How can I get the title for my bike?

[facepants]

When I bought my bike, the owner didn't have the title but she said it was paid off.  We went to the DMV to transfer the bike into my name and they wouldn't register it because there was a lien on the bike.

DMV told us that she had to contact the bank to get the title, and she said she'd do that.

It's been 4 months since I bought the bike and still nothing.  I've emailed her a few times about it and she says she's been trying to contact the bank, but I really don't think it should be that difficult to get the title.

This was my first time purchasing a vehicle directly from the owner and I now realize all of my mistakes. 

What I'm wondering is, if the previous owner disappears for some reason, is there any way for me to get the title myself?  And if she's just screwing around with me, I'd rather do it on my own.

[annguyen1981]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I don't think there's a way for you to get the title in YOUR name without her signature on an OLD title...

What she should do is request a duplicate title.  This will have the LIEN information on it.  She will then need to pay off the loan and get the bank to sign the title completely to her.

THEN, she can sign the title to you and you can be on your way.

Good luck.

[DerekNC]

I had a somewhat similar deal with a Ford Explorer I bought a few years ago. The lady had to get the title from the loan company. The loan company said they had lost the title and had to file for a new one. I asked the DMV if it was possible to register the bike somehow but they said it wasn't possible in my case since the loan company was still technically in possesion of the title. If there aren't any liens on a vehicle it is possible to apply for a lost title in my state(North Carolina). The loan company finally did turn over a title for my Explorer about 6 weeks later. In your case it sounds like the girl just isn't living up to her obligations. Maybe you could send her a little scare like a threat of taking her to court.   

After rereading facepant's post it looks like the original owner may still owe money on the bike. The original owner definitely needs to be contacted to see what the deal is.

[The Buddha]

Park it in a handicapped zone and get a ticket or 10 ... that will remind her.
Honestly I did that to a nighthawk I had without a title. That dude refunded me the $$$ pronto.
Cool.
Srinath.

[coll0412]

Yeah don't mess around with this because you can get really burned.

You are not technically the owner of the bike, the bank is, and can repossess this bike if the previous owner defaults on their payments.
If the bank takes it, your f*ed because your out the money and have no bike. Then you will have to go through legal means to recoupe it. And if the previous owner already defaults on payments, well you can imagine how hard it will be to get back your money.

This happened to someone else on the forum, try searching for it, it may help you out

[ixolas]

I hope you made a bill of sale and/or had some witnesses to the transaction.  I know this sounds shady but she could be stiffing you really badly.  It could be a stolen bike with no title, it could be in default (means she bought the bike and is late on payments) and the bank is looking to repo it and she just needed some cash for christmas, or worst of all she could report it stolen and claim she has never met you before.  I know all these are worst case scenarios but you need to protect yourself. 

The best thing for you to do is go over to her house or work and have her call the bank while your standing there, and don't take no for an answer; if you need to have someone come with you then do that.  One month is the average time it should take for someone to get the title to you, any longer and you need to start calling them often, VERY OFTEN, like every other day.  The more obnoxious you are the more they will want to just finalize the transaction to get you out of their hair, especially if you do it in person.  And btw this is NOT against the law, if you have a bill of sale and no title then you can bother her all the time (within reasonable hours) and it is not against the law.

I had someone do this to me, so after 1.5 months and then he stopped answering my calls I went out to his house.. he magically was never there.  So I went out there at 5 am and sat, blocking their driveway, until he had to leave for work.  I told him I wouldn't stop until I got the title and gave him a week or I would take him to court.  He mailed it to me 3 days later.

[annguyen1981]

Hey SS...

Does that really work?  Nice!

[rob1bike]

Don't buy anything without a title!
Geez!!!
That's like buying the frikn indian ocean.



You could go rob a bank and use it as a get away bike, unless its a gs...winter +gs get away= jail!!!!

[pandy]

When I bought my bike, the owner didn't have the title but she said it was paid off.  We went to the DMV to transfer the bike into my name and they wouldn't register it because there was a lien on the bike. DMV told us that she had to contact the bank to get the title, and she said she'd do that. 

This is where you should have shaken hands with her and told her to give you a call when she has the paperwork finished.  It's possible that she simply didn't have the bank transfer the title into her name after it was paid off, but it sounds fishy. 

It's been 4 months since I bought the bike and still nothing.  I've emailed her a few times about it and she says she's been trying to contact the bank, but I really don't think it should be that difficult to get the title.

It should be a simple matter of filling out a piece of paper (if she was truthful about having paid it off). It shouldn't be difficult at all. 

What I'm wondering is, if the previous owner disappears for some reason, is there any way for me to get the title myself?  And if she's just screwing around with me, I'd rather do it on my own.

Probably not. If it's still in her name, and the DMV won't transfer it w/o her getting the bank's name removed and clearing the lien, then there's likely little you can do (other than small claims court?). If she still owes on it, then it's not her bike to sell; it's the bank's. If it's just a matter of clearing up the paperwork, and she's paid it off, then I don't know why she'd be stalling.

One thing you might impress upon her is that if the bike is still in her name, then she's legally responsible for any accidents that the bike is in. This is how we got the owner of a truck to clear the title by getting it smog'd after we'd taken possession and THEN found out that it hadn't been smog'd: we reminded him that we can't even insur it until it's legally ours, and that *he* was legally responsible for any accidents we caused driving his truck. He parked the truck so quickly it made our heads spin. He had it smog'd and cleared within a day or two, and we had no more problems after that.

Hope this goes your way.....good luck....keep us updated....

[Jarrett]

Easy.  It's called a lien sale.    Somebody parked it on your property and walked off.  You don't want it, and your driveway doesn't function as a free parking lot.  You gotta pay to park in your drive way. 

I did one with my first car about 8 years ago.  I had a lawyer hold my hand through the process.  I sold the car to a friend and then got the title transfered in my name.  You're not screwed, but it's a real pain in the arss.  Here are the Cali laws regarding lien sales of vehicles < $4,000.  Hope this helps.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr7.htm

[The Buddha]

Hey SS...

Does that really work?  Nice!

It does work. However you will have to have a plate on it and have to make sure its not going to get imponded.
I bought a nighthawk for parts from southern CA for $100.
That clown was supposed to send me the title after he got it from the bank, they had it as collateral for a personal loan he had. This bike was such a mess, but I wanted its seat to slap in my other nighthawk and sell it.
Then when he asked the bank, they wanted 1000 bucks to release that title. So he said I can bring it back to him if I wanted the $$$ - I was 400 miles away in northern CA.
I said "Sure" and had it carted to a street side parking in SF that have bikes parked always ... but the end space near hydrant is supposed to be left open.
I got 3-4 tix there, but I was getting impatient and the 35 buck tix were getting to be too slow (though I believe they take 3 weeks to send out the damn thing) ... so I found a handicapped spot in my town and parked it there couple times.
Almost instant ticket cos I believe the store that it is in front of will call the cops if they see a violation. $275 each.
I got a call almost the instant he got the ticket. I had my $100 back and I went ... you prolly have a few more tix comming just for screwing me over. But here is the plate, so you wont get any more. I had him send the $$$ to my work address so he wont know where I lived.
Its not a way to get a title, its just a way to screw over a un cooperative Previous owner. If only I can get even with my clown ass friend for screwing over his savage before selling it to me ... then I should be good.
Cool.
Srinath.

[facepants]

When I went to the DMV we got it partially transferred to my name, so I don't know if that ticket thing will work.  They might end up coming to me 

I don't have the papers on me to check.

About that lien sale thing, what happens to the lien that the bank has on the bike?  Wouldn't that only work if there was no previous lien on the bike and I made a new one based on it being parked here?

[blue05twin]

Buy a clean frame with a title.  Transfer everything from the bike you bought to that one.  Then take the bike abd get it registered.

[werase643]

Buy a clean frame with a title.  Transfer everything from the bike you bought to that one.  Then take the bike abd get it registered.

sounds like 1-2-3 for how to fix this stolen bike i got.....

[Jarrett]

About that lien sale thing, what happens to the lien that the bank has on the bike?  Wouldn't that only work if there was no previous lien on the bike and I made a new one based on it being parked here?

It works like this.  Say the bank owns the bike, and the nuckle head that they sold it to owes them 1k.  He dumps it in your driveway.  You send a letter to the bank and let them know that you've stored the bike for X amount of months and they owe you X amount of money for the storage fee.  They can either pay it and pick it up, or they can let you sell it at a lien auction and then they can go after the guy that defaulted.  Read up about it.  It works, it's a pain, but it's worth it.  Mechanics use a similar lien.  Vehicles that are brought to a shop, worked on, and abandoned are sold to recoupe the expense of the larbor and parts.

[ixolas]

Mechanics use a similar lien.  Vehicles that are brought to a shop, worked on, and abandoned are sold to recoupe the expense of the larbor and parts.

Yup thats exactly what happens when they don't come pick up their car.

[facepants]

It works like this.  Say the bank owns the bike, and the nuckle head that they sold it to owes them 1k.  He dumps it in your driveway.  You send a letter to the bank and let them know that you've stored the bike for X amount of months and they owe you X amount of money for the storage fee.  They can either pay it and pick it up, or they can let you sell it at a lien auction and then they can go after the guy that defaulted.  Read up about it.  It works, it's a pain, but it's worth it.  Mechanics use a similar lien.  Vehicles that are brought to a shop, worked on, and abandoned are sold to recoupe the expense of the larbor and parts.

I was looking at the forms and stuff threatening fines and jail time if the info is not the truth... do you think this will work even though the bike is registered in my name?

[DerekNC]

If you know where she lives you can pay her a visit. Insist on her accompanying you to her bank. You might also find out what bank it is and explain your situation to the manager there. I'm sure there's privacy issues but once they know what the situation is they should work toward rectifying the problem.

[pantablo]

I was looking at the forms and stuff threatening fines and jail time if the info is not the truth... do you think this will work even though the bike is registered in my name?

I remember you mentioning something about "partial" title in your name? is that right? if the bank wouldnt release the title to her/you how do you figure at all on the title?

[Jarrett]

The bike is registered in the name of the person who owns it legally.  How did you register the bike in your name without the title?  It should be registered in the name of the woman you bought it from with a bank lien annotated on the title.  If you're worried about the lien sale, drop the bike at a good friends house and get them to do it.  There are always loopholes.  Contact a lawyer if you aren't comfortable working in grey areas of the law.