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I had an SC300 a few years back that I LOVED and now I'm trying to recreate the magic with this super sweet 1997 RSP SC400 I found.
BUT the person selling it has an open title, which so far doesn't appear to have any liens on it according to the NY DMV checker website. He just never put his name on the title to avoid paying taxes when he bought it to then sell the car later..
So, I guess my question is this: how far should I run? OR what can I do to ensure I won't have any issues transferring the title to myself?
Verify the title with carfax / autocheck or better with the DMV you are gonna register it. If it comes out clean and you are satisfied with the vehicle meaning it will pass your state requirements, then go for it !
Well I checked using the NY DMV's title checker and it says there's no liens (the car is in NY and I'll be registering in NJ) -- here's the website and a screenshot of the result is attached: https://process.dmv.ny.gov/TitleStat...412.1595968812
Is that enough evidence I can transfer without issue?
And here's the Carfax attached. Looks like way back there were some issues, like a repossession in 2003, and new titles reported, not entirely sure what to make of it.
Looks like it is cleared in NY but has past accident in CA . I will suggest call your NJ DMV and give them the VIN and ask them if you have no problem registering it in your state.
Like in GA , even if it was cleared in other states , as long as it has a history of salvage or rebuilt title , it needs to go through the GA salvage car inspection / certification and should pass otherwise it cannot be registered in GA even if it had a clear / rebuilt title from other states.
So check with your local stale DMV .. give them the VIN and if they say yes you can register it without any major work except the regular emission tests ... then good to go.
Ahh ok, thanks for the reply! I've been trying to get a hold of someone in NJ's DMV, but things are IN-SANE right now. On hold for 3 hours and hung up on twice type of insane.
Will definitely try again though as this seems to be the most logical.
Ah, this is the one from eBay. $11.9k was the going rate, right?
Oh damn, how did you know? Haha is this a total scam?
Also curious, how do I pay taxes on this purchase if the bill of sale will say someone else's name other than what's on the title? I suppose there shouldn't be any issues there but want to be sure..
I saw this one too. It was originally a lot more expensive than that, wasn’t it?
Yes. It started out at ~$20k, then dropped to $15.5k. Then I guess the OP submitted an offer at $11.9k that the seller accepted. I wasn't going over $10k.
Yeah that's about the long and short of it. Now getting this weirdness about the title and I'm just trying to think what could be the worst that happens here.
At this point I'm most sketched out about the fact that the deceased owner's name is on the title and signed with his name as the seller, but that can't be his legit signature if the current owner bought it from his estate. Trying to piece together in my head what the most likely situation is here, and if it poses any risks for me as a buyer who'd like to purchase it, transfer the title obviously, and pay taxes on the sale.
I got excited when this one first popped up, but once I looked further into it, something didn't seem right. The last time the car was at the Lexus dealer was in 2007 and it had 103,425 miles then and now 12 years later it's only at 105,032. I would have all belts, fluids and rubber components checked, as those will go bad on a car that just sits.
Did you check to see if all the body panels still have the VIN stickers affixed? If they're all there, that's usually a sign the car hasn't been in an accident.
When the prior owner signed the title, did he date it? I'm not sure how NJ works, but in CA, if you don't transfer the title before registration is due, you can't register the car and the back fees start to build up.
I got excited when this one first popped up, but once I looked further into it, something didn't seem right. The last time the car was at the Lexus dealer was in 2007 and it had 103,425 miles then and now 12 years later it's only at 105,032. I would have all belts, fluids and rubber components checked, as those will go bad on a car that just sits.
Did you check to see if all the body panels still have the VIN stickers affixed? If they're all there, that's usually a sign the car hasn't been in an accident.
When the prior owner signed the title, did he date it? I'm not sure how NJ works, but in CA, if you don't transfer the title before registration is due, you can't register the car and the back fees start to build up.
Where do you check for all the VINs?
Right. Yeah, the carfax def shows a sordid past, but the current owner claims the most recent owner before him was just an old (now dead) guy who "drove it to the post office" and otherwise trickle charged it for the past decade or so. The prior owner died, and the seller says he bought it from his estate, so him signing the title is impossible; it's clearly a forged signature, and his name is even spelt wrong on the signature
Also he's become rather unresponsive at this point, so...guess we just got an idiot with a nice car... so sad : (
Right. Yeah, the carfax def shows a sordid past, but the current owner claims the most recent owner before him was just an old (now dead) guy who "drove it to the post office" and otherwise trickle charged it for the past decade or so. The prior owner died, and the seller says he bought it from his estate, so him signing the title is impossible; it's clearly a forged signature, and his name is even spelt wrong on the signature
Also he's become rather unresponsive at this point, so...guess we just got an idiot with a nice car... so sad : (
Very odd. If bought from the estate, then someone should have been authorized to sign on behalf of the owner/estate, so the forged signature is a mystery. Did the current seller tell you how long he's "owned" it? I don't understand why he wouldn't just transfer the title to make things easier. The taxes won't be THAT much.
08-02-20, 12:01 PM
Buying and SC400 with an open title
