i fucked up, anything i can do...

[DrLove'sKuDang]

short of getting a hold of the seller and having him get a new title for me?

heres the situation. i bought the car a few months back from a socal member. i took the papers to the dmv and got it in the process of change of ownership. it wasnt completed because i hadnt passed smog yet. so i paid the reg fee, had a paper stating it was put into my name, and i was to come back with those papers after i passed smog.

well i just passed smog, but now i cant find the papers. the dmv tells me they cant do anything without the papers. i tried arguing, but of course, useless.

it makes no fucking sense to me. when i first bought the car, i had it put in my name and paid for the registration, they have record of that. to even get that far, i would have needed the title as proof of ownership. the only reason i didnt walk out of the dmv with a new title in my name that day was because of smog, which was also state in the computer.

today, they confirm all this, and also tell me that the smog completion went through, yet they wont do shit for me. im so fucking irritated. ive been through so much shit for this car, and now that its legal, i cant register the fuckin thing.

[Ralphie]

Wow.

That is retarded policy at its best.

Cliff notes

Basically they took you 95% through the registration process and you had to pass smog....you passed smog but lost your paperwork and now they wont sign off on it because you dont have the paperwork that they know you had to have had to get to the point your at.

That really sucks man.

This is why i make copies of EVERYTHING nowadays, people think im stupid and wasting paper. Fuck trees i know firsthand how fucked things can get when important docs go missing.

How hard did you look for the paperwork?

Are you at the point where you KNOW the paperwork is gone?

[DrLove'sKuDang]

yes i am. ive looked everywhere. even places i know it couldnt be... under a couch, in my moms office, in the tl's glovebox. ive looked everywhere i can think of multiple times.


in a situation like this, would the car just be permanetly frozen? what if you buy a car from someone, then they move away or do anything to make them unreachable? i know, the seller is supposed to smog first, but im sure that doesnt happen 100% of the time. and if a smog is necessary, then the dmv shouldnt have let me start the transfer process until i had one.


hypothetically speaking, lets say i can never get a hold of the original owner? is there ANYTHING i can do?

[Ralphie]

yes i am. ive looked everywhere. even places i know it couldnt be... under a couch, in my moms office, in the tl's glovebox. ive looked everywhere i can think of multiple times.


in a situation like this, would the car just be permanetly frozen? what if you buy a car from someone, then they move away or do anything to make them unreachable? i know, the seller is supposed to smog first, but im sure that doesnt happen 100% of the time. and if a smog is necessary, then the dmv shouldnt have let me start the transfer process until i had one.


hypothetically speaking, lets say i can never get a hold of the original owner? is there ANYTHING i can do?

Well unless im confused i was told that if the title goes missing or the owner disappears you can contact the state it was last titled in or originally titled in and pay them a fee and they will send you the title. Something to that affect.

[Shag Wagon]

Fuck the DMV.

[DrLove'sKuDang]

Basically they took you 95% through the registration process and you had to pass smog....you passed smog but lost your paperwork and now they wont sign off on it because you dont have the paperwork that they know you had to have had to get to the point your at.

you couldnt be more correct. and i gotta say, that statement is so confusing, it almost doesnt make sense... and it happened to me!


i was told today by two different dmv employees that "we cant do anything without the original paperwork".

on a side note. what would you call "going postal" at the dmv?

[DrLove'sKuDang]

Well unless im confused i was told that if the title goes missing or the owner disappears you can contact the state it was last titled in or originally titled in and pay them a fee and they will send you the title. Something to that affect.

shit man, i lost california's phone number when i got a new cell.

i emailed the guy, i just hope he can help me out.

[deevergote]

If it was already transferred to your name, shouldn't you be the one that can get the title?

It makes no sense to me...





Are the papers gone, or just lost somewhere? I'd be tearing everything apart trying to find them... might be an easier task than getting the DMV to do something that makes sense.

[fatboy1185]

Isn't a new title with your name on it being mailed to you?

[FDAccord]

And when you do find them --- get a filing cabinet.

[DrLove'sKuDang]

If it was already transferred to your name, shouldn't you be the one that can get the title?

It makes no sense to me...





Are the papers gone, or just lost somewhere? I'd be tearing everything apart trying to find them... might be an easier task than getting the DMV to do something that makes sense.

this is what happened.

-i got the car
-went to the dmv, did the transfer of ownership paperwork, paid the reg fees
-completion and a new title with my name were put on hold until i could pass smog
-3 months go by, i pass smog, go back to dmv
-they confirm everything
-i had title to start transfer, paid fees, and now produced a smog cert.
-they will not complete transfer until i show them them paperwork(title) again.
-i dont have the paperwork, nor can i find them anywhere.



i asked the lady if she could print out whoever is registered to the vin listed on my insurance card. she did. it showed myself as well as the original owner. she gave an example, not that it helped me in any way... if i drive the car and get a ticket, one will also be sent to the original owner. its like we're both owners, but i cant take sole ownership until i show them the title again... which again, i cannot find.


im so frustrated im about to shit myself. they make it seem like, if i cant contact the original owner, im stuck with a 3000lb paper weight.

[deevergote]

So can you get a duplicate title? Do you need the original owner (well, the one you got it from) to be there to request it as well?

[DrLove'sKuDang]

So can you get a duplicate title? Do you need the original owner (well, the one you got it from) to be there to request it as well?

according to the dmv, the seller needs to request a duplicate. its like the seller and i have a joint account, but he's still the primary. and since i lost the paper that shows he gave up his rights, he remains the primary owner of the car.


at the dmv today, they showed me that the car had two owners, technically. listed under the vin# of the car, it had both our names.

[deevergote]

Ugh. That sucks. That's like when I tried to take out a home equity loan. My stepfather cosigned to get me a better interest rate, and he had to cosign on the loan as well, since he's co-owner of my house (even though he has nothing to do with it, other than the initial signature)

[4CYLPOWER92]

If the prior owner files a "Release of Liability" form (which lists you as the new owner BTW) with DMV, won't that clear his name off of the title?