It’s FINALLY mine, Mustang title woes

"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
10/12/2020 at 13:50 • Filed to: None

Back in May, I bought a Mustang. Also in May, the person I bought it from moved to Utah. The purchase had been made in person, I drove to the address I found online, bought it with a handshake, paid the following day, and brought it home. I had no contact information for the guy, no phone number, but I had the title, so all was good!

Except it wasn’t. The car had been his mother’s, and while she signed the title over, she signed it in an incorrect spot (dealer assignment), thus making it an invalid transfer of ownership, according to my first trip to the DMV . So basically, mother gives son car in South Dakota, he moves to CO, never transfers the title, and here I am with no contact info, a title signed in the wrong spot, and a DMV that’s telling me I either have to find the original owner, or go through the bonded title process.

Through the power of google-fu, I found the guy’s phone number (thank you, unique last name!), and he actually called me back and apologized for the mix up. I confirmed the address on the title was still valid , and sent it back to his mom in South Dakota with a self addressed priority return envelope. It took a wee bit longer that I expected it to arrive back to me, but it did. As of this morning, the title is now officially in my name, I have a temp tag (they mail the collector plates), insurance, so I’m road legal!

I know some people might wonder why I went through the trouble of finding the original owner. I had people saying “just forge it”, but I didn’t have it in me not to try and do it right.

I don’t have any recent pictures, so I’ll recycle an old one. It’s still sitting in this same spot.

That’s the good news of the day, the slightly more stressful news is that my work is eliminating positions next month, and my team will be disproportionally affected. Hey, at least I have a clear title on the Mustang to sell it if I need to. Ha.

DISCUSSION (19)

Just Jeepin' > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 13:57

For that car, absolutely worth it to have spotless paperwork . Damn, that’s a looker.

Congrats!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 13:59

Geez... thank goodness you found him!

Chariotoflove > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 14:00

You did it the right way, and I’m glad the sellers were decent people and worked with you. That’s not always a given.

flatisflat > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 14:00

Beautiful car and well done on getting the paperwork sorted!

I’ll officially be out of the job come November, so I feel your apprehension there. Hooray 2020!

Jim Spanfeller > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 14:02

Congrats on the new car and figuring out title stuff!

notsomethingstructural > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 14:03

In New York, forging a title (as opposed to say a bill of sale) goes from petty larceny to filing a false instrument, an E felony. You made the right call.

jminer > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 14:04

Beautiful car! Nice job doing everything the right way.

When I was 18 I bought a truck once from a pawn shop and didn’t check the title. The previous owner had signed the buyer line. I tried but couldn’t get ahold of the original owner so forging paperwork was my only option as the pawn shop wouldn’t help either.

I check the title in detail every time now.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 14:28

hmm... my mom (lives in Indiana ) gave me her Sienna last year. She mailed me the title but didn’t sign it. I forged her signature figuring the hassle of mailing it back and forth wasn’t worth it. I wonder how much of a risk I took doing that in Colorado .

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 14:28

I had a similar issue when buying my motorcycle. Seller had signed in the wrong place on the title, so I had to get an affidavit form to solve that, and even after that there were some small issues. Despite his two signatures looking a *bit* different on the title the DMV happily gave me a tag and my sales tax payment.

Nothing > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
10/12/2020 at 15:32

The ones on my title looked completely different. They stared at it a little bit, but took it. Once the new one was printed, I was a happy camper.

Nothing > jminer
10/12/2020 at 15:33

Thanks, I’ve bought and sold enough to know better. I saw a signature but didn’t even think to look at the spots it was signed in. I’m just glad that all it took was a little extra time and some postage to get it done.

Nothing > VincentMalamute-Kim
10/12/2020 at 15:34

I won’t lie, if there wasn’t another signature of hers already on the title, I very well may have signed it myself. I’d feel a lot more comfortable doing so with the sale of a vehicle within the family.

Nothing > flatisflat
10/12/2020 at 15:35

Thanks! And sorry to hear. I’ve been through layoffs before, it’s the nature of the business world. If I’m let go, I had a job before, and I’m sure I’ll be able to find another.

Nothing > Chariotoflove
10/12/2020 at 15:36

Me too. When I bought it, the guy was very nice, and told me he actually turned away another offer after we had our handshake deal. Heck, he had no way of knowing I’d be back, and no way to contact me. I figured if I was able to find him again, it would work out. I can’t say I wasn’t scared, though! The bonded title process is quite a pain.

Nothing > Just Jeepin'
10/12/2020 at 15:37

Thanks! And lo and behold, what randomly showed up today? The center caps for my wheels that have been on backorder for months. I just put those on, so now the wheels look finished, too!

VincentMalamute-Kim > Nothing
10/12/2020 at 16:07

Mine wasn’t even a sale.

BTW, nice car!

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Nothing
10/13/2020 at 12:44

I feel that, I’m having title issues with both my Xterra and Grand Prix, but I just the Xterra 90% resolved and it was very relieving. I’m still pissed at Missouri for taking 17 weeks and counting on my Grand Prix title

Nothing > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford
10/13/2020 at 13:08

Dang, that sucks. Glad the Xterra is resolved. I found it very odd, two years ago when I bought/sold the Civic, it took over two months to get a title. The title from the seller was a clear Colorado title, all paperwork in order. The county said they didn’t print titles, that it was a state thing. Yesterday, it was printed right there.

I don’t like inconsistency, and I’m sure there wasn’t a law/rule change in the past year. Silly DMV.

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Nothing
10/14/2020 at 16:36

Xterra was my fault, I lost the title but thankfully I found it so now I have to get it in my name. With the Pontiac title, I finally got a notice after 12 weeks of what taxes were due. I know things slowed down with Covid, but that should normally only take 2-3 weeks.