TitleRecovery

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YING

Pittsboro,NC
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Does anyone have any experience with a title recovery service?The bike has been in the same family since bought new in 1966.The first quote I got was $585.00 which I thought was very expensive.All I am looking for is a duplicate title as the original was lost.
Thanks
Mike
 
Does anyone have any experience with a title recovery service?
Had recieved a untitled Penn bike that the NJ seller guy used a title service. Forgot the origin state (?nevada) but for all that money it was actually "washed" through new hampshire . It was kind of useless as the title/frame VIN# had a typo. I ran it through Mass (my resident state) and got it sorted but not without a lot of grief, paperwork and the typical blood money contribution to the GOVT.
You must study the laws of the bikes current legal home.
Here in mass, any pre title vehicle can be validated with any government paper like OLD mass registration or old mass town excise tax bill, who knows even a old mass speeding ticket with the vin?
 
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As stated above, it really all comes down to the state you wish to register or title the bike in.

I registered my Norton in NY without a title or old reg. All needed was bill of sale, photo of bike and photo of VIN. For any bike 1972 and older the registration IS the title in NY. I've done this with a few bikes.

Or you can go the Vermont route and conduct the whole process by mail.
Vermont will send you a reg and plate in the mail even if you don't live in VT. You can then transfer this "registration" (which serves as a title in VT, like NY) to a title in your home state.
Read more here: VT REG

Might be more of a headache but won't cost you more than govt fees and title transfer service fee. Much less than 600$
 
Yup, it varies by state. Here in CT a title is not required to register a vehicle over 20 years old, bt if you want a duplicate title only the registered owner may request it.
 
I'd start with your home state and see what options they may be able to offer. I'd be (pleasantly, surprised if a title that old could be found given the transition from "live" document storage to computer systems and the many different software/hardware changes any state has gone through. As an example, my godfather, in upstate New York, gave me a 1971, R75/5 that his daughter gave him as a gift from a seller in California. My godfather never registered the bike and it had been stored by him for about 8 years. When I picked up the BMW it came with a California title, but when I went to re-title it the wunderkind in the Massachusetts DMV said it was too old and that they could not verify the CA title. I used to find people for a living when I was doing software recruiting; it didn't take to long to find the seller, who works at Google, of all places. I explained the situation and sent him a California replacement title form along with a money order and an addressed envelope, all he would have to do is sign the form, enclose the money order and send it off. Bottom line was that CA had changed the IT environment so many times that they couldn't find the title.

I was bitching about this to a friend that owns a dealership who, in essence, washed the title into his inventory and "sold" it back to me.

There are many ways to get this done. I have used Vermont and I have friends all over the states that I can sell to, they register the motorcycle and sell it back to me. Some state's DMVs want to physically see the machine, some don't. I checked into a few title services and they charge high fees and usually use Vermont. The "call-on-a-friend" costs me about $300, Vermont's fees depend on what they charge for sales tax, but cost me about $250, the down side is that they want the VIN verified by a local LEO, then want a letter from his/her department saying that he/she is a bonafide member of that department, which one was willing to do and one was not.

Not that is applies in your case, but I strongly suggest that anyone buying a vehicle with or with a title call your local PD and have them run the VIN before you shell out any money. Additionally, and as a courtesy, call them before you lock-and-load so they have a heads up.

Best.
 
Thanks for all the replies as I thought the $585.00 was totally absurd!
 
Pittsboro, NC, if my eyes aren't playing tricks on me.

Best

If this is the case, Vermont is your best bet. You will need to have the bike/VIN inspected and verified by a LEO in NC (if bike is over 300cc). Then mail all required docs/fees to Vermont DMV, then have the Vermont reg/title transfered to a NC title. Easy.
 
BE AWARE NC HAS BEEN KNOWN TO IMPOUND UNREGISTERED BIKES.

I would ordinarily recommend VT (have used them more than a dozen times), bit will NOT recommend them where NC is concerned.

You MIGHT get a sympathetic official, and you might NOT...

If an unsympathetic officer is inspecting the bike, and you have no valid proof of ownership, that's when the potential for impound will arise.
 
f this is the case, Vermont is your best bet. You will need to have the bike/VIN inspected and verified by a LEO in NC. Then mail all required docs/fees to Vermont DMV, then have the Vermont reg/title transfered to a NC title. Easy.

They also (used to) require a letter from the LEO's department, that's the hard part. Last time I checked they were pushing for the purchase of insurance, but I haven't looked into this route for a while.


I have friends all over the states that I can sell to, they register the motorcycle and sell it back to me.


More specifically. Tennessee requires (at least they did 4 years ago) a notarized bill of sale and an etching of the VIN number. You sell the bike to him/her and they pay sales tax, registration fee(s) and insurance. They get a plate, certificate of registration and a title; costs between $250 and $300, then sell it back to you with title; you are good to go, takes about 2-3 weeks.

Best
 
BE AWARE NC HAS BEEN KNOWN TO IMPOUND UNREGISTERED BIKES.

I would ordinarily recommend VT (have used them more than a dozen times), bit will NOT recommend them where NC is concerned.

You MIGHT get a sympathetic official, and you might NOT...

If an unsympathetic officer is inspecting the bike, and you have no valid proof of ownership, that's when the potential for impound will arise.

Can you ride an unregistered bike with no registration in Texas? Or anywhere else for that matter?
As long as the bike is registered and insured in your name you can ride wherever you'd like. If you go riding around public roads with no paperwork you deserve to have your bike impounded.
 
BE AWARE NC HAS BEEN KNOWN TO IMPOUND UNREGISTERED BIKES.

I would ordinarily recommend VT (have used them more than a dozen times), bit will NOT recommend them where NC is concerned.

You MIGHT get a sympathetic official, and you might NOT...

If an unsympathetic officer is inspecting the bike, and you have no valid proof of ownership, that's when the potential for impound will arise.
I agree - don't mess with NC or VA.

I wanted to buy an untitled Triumph from a guy in FL - I wouldn't complete the deal without a clean title. He said to say it was a GA bike and that they didn't title bikes in 1974. I told him to do it himself in FL. He walked into the FL DMV with a bill of sale from GA. The FL DMV checked to see if it was listed and stolen and then gave him a clean FL title. The only restriction was that it could not be retitled for 30 days. I paid him $50 extra to covered the costs. This was in 2016.
 
Can you ride an unregistered bike with no registration in Texas? Or anywhere else for that matter?
As long as the bike is registered and insured in your name you can ride wherever you'd like. If you go riding around public roads with no paperwork you deserve to have your bike impounded.
I've had MANY unregistered bikes in my possession, but ALWAYS had a valid Bill of Sale. In Texas, if I have a valid Bill of Sale, NOBODY is taking the bike.

Not sure what you're getting at...
 
I've had MANY unregistered bikes in my possession, but ALWAYS had a valid Bill of Sale. In Texas, if I have a valid Bill of Sale, NOBODY is taking the bike.

Not sure what you're getting at...

Just curious how or why an officer would impound your bike if you asked them to verify the VIN. Especially if the bike has been in the family since 1966 and is currently not on the road. They can't just roll up to your garage and impound whatever they'd like and if they can I suggest you move.

Need more details, don't even know if we're talking about NC.
 
Just curious how or why an officer would impound your bike if you asked them to verify the VIN. Especially if the bike has been in the family since 1966 and is currently not on the road. They can't just roll up to your garage and impound whatever they'd like and if they can I suggest you move.

Need more details, don't even know if we're talking about NC.
Yes, NC. A fellow on one of the forums even HAD A BILL OF SALE! He called for a physical VIN inspection, the cop came out, then called for the paddy wagon when he could not produce a form of registration or title. It has been too long, I don't remember WHICH of the dozens of forums I'm on (I know it wasn't fecebook, probably one of the Delphi forums).

THE BIKE WAS NOT STOLEN.

"Caveat Emptor"
 
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Yes, NC. A fellow on one of the forums even HAD A BILL OF SALE! He called for a physical VIN inspection, the cop came out, then called for the paddy wagon when he could not produce a form of registration or title. It has been too long, I don't remember WHICH of the dozens of forums I'm on (I know it wasn't fecebook, probably one of the Delhi forums).

THE BIKE WAS NOT STOLEN.

"Caveat Emptor"

That is outrageous
 
Don't want to derail this thread so I'll start a new, related thread on how to obtain title on a bike built out of various parts from multiple donor bikes.
 
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