StanleyRegister Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 I'm expecting to have a brass car shipped to me from England in June or July. It's of American manufacture. Shipping will be managed by the seller, who has shipped this car overseas numerous times for events. I expect to get help with the customs process. What I'm wondering is, what is the smoothest way to get this car titled in Pennsylvania? There won't be a title from England, but there will be a registration. I'll have a bill of sale. Is there anything else that I can set up to avoid confusion and slowness in the Pennsylvania titling process? Any recent PA experience out there? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gungeey Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Congratulations with your acquisition, If it were me, I would get that question answered by personnel at the PA DMV and by them only. As an aside, it's amazing how some people can go through life seemingly unscathed whilst having not a care in the world. Others, myself included, make valiant efforts to avoid problems yet still get burned. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryLime Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 I live in Pa. and the answer has always been........NO........NO......AND NO ! Even with the Bill of Sale and Registration from Vermont. Same again.......NO ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 (edited) I imported a car from England and titled it with the Illinois DMV (Motto: The Customer is Always Wrong). It was a while ago, but my recollection is they don't have titles as we know it. While it's likely not the same as PA, maybe part of my experience will be helpful. I needed to transfer ownership with the registration. This confused the folks at the DMV to no end. The wanted me to surrender the paperwork and send it to Springfield where somebody would figure things out. I refused as I didn't expect that to end well. I don't leave with a registration, I don't leave the paperwork. I went back on another day and got a different clerk who was more willing to help. Congrats on the purchase and good luck with the DMV. Edited May 3 by CarNucopia (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanleyRegister Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 I bough a car from Maine about 16 years ago, with a bill of sale and a NH registration, which is where it had been previously. NH doesn't have titles for old cars, either. It wasn't too hard to get a PA title then, just needed that stuff and some pictures and a rubbing of the serial number. I was hoping someone might have more recent experience in PA, or know about differences with overseas registration. But thank goodness for gungeey's insight. I appreciate you saving me from a lot of trouble, gungeey. Keep on posting! Something has clearly changed in PA, and it is obviously now impossible to get a PA title for a car that doesn't already have one. I'd better see about getting my deposit back. 😞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gungeey Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Stanley, Ok, I will keep on posting. I didn't say titling was impossible but I do say it's incomprehensible that you wouldn't get an answer to your question PRIOR to your purchasing and shipping a car from Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 I’m sure it is a pretty special car. Kelly, I will send you an email with some suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidinCA Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 When I moved to PA a couple of years ago, I rapidly learned that not all registration places are equal and that finding one with a motivated employee who wants to be helpful made all the difference with older cars. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 7 minutes ago, DavidinCA said: When I moved to PA a couple of years ago, I rapidly learned that not all registration places are equal and that finding one with a motivated employee who wants to be helpful made all the difference with older cars. THIS^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelfish Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 I’m about ready to start a cottage industry here in Montana. Replacing a missing title has gotten harder in the last few years but still isn’t bad. Worst case scenario, park the car in my driveway and we’ll have a police officer record the VIN on the appropriate form. They have also started requiring a surety bond so that’s an extra expense and paperwork. The DMV is 5 minutes away and we could be walking out with license plates 15 minutes after that. Assuming we had all the ducks lined up. The catch is you have to be a Montana resident, so the title would be in my name and address. I’d have to sign it over to you with a bill of sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMaz Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 2 hours ago, DavidinCA said: When I moved to PA a couple of years ago, I rapidly learned that not all registration places are equal and that finding one with a motivated employee who wants to be helpful made all the difference with older cars. I live in PA and have never dealt directly with PADMV. I've found AAA to be very helpful and knowledgeable when dealing with title and registration issues. They seem to know all the tricks. If there is an office nearby, I believe you can use their services without being a member, the fees are just a little higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABear Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 6 hours ago, StanleyRegister said: I'm expecting to have a brass car shipped to me from England in June or July. It's of American manufacture. Shipping will be managed by the seller, who has shipped this car overseas numerous times for events. I expect to get help with the customs process. What I'm wondering is, what is the smoothest way to get this car titled in Pennsylvania? There won't be a title from England, but there will be a registration. I'll have a bill of sale. Is there anything else that I can set up to avoid confusion and slowness in the Pennsylvania titling process? Any recent PA experience out there? Thanks! Common question that pops up a lot.. Should have asked your local PA Notary that handles PADot titles/registration/plates FIRST on how this needs to be handled BEFORE PURCHASING. PA isn't going to directly use a Bill of Sale, instead you will be in for a bumpy expensive and time consuming ride. Lots of forms, and lots of fees and lots of waiting and lots of hoping that it doesn't get rejected by Harrisburg.. Not saying it is impossible, but a properly signed title (seller signed in front of a Notary) would have made it a 10-15 minute process.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABear Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 1 hour ago, SteveMaz said: I live in PA and have never dealt directly with PADMV. I've found AAA to be very helpful and knowledgeable when dealing with title and registration issues. They seem to know all the tricks. If there is an office nearby, I believe you can use their services without being a member, the fees are just a little higher. Correct, title transfers, registration and plates in PA are ALL done via local Notary's which are registered to do these things on behalf of PADMV.. Not ALL Notary's are well versed with antique vehicles or oddball titling issues.. Notary's fill out proper forms, take the processing fees and send everything to Harrisburg where PADMV will issue new title.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 every month a new thread on titling, and most dont even know what they are talking about............ the topic is verbotten. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S. in PA Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 If you are unable to use the available paperwork to obtain a title, there is a fairly simple process that you could use. Get your local county court to declare you the owner of the car using your bill of sale, etc., and then submit the court order with an MV-41 application for title. You will get a PA title this way. I have not tried this with an imported car, but I have obtained many PA titles using this method. It is slow, but it has worked every time. I think it would be wise to make sure that you have adequate proof of the seller's ownership and such, but I can't see why it wouldn't work. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul from PA Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 Older vehicles brought into PA from New York do not have titles, only registrations. Make a note stating England does not have titles only registrations. Your notary will fill out an MV-1 form. trace a copy of the VIN, and or have a mechanic sign the MV-1 form and you should be good to go. Any additional paperwork would be helpful as well. I don't see an issue with it. Good luck with your purchase 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABear Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 5 hours ago, mercer09 said: every month a new thread on titling, and most dont even know what they are talking about............ Do, you live in PA? I suspect you do not. The OP lives in PA. I live in PA. So, I am familiar with how PA handles titles.. For those outside of PA getting their noses bent out of shape on how it works in PA.. You do not directly deal with PA's DMV.. PA DMV uses Notary's to handle all automotive titling, registration transfers and can also issue T plates on behalf of the PA DMV. PA Notary's fill out proper forms for what you need to be done, collects the fees for PA DMV, sends the forms to PA DMV in Harrisburg. Harrisburg reviews the forms and issues a new title in the name and address of the new owner. If Harrisburg finds any problems with the forms and documentation it will get rejected and the process starts over again (you of course must pay to refile each time). For those who don't know what a Notary is.. Read HERE "What is a Notary Public? A Notary Public is an official appointed by a state government to serve the public as an impartial witness during notarizations. Notaries perform notarizations, or notarial acts, to deter fraud and establish that the signer understands the document they're signing and that they're a willing participant in the transaction. There are two primary responsibilities of Notaries: 1) Validate the signer’s identity and 2) Confirm the signer’s willingness and awareness to sign the document or complete the transaction." Having no title doesn't mean it is impossible, but it does involve more documentation than a just a Bill of Sale.. OP should have contacted their local Notary to get detailed info on the process of no title/out of country purchase before buying so they have as much provenance as possible to make things happen as efficient as possible. As always, anyone buying a vehicle especially without a title should already be aware that they should contact their own States DMV or DMV agent on how to make things happen BEFORE committing to buy.. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted May 5 Share Posted May 5 PM sent- well aware.................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intimeold Posted May 5 Share Posted May 5 I live in PA, we were motorcycle and auto dealers, and bought and sold outside of the dealership. Now retired We have found, that there is no definitive answer for ALL transactions , at the PA-DMV This happed some time ago, and probably the DMV employee has already retired. Some years ago we could go to a window at DMV and get walk-in service on titles. That probably has stopped. A clerk at the DMV was having a bad day and made the statement that she was not going to grant anymore reconstructed titles for that day; because she was pissed off. She was a leftover hire from the first affirmative action days. No-one could or would fire her. Welcome to PA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul from PA Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 I do live in PA and I am a Full Service Notary in Pennsylvania. There can be issues with titles and some are created by the person getting the paperwork on DMV's end. Some on mine as well. We are not all perfect. What I stated earlier should suffice in this case. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Deringer Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 This thread made me laugh. I thought Washington was tough regarding titling, but then I learned about Pennsylvania. I purchased a 1914 auto from Pennsylvania. I never titled/licensed it in Washington because it was the beginning of the pandemic, and I didn't know if I was going to keep the car or not. Wa wants money to title your car. Full sales tax (around 8.5%) on the value they say it's worth. Fast forward a few years, and someone from Pennsylvania wants to purchase the car from me. Easy-peasy I think. Pa title going back to Pa. Um, no. That's not how it works. They want me to title it in Wa and turn around and sign it off to sell to a Pa resident. They don't care that it's 3 grand off the top. So I'm guessing, yes, it will be a problem. I'd start and keep searching for the right Notary to guide you though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Cocuzza Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 On 5/6/2024 at 3:52 PM, Jeff Deringer said: This thread made me laugh. I thought Washington was tough regarding titling, but then I learned about Pennsylvania. I purchased a 1914 auto from Pennsylvania. I never titled/licensed it in Washington because it was the beginning of the pandemic, and I didn't know if I was going to keep the car or not. Wa wants money to title your car. Full sales tax (around 8.5%) on the value they say it's worth. Fast forward a few years, and someone from Pennsylvania wants to purchase the car from me. Easy-peasy I think. Pa title going back to Pa. Um, no. That's not how it works. They want me to title it in Wa and turn around and sign it off to sell to a Pa resident. They don't care that it's 3 grand off the top. So I'm guessing, yes, it will be a problem. I'd start and keep searching for the right Notary to guide you though. That's "title jumping" and it is illegal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 So there are two attorney's that have expertise in PA titles. They know the procedure of going to court to obtain one which numerous members have in fact done. Bryan Shook in Mechanicsburg and Bruce Shaw in the Philly area 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Deringer Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 16 hours ago, Joe Cocuzza said: That's "title jumping" and it is illegal I also double-parked down at the courthouse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Cocuzza Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 2 hours ago, Jeff Deringer said: I also double-parked down at the courthouse! That's illegal,too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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