chrisneu68olds

I am looking for someone who knows the rules in the state of California regarding lost titles for a salvage yard rescue, specifically, a rescue coming from out of state. The only documentation the seller has is the bill of sale since the car was pulled from a salvage yard in NV many years ago. The car is a 1967 so pre-VIN days. The plan is to restore the car.

Scenario: I purchase the car in NV, truck it to CA, go to the DMV and then...what happens?

Is it a simple lost title request, new title request, or ??? I am sure someone on here has done this before. The CA DMV website is not much use and I would rather talk to someone who has actually done it. Associated costs would be helpful info also. I will continue to snoop around, but this might be faster.

Thanks folks!

jaunty75

U.S.-made cars had VINs in 1967.

leepear

pm sent Lee

MDchanic

Even East German cars had VINs in 1967.

2blu442

Chris, I've gone the other way and purchased a car with Cali plates but a lost title. What Oregon DMV required was a document on Cal DMV letterhead stating that the car has been off the road long enough that there are no records of it being licensed in California. That plus a bill of sales from the guy I go it from stating he was the last registered owner. Then taking the car into my DMV so they can check the vin on the doorjam and see exactly what I'm trying to get a title on. I know the 1964-67 have a vin on the door jam although none is stamped on the engine or transmission, not sure what year your new car is. Hope this helps! John

chrisneu68olds

Ahh...yes I should have been more clear. It is my understanding that most DMV records don't go that far back. Is that not true?

chrisneu68olds

Hi Lee, your mailbox is full. I am working this weekend, is there a good time I can call next week?

2blu442

Chris, what I understand about Oregon and California is that if a car hasn't been licensed after a certain number of years the DMV deletes it from their database. I think the age of the car is not an issue if the tags are still being renewed. John

jaunty75

I'm not sure what the relevance or value of this is, and you certainly couldn't generalize for the whole country as DMV operations are handled at the state level.

The car was pulled from a Nevada salvage yard, so it's reasonable to assume that it might have been originally sold in that state, but there's no guarantee that it was.

What matters is if the car has a VIN now and was it registered somewhere. Then you go forward from there to establish new ownership, obtain title and registration, etc. when it's sold. In your case, since the car has no title, you'll have to go through whatever California requires to create a new one, which apparently you're now doing.

morepwr

I rebuilt a car to get a salvage title and what I needed was:

1. A brake and light inspection. You will have to find the state certified shop nearest you to do this. All of the exterior lights must be working and the brakes must be is good condition to pass.

2. Have the VIN on the car verified. You can either have that done at a highway patrol station or the DMV near you. Basically, they look at the VIN, check the database to make sure it isnt listed as stolen or anything and then sign off on it.

Once you have those two pieces of paper, the DMV will give you a title and a set of plates and you are ready. It will say "salvage" on the title but not many people really care about that. You could always document the process in pictures so you have info if you ever wanted to sell the car and somebody got scared off by the salvage listing.

leepear

You can call anytime next week. I have several question that will determine what you will need to do. The first thing to to is contact Nevada DMV and see if there is anything on record on that car. If not you are a really lucky person and we can discuss the process. Lee