'76 "Mouse" Rod

Please introduce yourself and Celica or ride(s).
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Conan

'76 "Mouse" Rod

Post by Conan »

Hey, I just made up that term. I got a '76 ST Coupe with all original paint, interior, etc. It's pretty rough, but I have a special project in mind. Just checkin' in-- I'll be a regular.

Lee in Colorado,

Four06twotwo339Six1
Santos
Posts: 1157
Joined: May 12th, 2008, 7:27 pm
Location: sacramento

Re: '76 "Mouse" Rod

Post by Santos »

welcome and please enjoy , thanks for joining :2thumbs:
**********TO CHECK OUT THE SITE OR GET IN PERSONAL CONTACT**********
celica73916@yahoo.com ............... or ................ http://www.santostoyshop.com/
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Conan

Re: '76 "Mouse" Rod

Post by Conan »

Hi All,

I'm dying to get into this engine swap, but I've run into a title snag that I've never seen before, and I could use some advice. The seller seemed like a real straight-up kid, and I had no indication that he was trying to scam me. When we went to my credit union to get the BOS notarized, I saw that the CO title was in the name of some third party who had attempted to buy the car before me with a recorded lien in the real seller's name, in case the (unsuccessful) previous attempted buyer couldn't pay up.

So Joe Blow agreed to sell the car to John Doe,with an outstanding balloon payment which was covered by the lien. So in reality, some dude I've never met actually holds title to my new ride. I work close to a DMV, and had enough time to take a number and ask a title clerk what was done in that situation. She said that if the "attempted' buyer defaulted on his payment plan, and verbally "gave" the car back to the seller, all I would need is the screwed up, liened title, and another document that showed that the seller repossessed the car for non-payment. No notary, not even a signature from the attempted buyer would be required. I expected some sort of "quit claim" letter or form to be required, but evidently not in CO.

So I sent a PDF of the "repo" form to the kid who sold me the car, and even offered to drive all the way across metro Denver to pick up the repo form and title to go to the DMV and get it titled in my name. I've been bugging the guy constantly all day, and for some reason he's either lost comms, or is blowing me off.

Does the DMV advice sound right? I really want to get to work on this car, but it's titled in some dude's name I've never even met. i think if i were to just never get the 'repo' form, i could probably get it straight in small claims court, since I have a signed and notarized bill of sale. I'd rather not go that route, but if he avoids me, I'm going to have to. Sucky thing is it's a project car, and i'm getting ready to really roll on it. But since the legal CO title says that car is owned by the unsuccessful previous (attempted) buyer, I don't feel too hot about modifying or substantially improving a car I may have to file a lawsuit to actually own.

To summarize: The seller is holding a recorded, valid Colorado title that lists him (the seller) as a lienholder, and some other bozo as the owner.

I've peeled the old vinyl roof off, and done some very light interior disassembly and light rust repair (free stuff first!), but don't feel too confident putting much more blood or treasure into it until the title issue is resolved. This is going to be a 76 Celica mini-Camaro rat rod/street rod, and will start sucking up cash soon when I decide exactly how to go about the modifications. I'll be damned if I'm going to fix up some other dude's car, though, due to a DMV error. Lesson here: "Clean Colorado Title" doesn't always mean what you think it does.

Edit to add: I talked to the seller today, and he's doing what he can to get the title transferred. Didn't want to imply that he was screwing me over-- just a weird DMV situation. L.
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