Michigan title

85notch

85notch

Club Member
Looking at buying 1965 mustang. Current owner lost the title in a house fire and never put it in his name. Does anyone have any tips on this?
 
Police officer already ran the vin and it’s clear. But what I was reading on the sos website sounds like a lot of hoops. Just didn’t know if anyone has done this.
 
If I had to have this car and I somewhat trusted the current "owner" :

I would move forward *** very carefully *** with a small (refundable) deposit
and sale *** contingent *** to me receiving a "good & marketable title".

Get everything in writing.
 
It's not bad to deal with a 10 years or older untitled/lost/missing vehicle as long as you can get proof that it was cheap. Put like $1400 on the bill of sale (limit is $2500).

I've done it several times, even on boats, but I make sure that the seller isn't a dirtbag and I make them pay dearly for their laziness. It's not hard, you just have to make sure it's not contested/stolen/lien/estate/etc.

The bill of sale doesn't absolve you of any potential problems, it means that the person that sold it to you sold a stolen item (and they are the responsible party) but you get your bill of sale money back in court. Which I think is why it is limited to $2500... to make people risk losing more if they're going to be lazy.

They will ask you who the last known owner it was that you knew, you tell them the bill of sale. Then they ask you if you contacted them to get the title (because they will look up the VIN and see who last titled it/registered it) and when it doesn't match that is when they ask you if you were able to contact the person with the bill of sale's name on it to get them to get the title from the titled owner.

My Dad has lost countless titles over the years (well, can't find them) and it's stupid easy to get a new one. So when someone says they lost it they probably never had it.
 
I've bought quite a few vehicles without a title. It is pretty easy to get one for an older vehicle in Michigan. Any questions feel from to Pm me. Text below taken from Secretary of state website.


A completed TR-205 Certification of Ownership (available on-line at all Secretary of State offices) stating you are the rightful owner of the vehicle and including the vehicle description, the true value of the vehicle, and a complete explanation of how, when, where, and from whom the vehicle was acquired; and

b) Either of the following:

A vehicle value appraisal completed by a licensed Michigan dealer, or
A page printed from an on-line appraisal service such as Kelly Blue Book, N.A.D.A. Guides, Edmunds, etc. (www.kbb.com, www.nadaguides.com, www.edmunds.com).
On-line appraisal sites may provide multiple vehicle values (wholesale value, trade-in value, and retail value). Any of these values showing a value of $2,500 or less may be accepted.
 
Update: I picked the car up last week and the title is ordered and on the way takes up to 30 days to come in the mail.

Provided the bill of sale to the SOS with an appraisal on the car(under $2500). Paid the sales tax and title was ordered.
 
4Gas$ said:
Post up some photos of that bad boy!






Indeed!
Click to expand...


This car is going to be a cruiser that we put together for my dad, been looking a long time for a good solid project for a deal. I will get some pictures going now that we got the title in the mail. We did not touch the car until we had the title in hand. It is now unloaded and in the garage.
 
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