I have 1974 Plymouth Duster that I'm trying to register. I bought it from an old guy that lost the origional title to the car. I tried to apply for a duplicate title but its been decades since the cars been registered and the dmv no longer has any records for the car at all. Have any of you guys been through this before? and if so What do I need to do?

_________________
Go for it, You live this life only once.

hello breather- had a similar situation to this and had to do some heavy duty research. first all states have a procedure for this problem. you need to have a manager or supervisor at the dmv locate and show you the 50 state law book for registrations. i found all dmvs have this. if no title, the typical document they will accept in lieu of it is a notarized bill of sale which identifies the vin, vehicle, model , sale price for sales tax collection and addresses of buyer and seller and both signatures. unfortunately cal i understand has the worst emissions regs in the country and a bias against old cars. dont know how that part will be handled there.some states, cal may be one, do not require a title for a pre 81 car. good luck. paladin

I'm not sure about your area, Oregon has a few procedures (aka 'hoops') you have to go through. Definately talk to a manager, or a clerk with a long employment time at the DMV (I got lucky once and got a gal who'd worked for DMV for 20 years...she knew exactly how to get my car registered wihtout too much hassle, and gave me a few 'other options').

My favorite in Oregon for a car with no title is processing it as a 'lien'/abandoned car... this is a bit faster than trying to go through the hoops. The FDX hull I have was given to a junkyard, ebay'd to Brett on this board, sat for a few years, then I got it without the title (the junkyard improperly filled out the title, so it was 'junk').

I filed the papers as an abandoned car, DMV sent a lien form/nasty gram to the last title holder (a poor college student... ). I got a letter back from their attorney expaining that if I ruined the kid's credit I'd be in deep poo... I phoned the attorney and told her I just wanted the car, and no malicious intent toward the student. She sighed and said OK and would write DMV that they wanted no controlling interest in the car...30 days later I have a title (and a project...).

I had an apprentice do the same thing a while back since a co worker brought a 1968 396 Camaro SS body over to his place to work on it in his shop, the guy couldn't pay for the work and left the car....

There are ways to do it, it may not be immediate, patience and the help of a knowledgeable manager will help a lot...

Best of luck to you...

-D.Idiot

Go to the DMV tell them you lost the pink slip for the car and have them make you a new one, once the are out of the computor they don't know the difference. If it has not been registered since 1994 the have no record of the car because that is when they went to computerization

_________________
63 Dart Convert. 39 Plymouth Hotrod Hemi, Cushman scooters,

Then they'll probably hit you up with fines for not having it registered on registered as 'non-operational'............


If you belong to the auto-club (AAA) talk to them, they probably can handle it.

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I don't know anything about them, but there's a company in Nevada that can get a clear Nevada title if you provide a bill of sale. It was mentioned in a thread 3 or 4 months ago but I don't know the company name or the cost of their service.

_________________
David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

Hemitym wrote:
Go to the DMV tell them you lost the pink slip for the car and have them make you a new one, once the are out of the computor they don't know the difference. If it has not been registered since 1994 the have no record of the car because that is when they went to computerization

Have done several cars and scooters this way and never been charged back fees. Best way to find out is simply go to DMV and ask

_________________
63 Dart Convert. 39 Plymouth Hotrod Hemi, Cushman scooters,

I dont know if the lost title thing would work, the guy brought the car from washington and just let it sit and it has washington plates on it. I dont know if its gonna be to much of a hassle or not, but yes the last reg. tag on the plates was 1994.

_________________
Go for it, You live this life only once.

Ok then.Just got through with similar deal. I'm in Wa.as is the rig in question. It was last licenced in 98 and the owner lives in Utah. Go to www.dol.wa.gov. The last owner needs to apply for a lost title or a affidavit in lieu of title. Mine was run through as lost title so it was sent to owner in salt lake,he signed and mailed back to me. The affidavit thing can be filled out and noterized by last owner and title will come straight to you.It might be called relece of interest or something. Which ever way you go be sure you put on "purchase price" gift, that way you pay only some filing fees,under 10bucks.It's an internet thing so don't even worry about cal state dmv.Good luck

_________________
83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

When I bought my 71 Nova, it didn't have a title, it had not been registered for 15 years. I got a bill of sale when I bought it. All I did was take the bill of sale to the DMV and told the person at the front counter about it. They gave me I think 3 sheets of paper to fill out. When I got called to the desk, I gave them the paperwork, they added the car into the system. I paid the taxes on the purchase price, and a non-op fee. The person filled out the new registration, issued me new plates, and gave me a piece of paper, and told me to tow the car to the DMV inspection area, or to the highway patrol to get inspected. (All they check is the VIN). They signed off the inspection slip, I took the paper back to DMV and they entered it into the computer. So now it is registered to my name and is non-op'd.

And this was in California in March 07.

_________________
1963 Dodge Dart -225 Slant 6, 904, 2.76's, 18.84 @ 73
1970 Nova 12.53@108
1970 Bug 15.38@87