scoulbourne
Nov 13th, 07, 11:20 PM
First let me start by stating that I love reading the forums on this site, and reverence the advice given (and laugh at those who get carried away at times) That being said, I have been reluctant to share the experience I am currently going through on the purchase of my 67 Camaro, however, I’m to the point of welcoming advice, insight, support, even a few WTF were you thinking posts will help for laughs , as that’s the point I’m at now.
So what is the situation….In 1991 a family friend purchased a 67 Camaro to restore for his teenage son to go along with the 69 Camaro he had just completed. He worked on the car until his sudden death in 1992, at which time my dad purchased the car for himself allowing him to complete the restore and assist our friends family with money issues.
I moved out of state in 1993 to complete college, start my career and family, and during every visit to my parents house I would always hit my dad up to let me buy the car from him. Two years ago, he privately named his price to my wife, of which she gladly bought for me as a fathers day present to be given to me by our daughter (thank you sweetie.:hurray:) I was excited as this was my opportunity to finally finish the restore that our friend had started, and my dad never had time to complete (but did get it to the primered and paint stage (thanks dad :thumbsup:)
Being I lived out of state, and essentially purchased the vehicle from my parents, I kept the car in its current location till I was ready to begin the restore. That day finally arrived at which point it occurred to me to have the title signed over to my name. This is where the story begins to suck, for me at least:sad:. Apparently my parents never received the title from our friends wife when they purchased the vehicle in 1992, they did receive the Bill of Sale, however, she was dealing with her sudden loss and was unaware of the titles immediate location, it was to be delivered in a few days; the days turned to weeks, weeks to months, eventually turning to years and forgotten about, until I brought it up about 16 months ago. I had someone that is ready to paint the car and assist with the details to restore the car but wanted to get it insured. In theory all wasn’t lost as I took the VIN number to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in an attempt to get a copy of the title, which did not work due to I’m not the name the title; I would have to get the previous owner to request the copy. I explained that would be difficult due to the previous owner had died, but was assured that his heirs could request the copy.
I left feeling frustrated; however, I kept the potential for hope as I was certain I could get his wife to appear at the DMV to request the title. That hope lasted the 15 minutes it took to return to my parents house to find that his wife had remarried in 1996 and moved out of state, and we are not sure of her new name or location, and the son had joined the Navy and was last known to be somewhere between Guam and San Diego. All was still not lost though, as I returned to the DMV and was told that I could petition the court for ownership since we had a valid Bill of Sale from the “heirs.”
As so goes life, I had to return to my home (in order to keep my job) attempting to continue the process of obtaining rightful ownership to a car that had owned for 1 year by now, but did not have a title for…but my hope persists. I began the petitioning process earlier this year (note going on year 2) during a return trip to my parents home, only too finally get the ear of a court clerk that had no clue how to further the process and pointed me back to the DMV for further assistance. Apparently Virginia judges do not have as much power as the DMV assumes, anyhow that “process” did not work as hoped.
Now the twist and my catch 22….“squared”, the DMV finally sent someone to the location of the car to start the “investigation process” for my request (yea progress:hurray:), at which time we found the VIN plate has been stolen (my WTF moment) from the car at some point from the time that I started the process for obtaining the title to the second the investigator showed up wanting to finally help me out; by the way, the cowl tag wasn’t touched. We uncovered the hidden VINs which matched the information I previously submitted, but now Im awaiting further instruction from the DMV.
So now I have a car that I own, no title, now no VIN, an auto body person chomping at the bit to begin restoring my mechanical beauty, but I can not touch the vehicle as now they are researching their records to ensure the car was not stolen (did I mention that the DMV only keeps 10 years worth of records in the computer so this has not been a quick process; something about having to manually search and may not be successful? Not having the rosiest of feelings) My fear is given the twists and turns this story has taken till now, that Im only half way through the chapter and there could be alot more to come.
Given the situation, I’m looking for advice from the other members and your opinions on this situation. Granted, I can get my money back for the car, money isn’t the issue (I want the car, love the car), the lesson of ensuring a title exists upfront cannot be expressed enough, (don’t assume, regardless of who owns the car, or for how long they’ve owned it.)Also, theives should be shot or allowed to be "waterboarded" by their victims :sad: .... My hope is to get these problems resolved, complete the restoration and enjoy it for the many years to come. Worst case someone reads this post and learns a lesson upfront, especially a newbie looking for their first classic.Thanks for hearing me out.
Steve
So what is the situation….In 1991 a family friend purchased a 67 Camaro to restore for his teenage son to go along with the 69 Camaro he had just completed. He worked on the car until his sudden death in 1992, at which time my dad purchased the car for himself allowing him to complete the restore and assist our friends family with money issues.
I moved out of state in 1993 to complete college, start my career and family, and during every visit to my parents house I would always hit my dad up to let me buy the car from him. Two years ago, he privately named his price to my wife, of which she gladly bought for me as a fathers day present to be given to me by our daughter (thank you sweetie.:hurray:) I was excited as this was my opportunity to finally finish the restore that our friend had started, and my dad never had time to complete (but did get it to the primered and paint stage (thanks dad :thumbsup:)
Being I lived out of state, and essentially purchased the vehicle from my parents, I kept the car in its current location till I was ready to begin the restore. That day finally arrived at which point it occurred to me to have the title signed over to my name. This is where the story begins to suck, for me at least:sad:. Apparently my parents never received the title from our friends wife when they purchased the vehicle in 1992, they did receive the Bill of Sale, however, she was dealing with her sudden loss and was unaware of the titles immediate location, it was to be delivered in a few days; the days turned to weeks, weeks to months, eventually turning to years and forgotten about, until I brought it up about 16 months ago. I had someone that is ready to paint the car and assist with the details to restore the car but wanted to get it insured. In theory all wasn’t lost as I took the VIN number to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in an attempt to get a copy of the title, which did not work due to I’m not the name the title; I would have to get the previous owner to request the copy. I explained that would be difficult due to the previous owner had died, but was assured that his heirs could request the copy.
I left feeling frustrated; however, I kept the potential for hope as I was certain I could get his wife to appear at the DMV to request the title. That hope lasted the 15 minutes it took to return to my parents house to find that his wife had remarried in 1996 and moved out of state, and we are not sure of her new name or location, and the son had joined the Navy and was last known to be somewhere between Guam and San Diego. All was still not lost though, as I returned to the DMV and was told that I could petition the court for ownership since we had a valid Bill of Sale from the “heirs.”
As so goes life, I had to return to my home (in order to keep my job) attempting to continue the process of obtaining rightful ownership to a car that had owned for 1 year by now, but did not have a title for…but my hope persists. I began the petitioning process earlier this year (note going on year 2) during a return trip to my parents home, only too finally get the ear of a court clerk that had no clue how to further the process and pointed me back to the DMV for further assistance. Apparently Virginia judges do not have as much power as the DMV assumes, anyhow that “process” did not work as hoped.
Now the twist and my catch 22….“squared”, the DMV finally sent someone to the location of the car to start the “investigation process” for my request (yea progress:hurray:), at which time we found the VIN plate has been stolen (my WTF moment) from the car at some point from the time that I started the process for obtaining the title to the second the investigator showed up wanting to finally help me out; by the way, the cowl tag wasn’t touched. We uncovered the hidden VINs which matched the information I previously submitted, but now Im awaiting further instruction from the DMV.
So now I have a car that I own, no title, now no VIN, an auto body person chomping at the bit to begin restoring my mechanical beauty, but I can not touch the vehicle as now they are researching their records to ensure the car was not stolen (did I mention that the DMV only keeps 10 years worth of records in the computer so this has not been a quick process; something about having to manually search and may not be successful? Not having the rosiest of feelings) My fear is given the twists and turns this story has taken till now, that Im only half way through the chapter and there could be alot more to come.
Given the situation, I’m looking for advice from the other members and your opinions on this situation. Granted, I can get my money back for the car, money isn’t the issue (I want the car, love the car), the lesson of ensuring a title exists upfront cannot be expressed enough, (don’t assume, regardless of who owns the car, or for how long they’ve owned it.)Also, theives should be shot or allowed to be "waterboarded" by their victims :sad: .... My hope is to get these problems resolved, complete the restoration and enjoy it for the many years to come. Worst case someone reads this post and learns a lesson upfront, especially a newbie looking for their first classic.Thanks for hearing me out.
Steve