Have you ever been discouraged from buying a vehicle because it lacks a title? Or, have you tried to sell a vehicle without a title? This situation is not uncommon, especially for a project or incomplete vehicle. Often, potential buyers decide against buying the vehicle because they have heard stories of how difficult it is to get a legitimate title, or even because of their past experience trying to do so themselves. Some of their car friends might have inaccurate information, or they might be passing on what they have heard — right or wrong — or simply their opinion. The days of trying to “beat the system” by altering or substituting titles or identification numbers are quickly disappearing as electronic communication has made nationwide tracking quick and efficient. However, obtaining a title is no longer impossible, thanks to the efforts of those groups such as the Wisconsin Specialty Vehicle Council, and following the procedures and regulations is the best way to avoid problems later.

The information presented here is based on Wisconsin regulations, so while it might be similar in other states, it can also vary greatly. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT)/Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) website at wisconsindot.gov contains a wealth of information and is rather easy to search. Answers to questions on titling for any state should be searched online at that state’s website or addressed by phone or in person with the DMV.

When considering a vehicle purchase, determine if there an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or serial number on the vehicle. If one exists on the vehicle, a few different situations will apply.

Sometimes, a seller will say that they once had a title, but have since lost it. If they are being truthful, this might be the best and easiest situation to remedy. If the seller is the last titled owner of the vehicle, they can apply for a replacement title. A few details on this process are listed here later. If the titled owner is deceased and the seller is the legal representative, the process might be slightly more involved. It would be well worth it for the buyer to offer to pay the replacement title fee ($20-25 in Wisconsin). The seller would be wise to get a replacement title before trying to sell the vehicle.

Depending on the age of the vehicle and the state’s regulations, the seller might not have a title, but has a bill of sale to prove legitimate ownership. Individual states might accept this for a title replacement application, so it is imperative to check with the motor vehicle department (and, possibly, get answers from more than one person if you’re not confident with the first answer).

If the VIN can be found (ideally by a personal inspection), but the seller cannot produce a legitimate title or bill of sale, you could buy the vehicle and apply for a “bonded” title (details later). The seller must provide the buyer with a bill of sale, proof of his or her identity and their valid driver’s license number. Quite often in Wisconsin, the DMV may check the VIN as to its accuracy and legal status and a state highway patrol officer may complete a physical VIN inspection. It is suggested that, along with absolute proof of identity from the seller, monies paid to the seller be held in legal escrow and there is a mutual signed agreement stating that if the legal status of the vehicle cannot be confirmed by DMV, all monies paid by the buyer to the seller be returned to the buyer immediately.

If there is not a VIN on the vehicle, you could still buy it and, again, the seller must provide a bill of sale, proof of identity and valid driver’s license number. In Wisconsin, the next step is to complete DMV form MV1 and attach a letter with the MV1 requesting a Wisconsin-assigned VIN. The vehicle would be subject to a state patrol inspection for verification and relevant equipment requirements for the model year of the vehicle’s manufacture. If all is approved, a title and Wisconsin-assigned VIN tag are issued with instructions on where and how the tag must be placed.

A Wisconsin law that is not well known but is very important, especially for the seller, became effective Jan. 1, 2016. Known as 342.41 Identity of Buyer, Seller Notification, the law requires a person who sells a motor vehicle to another person, including transferring a junk vehicle by bill of sale, to submit notification to the DMV that a sale has occurred. (Since state sales tax is collected every time a vehicle is purchased, titled and registered, some people did not register the vehicle in their name if they were going to immediately resell it, thus avoiding the tax.) This law does not apply for transfer to or from dealers or other non-individuals, such as companies, charities and government agencies; this requirement is only for sales from one individual to another individual. Within 30 days of a sale the seller needs to report to WisDOT the VIN, identity of the buyer, sale price and date of sale.

If a title is lost, an application for a replacement can be done online, by mail, or in person at any DMV customer service center offering title and registration services. At the center, the application can be immediately processed for an additional $5 fee. Go to the wisconsindot.gov website and search “replacement title” for information. At this site a person can apply online or can print form MV2119, which can be mailed or taken to a service center.

If there is not a proper ownership document (title or possibly bill of sale) or if there is an incomplete chain of ownership, a surety bond will be required in Wisconsin. Search “bonded title” for details, but the basics are these: First, submit form MV2082 Application for a Bonded Certificate of Title to a Vehicle along with form MV1 Wisconsin Title & License Plate Application and listed fees.

Then, vehicle records will be researched to determine previous ownership of the vehicle and price guides will be used to determine the bond amount. Next, WisDOT will send a letter requesting a surety bond for the determined bond amount. Once WisDOT receives the surety bond, a Wisconsin title will be issued that shows the brand BOND POSTED. This brand will remain in Wisconsin records for five years. After five years, WisDOT will send a letter to the current owner(s) letting them know they can obtain a title without the brand and the surety bond will be returned to the surety company.

Before putting hours, dollars and effort into a project only to find out it can’t be properly titled, save the agony and frustration and follow the procedures and regulations from the beginning.

The Wisconsin Specialty Vehicle Council follows legislation related to modified vehicles as well as all other types of special-interest vehicles. They have worked with the Wisconsin DOT and DMV and State Patrol on formulating laws and regulations. The title bond procedure was greatly improved thanks to the efforts of members Tom Zat and Paul Underwood.

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Bill Durica of Bay Village, Ohio, recently sent Old Cars Weekly an interesting note. Durica said that the publication had provided him with a wealth of useful information and great automotive history, but he still had a question.

“I’ve been enjoying Old Cars Weekly for several years now,” he noted. “I don’t remember seeing information on tracing the ownership history of a vehicle.”

Bill’s Porsche might seem like an easy one to get a previous-owner history on, because of five reasons: it’s a rare car; he is the car’s second owner; he has owned it for 45 years; and he already knows quite a bit about it.

Durica’s car is a 1955 Porsche Speedster that was delivered to Hoffman Motors Corp. in New York on Nov. 21, 1955. He learned this information when he wrote to Porsche Cars of North America for a Certificate of Authenticity. He purchased the car in January 1963, so he has the name of the immediate previous owner.

Durica knows that Max Hoffman was a major importer of Jaguars, Mercedes, Porsches and BMWs in the ’50s, but he apparently sold his businesses in the ’60s.

Others who aren’t as lucky to have a resource such as Porsche Cars of North America, or whose cars have had more than one previous owner, might not know who the other people were who owned their car or how to track them down. If Durica is having a hard time with his Porsche’s history, imagine how difficult it is to trace the ownership history of a car that’s older than his, or one that’s traded hands many more times.

There are many reasons that car collectors seek previous-owner information. First, it is simply fun to know the ownership history of a vehicle. Second, a previous owner might be able to tell you more about your car and verify that it still has the same standard and optional equipment it left the dealership with. You may also learn if the car has been in an accident or had major repairs. Furthermore the previous owner may still have literature, parts or documentation on a car, including photographs. In some car clubs, documentation from the car’s previous owner may also be required to maintain your car’s unique registry number. For some fortunate car owners, their car may have been owned by a famous person, which might increase its value. With so many people claiming a famous owner in their car’s history, documentation is a necessity for the value to be positively affected.

As Durica learned, tracing car ownership is possible, but not easy to do. This is not only because of the passage of time, but also because of a federal law that went into effect in September 1997. The Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, which passed Congress in 1994 and took affect three years later, prohibited state motor vehicle departments from giving records to individuals. The law was drafted because stalkers had used DMV records to obtain people’s addresses. Several states raised states’ rights objections, but the law is still on the books.

If you think you can talk a DMV clerk into bending the law for a car collector, you should visit the British Car Forum’s car history news group at www.britishcarforum.com. It includes a discussion about an Austin-Healey BN6 owner trying to trace registration information on his car. Another British car owner replied that he had asked his Congressman to track down similar information. The Congressman told him, “California is not very friendly to old cars; they want them off the streets.” The privacy law is taken seriously in that state.

Due to the privacy legislation, any hobbyist wishing to trace the history of a car today has a lot of legwork to do, but it is possible to get certain types of information, if you’re a good detective. I have been able to find the previous owners of eight of my 11 cars without help from the DMV.

In 1991, Barbara Spears and Mike Brezden published the book “How to Find Cars & Owners.” It was revised and reprinted in 1992, but the book is out of print today. However, you may be able to find a used copy. Both editions came out before the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act took effect in September 1997. However, the book covers many other aspects of tracing ownership history — not just title searches through state motor vehicle agencies.

The authors start out telling people the reason they should care about past owners. They talk about things to consider — such as the car’s age — and having realistic expectations. “There is no magic computer with an all-encompassing database of past owners,” says Barbara Spears. There are basic instructions, from how to set up a three-ring binder to make a “case file” to how to make phone calls and write letters get positive responses from past owners.

Barbara and Mike covered the investigative techniques involved in searching through a car and looking for clues to past ownership. Are there old registration papers in the glove box? How about an ice scraper with the original dealer’s name? Better yet, an owner’s manual with the GM Protect-O-Plate or Ford Warranty Information Card glued in it? Look under the seats for old pay stubs or bank deposit slips. If you’re lucky, you might find a factory broadcast sheet with all the car’s options listed on it stuck behind the instrument panel or rear seat.

The book tells you what to ask for if you do locate one of the car’s previous owners. This may sound like overkill, but in most cases, the car owner won’t want a pen pal, so it’s important to find out everything possible while you have the opportunity. The book also suggests different questions to ask a car dealer or auction house that might have handled a sale of the vehicle.

If you own a British Car, there is an organization called the British Motor Heritage Industry Trust that can trace production records of a vehicle to tell you when it was built and when and where it came to the United States. It will also document chassis and engine numbers and may help determine if they properly match. There is a set fee for this service, and a certificate is provided. The address is: British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, Archive Department, Heritage Motor Center, Banbury Road, Gaydon, Warwick CV35 OBJ, England.

Below is a list of sources known to the Old Cars Weekly staff that offer some authentication services. Many, if not all, of these sources charge for this service. If the manufacturer of your car is not listed, contact a club that focuses on your car’s manufacturer (a list of car clubs is available at www.oldcarsweekly.com), or contact the manufacturer.

— Angelo Van Bogart

Porsche Certificates of Authenticity
800-PORSCHE (option 5)

Mopars, built from 1962-1980
Galen’s Tag Service, LLC.
Galen V. Govier
PO Box 516
Prairie du Chien, WI 53821-0516
608-326-8061 FAX

Pontiac Historical Service
P.O. Box 884
Sterling Heights, MI 48311-0884
www.phs-online.com

Cadillac and LaSalle
GM Heritage Center
Attn: Cadillac Archives
6400 Center Drive
Sterling Heights, MI 48312-2609

CLICK HERE FOR MORE RESTORATION ARTICLES

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Just in time for the swap meet and “draggin cars out of barns” season in Wisconsin, and the Iola Old Car Show in particular, the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles has made it easier and cheaper to title an untitled vehicle.

The news comes from Tom Zat, an old-car legislation advocate and the curator of the Motorama Museum in Aniwa, Wis.

“Now, if you buy a barn car, preferably you should get a bill of sale, but regardless, the application to get a title will have nothing to do with roadworthyness,” Zat said. “The vehicle does not need to be complete — you just need to have a recognizable portion of the unibody or chassis that contains the VIN. If you have the first three feet of a Whippet — that’s a car and you can title it.”

As long as the vehicle identification number (VIN) is present on the chassis, that Model A hulk or those ’57 Chevy remains can be submitted to the Wisconsin DMV for titling. Owners simply need to fill out an application that asks how the vehicle or components were obtained and include pictures of each side of the hulk and the VIN. If the VIN is illegible, a state patrol office can inspect it.

Once an application is completed and submitted, the DMV will check the VIN to ensure the car was not reported stolen and does not have a lien. If no liens are reported and the vehicle is not stolen property, the state will use the Old Cars Report Price Guide No. 5 or 6 condition rating to determine the vehicle’s value based upon its condition. If the owner disagrees with the value issued by the state, the owner can obtain an appraisal at their own expense.

The new process is a significant change, as during the titling process the Wisconsin DMV previously used the car’s restored value, regardless of condition, to determine its value for tax purposes and the value of the surety bond required to title it. Further increasing the expense of titling an untitled vehicle, the state required a car to be essentially restored before it would issue a title. Thus, owners of barn finds would also have to undertake a significant amount of work without the vehicle being legally their own — a financially risky proposition.

Once the value of the untitled vehicle is agreed upon by its owner, the DMV will require that owner to obtain a surety bond for 1-1/2 times the vehicle’s value (information on bond suppliers will be provided by the state). Zat said the cost of an surety bond for a vehicle valued at less than $5,000-6,000 is approximately $100. After paying the sales tax on the vehicle and the state’s standard $69.50 title fee, the owner will receive a title.

“The rough cost to title a typical jalopy will be about $300,” Zat said. “After you get a title, you can sell it, fix it, you can do whatever you want with it — it’s your car.”

Under the old titling process, Zat said he spent $1,500-1,800 to title a $300 car — and that figure does not include his cost of restoration, which was required to obtain a title and the registration.

The new process only provides a title. To register it for the road with license plates, the owner must complete the car to the point it meets the state’s equipment standards. Owner then must go through the state’s standard licensing process. However, the new title process allows owners to self-certify their cars. That means to register a car, owners must follow the requirements of Chapter 347 of the Wisconsin statutes, which essentially state that a car must maintain the safety features it was originally built with (two tail lamps, seatbelts, etc.).

The title application should be on the Wisconsin DMV website in July, and the titling process is estimated to now take just three to four weeks — a dramatically shorter period than before.

Click here to go to the Wisconsin DMV website to begin titling your untitled vehicle.

The post Wisconsin title process eased for ‘barn finds’ and jalopies appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

Legacy License Plate Program Created by Assemblyman Mike Gatto
Crosses DMV Order Threshold; Will Be Pressed

Sacramento, CA – In 2012, when Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) introduced AB 1658 and created the California Legacy License Plate Program, he wanted to preserve California’s classic-car heritage. However, most enthusiasts often view Sacramento as the source of pesky regulations. But even peskier is the fact that after completing a full restoration of that classic Mustang, a car owner had to affix a seven-digit, bright-white, out-of-period license plate on it. That changed this week.

Monday, the DMV announced that California’s historic black plates with yellow lettering are headed to the presses, and will soon return to California’s roadways. Gatto’s AB 1658 of 2012, the California Legacy License Plate Program, had instructed the DMV to reissue iconic plates from California’s past. According to the DMV, the black plates, which were originally issued from 1963-1969, were among the fastest specialty plates ever to achieve the 7,500 applications necessary to be issued. The Department has therefore begun preparing for the issuance of the plates and expects to begin sending them in the months ahead to those who pre-ordered.

“California motorists are excited about classic license plates,” said Gatto. “Aside from not salting our roads, California doesn’t often do much for automobile enthusiasts. This is an easy way for the state to enable everyone from the backyard restorer, to the nostalgic, to the purchaser of a retro-styled automobile to add that extra bit of detail for those of us who appreciate the classic era of automobile design.”

In addition to the black plates with yellow lettering, the Legacy License Plate Program also offers yellow plates with black lettering and blue plates with yellow lettering. The application for all three classic plates can be found here: http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg17L.pdf

Mike Gatto is the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the California State Assembly. He represents Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Montrose, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Franklin Hills, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, and Silver Lake.

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