title problems, scrap or what?

I bought my xj550 off the side of the road for 400$ and put about 300$ into it. When I bought it the owner gave me a title and bill of sale. When I looked at it later I realized the title was from Georgia, we live in Alabama. He never got his title transfered so im stuck with a fake bill of sale and the previous owner is nowhere to be found. Went to the courthouse and all was well until I miswrote my zipcode on the title and now i have to get some forms signed infront of a notory by the Georgia owner due to 'alteration of the title'. I can't contact him, what do I do? I worked so hard on this bike and I can't ride it around legally

 

Maybe go back and explain the situation and hope for some sympathy... If you already got another title sent off, then the wrong zip code on your end should not be as big a deal as they are making it.... If all else fails, just send in for a lost title, might take a little time but might be able to get it on the road by this time. Or maybe you can get it checked out by the State Police of where you are at, they might be able to assist you or at least offer you better advice...

 

You've got quite the pickle there. In searching I found this that's going to be important to you:

Applying to Georgia for a lost title may not cut it for titling the bike in Alabama. I would suggest you talk to someone at the Dept. of Revenue or Dept. of Licensing in both Alabama and Georgia. Having possession of both the bike and the title may help you.

I just found this, "Just bought a new vehicle? A guide for obtaining a tag and title in Mobile County" (.pdf). It has some useful information, too.

 

I had a similar problem. I bought a pair of bikes from a guy I know here. They were both fun...

One had no title. I knew that, but that didn't make it fun.

The other title was a mess. The "VIN" was only a partial - the 9 digits on the steering neck - TO A DIFFERENT XJ BIKE. It was for a 750, not a 650, and the rest of the digits weren't even close to EITHER bike now in my possession.

Fortunately, I hadn't put any money into them yet, but bear with me.

So I went to the DMV and asked them WTF? They said I should contact the Highway Patrol's inspection station. So I called THEM and they sent a guy out to look at the bikes.

This guy was pretty cool. He'd been on bikes before and we talked a while. He was able to reconstruct the full VINs of both bikes and also ran the (old) plates that were with the bikes and verified that neither one had been reported stolen. He also showed me where the VIN stickers are... which had been PAINTED OVER! He suggested carb cleaner to get the paint off, but that destroyed the sticker. He couldn't give me the VINs (legal reasons), but I can rebuild a VIN as well - I'm smart! - and he WAS able to verify that I got it right. Turns out this is pretty important, too, since you can't get ANYTHING done without the correct VIN.

SO...

He told me that since it didn't look like they were stolen and that it was obviously a comedy of errors with no criminal intent (sale of a vehicle w/o a valid title is a felony in MO), that I really had two options:

1) Find the last owner who actually had a valid title, get that person to apply for a lost title, and then transfer it. Nice, clean, legal, and totally impossible. (BELIEVE ME I TRIED.)

2) Claim that the vehicles were abandoned on my property. In Missouri, you then fill out a bunch of paperwork, get the vehicles inspected by the Highway Patrol (you can get a permit to drive it there), pay the taxes (based on a reasonable - totally made up - estimate of its value), and you're done. They mail you a title.

I left out a couple of details, since they take longer to explain than it's worth, but that's basically it. Took me several months to figure it all out, but I could get it done again in about a month if I had to do it again.

So ask around at the DMV. If your state doesn't have any sane way out, bring it here, leave it on my lawn with the keys, and I'll sell it back to you for the cost of the fees in about six weeks.

 

hmm the abandoned vehicle idea sounds good. I don't own property, just renting... how am I ever going to pull this off? What are the penalties for riding with no plates if you have insurance on the bike?

 

Oh and how much do you guys think I can get for a running xj550 if I peice it out on ebay?

 

Riding with no plates is probably just a ticket and a fine. However, keep in mind that until you have a valid title, you don't legally OWN the thing. Riding an unlicensed bike that isn't even yours is likely to get the bike impounded. Bad, bad, bad idea. Same thing goes for parting it out on eBay. I wouldn't recommend that you start taking apart a bike that you don't legally own.

Get the title straightened out. It's much, much simpler that way.

Georgia may not be as stupid as Missouri is about title searches. If you have the complete VIN of the bike, the DMV may be able to tell you who the last registered owner of the bike is. Getting that person to cooperate may not even be necessary (MO only requires 30 days notice that you intend to retitle), but if he does, you could be done in less than a day! As far as declaring it abandoned, it doesn't have to be on your property. It likely just has to be in your possession. I know that when I filled out the forms here, I didn't exactly provide a lot of detail and no one asked a lot of questions. I think they figured that it would be pretty ballsy to show up and start filing papers if it wasn't legit. :wink:

 

Write it up like you did for us and send a letter to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles with a full and complete explanation. Include a page with the VIN Number and a State Police search against stolen VIN's.

If you come-up clean ... your good-to-go.

If that don't work, but, ... I highly suspect it will ... go to a Dealership and see it they will help you re-title it as abandoned or get you a Salvage Title.

Then, ... all you need is for it to Pass Inspection and you'll be able to ride it legal and not worry about the cops.

I have an unusual situation that comes-up occasionally. 2-Bikes, both Purple and both Yamaha's.

Sometimes I take the plate off of the one its on and clean it. Then, I mistakenly put it on the wrong bike. Since its easier to ride the wrong bike than it is to take-off the plate ... I go riding and make surue I don't speed or run a Red Light!

 

I've been doin that for years ! never been caught, just ride "normal" whatever that is. So this kid is pushing a 650 turbo down the street! I buy it on the spot. It has 2,400 miles and runs. to title it all I have to do is impound it and pay $300 thru a tow company. I'm holding it as-is for now.

 

If it hasn't been registered in a while you can probably go through a title service. My brother had a Honda Magna with a messed up title and it took him almost 4 months to get it straitened out through the state (New York). His last project he went through a title service, it cost him $100 (or $150, I don't remember) and he got a new title, a Maine license plate, and a years registration. The next year he had transfer the registration to NY but that was easy since he had a good title to do it with.

I would look up your state laws then go to the DMV, there has to be a way. If that doesn't seem to work and the bike is worth it then call the title service (I can get you the name and more info if you want).

 

In Georgia, I knew someone who got a title bond for a bike he bought without a title. I think it cost him $200.

I had a weird title issue in GA on my first XJ750. I paid $400 for it and the guy gave me the paperwork from where a salvage place had sold it a while after it had been impunded for some reason . It was a judges order saying they could sell it. It had been sold a few times and each time that paperwork was given too, but never signed buy the buyer. I applied for the title and it got sent back saying I had to get a law enforcement officer to write down the vin and sign it. The paperwork had the number off the engine, and not the vin.

At one time in GA if a vehicle was at least a certain age, you didn't have to have be given a title when you bought it. You just needed a bill of sale and could use that to apply for a title. I think it was 20 or 25 years old it had to be, but not sure.

I am in North Carolina now and the bike I just bought has a North Dakota title. It's a clean title, but the guy moved here before he paid the bike off and it was sent to his address in NC. The ND title has his NC address on it and is dated 1987. He never had it registered here.