California use to be very easy, fill out a Statement of Facts that the vehicle had not been operated and that you had lost the title.. That all changed about 15 years ago when the state passed a law that said you had to maintain current registration or pay a one time fee putting the vehicle on Non Operational status. In lieu of a valid title the state will accept a bill of sale, however if the vehicle was not put on a non-op then the fees multiply each year... In many cases the cost to bring the registration fees up to date exceed the value of the vehicle.  On most vehicles they require two VIN locations unless you can prove there otherwise.....Bill

Guess we are lucky here in NY.  Especially when a car is 25 or more years old.  Just fill out an MV 51 form certifying that you are aware of no one else who can claim ownership, sign it stating that you are making the claim from the best of your knowledge, take a rubbing of the serial number, and register it.  I have a 1960 Austin Healy Sprite that I boungt 25 years ago as a competition vehicle with no paper work except the title for the Home made trailer it came on.

They will of course accept bills of sale, signed over titles, and other states transferrable registration material. But if you don't have any and affirm you came by the vehilcle leagally, no problem.  The rest of the process  for antique and collector cars is silly, annual registration renewal and annual safety inspection, but still ot as much of a hassel as other states.  NY did not issue titles till 72, so everything before that was a trasferable registratio reciept and bill of sale.

So if you are buying an old car from NY you better check with your DMV to see what they require as proof of legal transfer of ownership.

As most states have their rules and regulations on the web these days, there isn't much reason for ignorance going into a situation.

I guess I will find out from DMV some day, but are there times when DMV realizes there is no way to track the ownership of a vehicle? If not, what happens? I have a '29 Model A that I bought in 1965 from the estate of someone who died during the restoration. I took it to DMV after I finished the restoration in 1967 and DMV stamp a new number on the frame and registered it with that number...no questions asked.

I now have a '28 Dodge that a friend bought when he bought an entire barn, including all contents, in an estate sale. I bought the car (mostly in one piece) from him and now have it in storage. It doesn't look like it has been on the road in probably 50-60 years. Would DMV treat it like they did my Model A many years ago?

Quote from: Wm Steed on April 22, 2010, 12:42:45 PMA Johnny Cash type of car

..."when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds"  ;D

DMVs seem to have gotten stricter about old cars - which may be a PITA but ultimately is a good thing.  I never buy a car (at least not one I intend to plate and/or sell) unless it has a clear matching-numbers title in the seller's name.  And I immediately get it transferred to my name.

Excellent advise! When I purchased my 55 Plymouth some 30 tears ago,it had been transfered twice, but never registered in there names. The car had been off the road for over 7 years. NYS motor vehicles gave me a problem registering it in my name.  Luckily I knew all the previous owners. We all got together went to the Dept. of Motor Vehicels signed the necessary forms in front of the clerk and the car was registered in my name.

Now for some new advice! When you get your registration be sure to make sure the Vehicle ID numbers are correct. I never checked and when I went to register the car in Florida I could not do so because the registration had the wrong Vehicle ID on it. I had to go back to New York with an old registration show them the mistake and have a new registration printed with the correct Vehicle ID on it. All this so I could register the car I already owned in Florida.

Throughout the many years I have been participating in the many on-line old car forums, a reoccurring topic keeps cropping up, namely.. how to secure title and/or current registration to the four wheeled treasure I have sitting in the garage, which I have sunk mega bucks into during the course of an extensive restoration.
I have responded to the question about the subject many times, relaying my first hand experience with undocumented vehicles and the troubles that can crop up if the vehicle in question has, or was, a stolen vehicle and/or if the vehicle has had a lien recorded against it.

In the April 8, 2010 issue of OldCars Weekly there is a very sobering article about the subject on page 25. I would advise anyone with an undocumented vehicle that is sitting in their shop, barn or backyard, that they have been holding onto with the thought of restoring and/or selling the vehicle to read the OldCar Weekly article.

In a nut shell, the article reinforces what I have been saying for many years, that being.... before starting work on the car of your dreams, secure clear ownership of the vehicle. If a vehicle is offered for sale and the seller does not have a clear title/ownership in his name and the ID numbers on the vehicle do not match the paperwork, walk away from the deal. In some cases vintage vehicles are offered for sale that the seller purchased many years earlier and did not transfer the ownership. This kind of a transaction can be risky at it's best, however, we all do it from time to time.

I recently purchased a 1921 Model T that had a clear Montana Title that had been properly signed and Notarized in 1996... The car had been through four owners, none of which bothered to secure ownership in their name. After getting the vehicle into our shop and a closer examination of the vehicle we found that the engine number was for a '27 T, the body parts spanned the years 1919/23, the rear end was a 1917 and the frame was 1923 or later. It was very obvious that the car had been assembled from a pile of various parts... A Johnny Cash type of car.. Since we were mainly after the roadster body the mixed up parts are of little matter.

The old adage.... "Buyer Be Aware" has more meaning than ever before.....Bill