & aggravation to make it legally yours...

Good luck to you !

On the other hand, in some states no title is utterly meaningless. It may be as simple as a notarized form or two and a DMV or police inspection of the car's VIN or serial number. In New York, it's even more simple than that - two forms, no notary, no inspection, just a pencil etch or photo of the serial number and a few other things and you walk out with plates on the spot. They check the number against old hot sheets (and presumably the record of VINs showing as scrapped) and if clear you get a transferrable registration in a few weeks. Cost? Zero, beyond the usual cost of insurance and registration.

[Restorer32]

Where would I transfer the '53 Cadillac title I got with a car I bought in NY? Seems the seller bleached out the previous owner's signature before selling the car with a "good PA title".