Well I finally got in touch with the owner of an Argosy I found dying in the woods. Trees have fallen on her and she is neglected. Owner doesn't even know year, has no title, has no keys to lock trailer. Owner lives in Maryland and towed vehicle to PA 2 years ago. No plates, no title, no bill of sale no nothing. Should I purchase this trailer...what am I getting into? I live in PA. Thanks for the help!
Contact Pa motor vehicle and ask them if you can retitle a vehicle in Pa. Years ago I had to do this in Jersey and all they asked for was a pencil tracing of the vin number, maybe just to see if was on a stolen list. It just may be that easy.
No plates, no title, no bill of sale no nothing. Should I purchase this trailer...what am I getting into? I live in PA. Thanks for the help!
Bob
you should ask the current owner to give it to you. That way if it can't be titled you can turn it into a dog house with little loss, or part it out.
States differ in how hard they make it to re-title a trailer, from very easy to completely impossible depending on where you are, and who at the DMV helps you.
I would go to DMV first and get the low-down from someone there. Get their name and a list of exactly what you will need for them to do a transfer. There are likely more than two ways to get this done, so ask about it. You may need to post a bond, or track the last registered owner, or who knows what, but you will know what you're into before doing the whole "oldtrailerinthewoodsrecoverythingy".
Bob, I was in the same position when I purchased my 1968 Tradewind. Played around for 6 tp 8 months with the State of Florida. She had been licensed in Florida 1998. Long story.
Go to the State Police and ask them to run the VIN # so that you will know that there are no outstanding leins, etc.. Go on line to Broadway Title in Alabama. Print the paperwork, get a money order, send in the paperwork. In about 5 to 7 days you'll receive a title. Take the new title to your DMV and you'll get your registration and plates. It cost about $275 - well worth it. It will be done.
Depending on the state you may have to get an affidavit of ownership from the previous owner and or post a surity bond. There are businesses that will get a vehicle with title problems titled for you.
What Lumatic and Judy are referring to is a Bonded Title. Ther is none better. I did the same thing with my two Argosy's I just got. One had been registered in California and the other in New Meico. Now they are registered in Texas with Bonded Titles. Depending on the year of the trailer(NADA only goes back to 1975) you'll have to do one of two things: If you can use the NADA value the bond will be 1 1/2 times the value of trailer plus admin fees. If you can't use NADA then you will have to have it appraised and follow same formula. Once you get all the paperwork back, take it to your tax assessor/collector office, pay the registration fees, get your plates and in three to six weeks depending on your state you will have a clear title. Do get a Bill of Sale from the owner with a description of the trailer and also showing the VIN. You will need this for your title application.
Bottom Line: IT'S NO BIG DEAL, Just time consuming and you are out a few bucks.
When I did my two here in Texas my total for each trailer including tax,title fees, and registration was about $400.00 total, but well worth it.
God luck,
Bruce
__________________ Bruce WBCCI# 9259 AIR# 38927 Stop Littering-Spay & Neuter
Many, many years ago I bought an old 1938 4 cylinder Indian motorcycle as a basket case for $25. No title, no nuthin'. After about 10 years of off and on work on restoration I started to think about think about getting a title. I called the NJ DMV (the cycle had a 1951 NJ plate) to inquire about getting a title.
I was told that at the time there were only two ways that the Great State of New Jersey could issue a title were: 1. with a certificate of origin from manufacturer, or 2. with an application for duplicate title from the owner.
I had no idea who the previous owner could have been. I asked, if it would be possible to identify the previous owner was from the '51 plate, or serial number? I was told, "Sorry we don't have records going that far back"
Dead end......but then I thought.....hmmmm, if the bike had been stolen the statuate of limitations had passed, hmmmm......there weren't any records anymore, hmmmm.....then I sent in an application for duplicate title with a money order for the required $2.00, and not long thereafter received a title for the ancient motorcycle.
That was long ago, and I was young and reckless at that time, I do not recommend this to any readers at this time.
How about you order one of those $199 folding trailers from Harbor Freight, then put the VIN plate from the ChingShenSuperHauler onto your Argosy. Go down to DMV and title it. Done
OK, I'm just joking. But I'm sure it's been done...
I'm glad I looked at this thread. This is exactly what's going on with me/my trailer. Except the RV place did an oops. I bought my airstream from a dealer. The person in charge of procuring the title, etc. called me this morning to say that there wasn't a title and basically was going to refund my money or..and gave me a few options. I said there has to be a former owner, etc. Anyway, I went to my local DMV here in Saint John's County and spoke to a very wonderful person (we have an amazingly nice dmv). She was funny, and said that basically they should not have called me over this! Long story short, my husband got very upset--not a good thing, gathered his "cool" after a bit and called the owner of the rv place. The owner obviously got back to the employees. Where it stands now is that I either get this trailer with a title or I get to pick one of the shiny vintage ones from the little "village" they have on site. Either way, the owner is a bit upset. So.. it might take a while to track down the paper trail and get everything legal, etc. but eventually I will own an Airstream... *sigh*
Our trailer wan't titled when we bought her - Alabama apparently doesn't title them, but she was registered with the DMV and had the mobile home sticker on her so she could be towed. We had to have the PO do a bill of sale, then turn it in to the DMV along with some money. We had to send a picture of her in, but got a clear title in about 8 weeks.
Every state is different in how they deal with these things. Contact your DMV and explain the issue. You might have to make a couple of calls, but it may just be getting a bill of sale from the owner and paying a fee.
Good luck!
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