If you’re buying a bike from a private party, they need to show you a title, verifying they are the legal owner of the vehicle. A bill of sale doesn’t prove squat. It doesn’t prove the person who sold you the bike is in a legal position to do so. It doesn’t even prove how much you paid for it. You could pay me $8,000 for my bike, but being the nice guy I am I give you a bill of sale saying you paid me $500.00 to save you some cash on taxes.
I don’t know about other states, but in Washington a registration shows both the registered and legal owner. If a bank or other financial organization holds the title, they are identified as the legal owner and you as the registered owner. However, even if the seller shows as both the registered and legal owner, a vehicle registration does not serve the legal purpose of a transfer of ownership.
If it were me, and the registration shows a bank as holding the title, before I passed any money to the seller, we would both be making a trip to that banks local branch. If the seller balked at that suggestion, I’d be walking away. And if I were buying from a private seller, even if they had a title, I’d be asking for proof the seller is the same person listed on the title. Because if that vehicle turns out to be stolen and the real legal owner is identified, guess who gets the vehicle? Here’s a clue, it’s not you.
And finally, if more then one person is listed on title, all those others get to attend my buying party. Because if only one of those parties sign the transfer, the other can come back claiming they never agreed to the sale. Now you’ll find yourself in a legal quagmire.
So in closing, No Title, No Sale.
