Vehicle title advice

[Way2Fast]

As many of you probably recall , I recently jumped ship and sold my Spyder to a party that stated they were going to ship it overseas. I held onto the title until the check I received as payment cleared the bank. Upon clearing, I mailed the title to the buyer. I signed the title but left the rest of it blank as requested by the purchaser. That was almost 2 weeks ago and the purchaser is telling me that the title was never received. I sent it First Class Mail which usually takes only one day going to Orlando. Now I have to go to the tag office and apply for a replacement title at the cost of $80.25. I told the buyer that he will have to meet me at the MV office where I will sign the replacement title over to him as I want to make sure he receives it.

I'm wondering.....Contrary to what I have been told, lets say the original title was in fact received, is there any advantage to having it plus getting a new replacement title? In other words, having two titles for the same vehicle ?? The original that was signed by me but otherwise left blank and now the replacement, which I will make sure is completely filled out. I'm always suspicious of scams. There is a lot of "brain power" on this forum....any input would be appreciated.

 

[NancysToy]

I can't advise you on the duplicate titles, but I do feel you are doing it correctly by having the buyer accompany you to the DMV, and signing it over on the spot, this second time around. I do have one suggestion for the future. Always send important papers via Certified Mail - Return Receipt Requested. It costs a couple of bucks, but covers your behind.

 

[ARtraveler]

Sounds like some kind of scam brewing.

This is the kind of stuff you hear about when selling merchandise on craigslist. It probably would have been good to mail the title certified, with a return receipt to verify delivery of the mail or not. You might want to get some additional advice on dealing with this person. It don't sound kosher from here. Have also heard of fake checks clearning bank and then bank notifies you two weeks later of a chrage back because the check is fraudulent. Hope this is not going on in your case. I would talk with your bank and make sure that the check did actually clear.

As many of you probably recall , I recently jumped ship and sold my Spyder to a party that stated they were going to ship it overseas. I held onto the title until the check I received as payment cleared the bank. Upon clearing, I mailed the title to the buyer. I signed the title but left the rest of it blank as requested by the purchaser. That was almost 2 weeks ago and the purchaser is telling me that the title was never received. I sent it First Class Mail which usually takes only one day going to Orlando. Now I have to go to the tag office and apply for a replacement title at the cost of $80.25. I told the buyer that he will have to meet me at the MV office where I will sign the replacement title over to him as I want to make sure he receives it.

I'm wondering.....Contrary to what I have been told, lets say the original title was in fact received, is there any advantage to having it plus getting a new replacement title? In other words, having two titles for the same vehicle ?? The original that was signed by me but otherwise left blank and now the replacement, which I will make sure is completely filled out. I'm always suspicious of scams. There is a lot of "brain power" on this forum....any input would be appreciated.

 

[bone crusher]

I can't advise you on the duplicate titles, but I do feel you are doing it correctly by having the buyer accompany you to the DMV, and signing it over on the spot, this second time around. I do have one suggestion for the future. Always send important papers via Certified Mail - Return Receipt Requested. It costs a couple of bucks, but covers your behind.

totally agree...NEVER trust the USPS...only go FedEX or UPS...that way you can track it!...or, if you have to go USPS, go certified...

 

[Firefly]

I would also be careful because you mentioned something about this shipping out of the country. I hope you didn't accept a foreign check. US banks cannot guarantee the funds for MONTHS.

I sold an item to someone out of the country once--- got the 'certified' check from them and my bank said that while the money will appear in my account - it could be taken back out months later if the check is 'bad'.:yikes:

Another interesting thing I learned was that 'certified' checks from any bank can be bad--- the only thing as good as cash---- is CASH.

Not sure what advantage they could have by getting two titles.... unless they have some kind of insurance scam in mind... total it out, file it as stolen, etc.... but then still have a real title so they can sell it to someone in another country....:dontknow:

Considering you mentioned their motives were to sell it out of the country so someone can dissect it and perhaps make a knock-off version----- that would raise serious red flags as to the kind of people you're dealing with.

Good luck.....

 

[Way2Fast]

I had every intention of sending the title by registered mail....only thing that prevented me from doing so was my condition....I was sick as a dog with stomach problems and could not have made it to the post office. I barely made it out to my mailbox w/o puking. I should have waited until I was feeling better.
My bank said the check I received in payment cleared the same day that I depositd it. I still waited a week before sending out the title. The check was from a local bank.

 

[WaltH]

I had every intention of sending the title by registered mail....only thing that prevented me from doing so was my condition....I was sick as a dog with stomach problems and could not have made it to the post office. I barely made it out to my mailbox w/o puking. I should have waited until I was feeling better.
My bank said the check I received in payment cleared the same day that I depositd it. I still waited a week before sending out the title. The check was from a local bank.

When the check "clears" your bank you are not yet technically out of the woods. It must "clear" the buyers bank. There is a "claw-back" period. When I sell on eBay, I contact the buyer's bank to see if the funds were removed from his account. Then I will send the title.

Signing a blank title is not such a good idea. Buyers want you to do this so they can misstate the facts to the authorities on their end. For example, to pay less sales tax. You should at least fill in the buyers name and the date of the sale and then scan the document and keep a copy. This will help you if the vehicle is involved in an accident before it is registered by the buyer and he claims you only loaned him the vehicle and therefore you are liable for the deaths of three people. If the buyer has a blank title he can (and often does) simply fill in the name of the person to whom he sells the vehicle. This way his name does not appear in any legal documents regarding the sales transaction. This could be helpful for income tax purposes or liability purposes. The paper trail would look like you sold the vehicle to the second buyer.

I hope this doesn't sound overly pessimistic. It is not my intention to alarm you.

 

[Latemarch]

Check on local bank and cleared is good. The money is yours.
Post office losing the title.....yeah it happens.
Duplicate title is no big deal, I've had to do it before.
Only other thing I would have done is fill out a bill of sale. Your state probably has one available on line that you can print up. Both buyer and seller sign. Then if you go in to buy another vehicle you can show the sale of the Spyder and reduce your taxes by the difference.

 

[YPILOT]

Duplicate Title

As soon as a new title is activated the old one becomes void. Each title has a different # on it and the old one becomes obsolete. I had that issue with my mother's car after she passed away last February. She had signed one title and then for some unexplained reason went and got a new one.