No title inherited bike from uncle.
- Thread starter Raggweed
- Start date
Barnburner
Coast to Coast
If he lawfully inherited it, he should have got a title in his name. If he did get the title, but lost it, he can go to any Ohio BMV and get a replacement title for pretty cheap. You are not going to be able to go through an Ohio BMV and get it yourself without a title signed by the previous lawful owner. There exist title services that claim you can "sell" your bike to them and "buy" it back for a small fee and get a valid out of state title but I've never used one so I can't comment on whether it works. I'd push the guy to find his own title or figure out how to get one. A bike without a title is pretty much worthless in Ohio.
Barnburner
Coast to Coast
jh321 said:
I wish it was this easy in Ohio! I've had to pass on a crazy number of bikes because they had no title.
misfitfiend
Been Around the Block
I agree with barn burner. He should try to get the title himself first. I'm sure there's some way he can get it with a copy of the will and a death certificate.
agreed. DO NOT BUY A BIKE IN OHIO WITHOUT A TITLE!!! i have a pretty nice little GT 250 in the barn that i cant do a dang thing with, because i bought it without a title. not worth the headache man, trust me! i have gone to the BMV first hand and they will do nothing if you do not have the title from the previous owner.
Barnburner
Coast to Coast
If it's as easy to title a bike in Michigan as jh321 said, and you know somebody in Michigan who would do it for you, then you possibly could. He could then sign over the title to you and you could take the out-of state title to an Ohio BMV. Doing this would require a vehicle VIN check though. An Ohio BMV agent would have to personally inspect the VIN tag on the frame to make sure it matches the title. It's a little more expensive but could be a workaround. Since it appears you are a resident of Ohio, you could not title a bike in your name in Michigan.
hurco550 said:
I can add a little hope to your situation... it is possible to title an old bike (vehicle) in Ohio. It takes two things, knowledge of the law and a title office employee who isn't lazy. First thing you have to do is find a state that doesn't require vehicles over 20 or 25 years old to be titled. There are a few, Georgia is one. It's best if you find a state where you have a friend or relative living. You then have that person write you a letter/bill of sale saying they are selling their 1977 Whizzbang 500, SN: XXXXXXXXX to you for $XXX. Include their name address and yours as well and their signature. You take that letter and the vehicle to somebody who can do inspections, like a used car dealer, and pay them a buck or five to give you an inspection slip that just confirms the SN on the frame matches the one on your bill of sale. You then take the bill of sale, the inspection slip and the appropriiate amount of $$ to pay the tax on the $XXX named to your local title office. If you don't have lazy title office workers (seems like most are) they can, and should, provide a valid Ohio title for your vehicle. I have a friend over here who will do this as long as everything is in order and correct. I have a '59 Cushman Truckster that has a good Ohio title via this method. IM me if you have questions.
Barnburner
Coast to Coast
Didn't realize you could do it yourself. Looked it up and it appears you can (even if you don't live in the state), but you have to get a VIN inspection done. Found a thread on ADVRider that says they'll even accept out of state inspection forms. If it's that easy it'd be much better than paying someone to do it.
SONICJK
Reminds me of...me No, I'm sure of it. I hate him
BarnBurner said:
Yup, Its quite easy. Take the bike to the po-po have them give you an all good form, fill out a VT form and mail it in with a small fee and a week or two later you'll have a VT registration and you take that to the DMV in your state and they will give you a title.
BarnBurner said:
Sorry, but in this case you are wrong. There are several states in the US that do not require vehicles over 20, or in some states 25, years old to have titles. And if the vehicle isn't currently registered, like a barn find, you are likely to have nothing but a bill of sale. Somewhere in the title office documents is a book w/ all of the various state laws. They can look up the laws in the state you are bringing the vehicle in from. I have seen and read the state statutes on this myself and there is a legal provision to create vehicle titles for vehicles brought in from states that do not title older vehicles. Next, my wife also use to work for the title office and knows the laws as well. Finally, regardless of friendship or not, my friend there would never do anything to circumvent the laws and/or cost herself her job and reputation. I provided her a valid bill of sale, a real inspection slip, and the correct amount of tax money for the amount I actually paid for it. My friend did her job, period. Now, how and where I got the bill of sale, that is on me and my own integrity. She got what she legally needed to do her job. In this particular case, my out of state individual and I even exchanged money and made a valid transaction, however, if you provide the required documents to the title office it isn't their concern where you got them. Once you have title in hand you go to BMV to get your plates. Here in this county the BMV and the title offices are separate and BMV does not do titles. Absolutely nothing illegal transpired and I do not have a fradulent title. Most of the title office employee folks will not bother to go outside their comfot zone, but a look at what is actually required and following the statutes will get you there. I am not saying it is easy, you have to do your homework, but it can be done and done legally. And bottom line, as long as you aren't trying to take ownership of something stolen or in some way, not rightfully yours, it can be done.
Barnburner
Coast to Coast
First off, I did not mean to insult you or your friend. I'm sure she was doing her job correctly and your title is not fraudulent. I was just basing my comment on a personal experience trying to title an out of state vehicle with just a bill of sale - which did not work. Checked out your situation, though, and it appears you are correct, so I retract my previous post. The official word from the Titling Support section of the Ohio BMV is that they will follow whatever process the state the vehicle is coming from allows. So, if Georgia only requires a bill of sale to register an older vehicle, Ohio will accept it. My understanding was that you would need at least a registration showing that it was lawfully owned by the individual selling it to you but that appears to not be the case since Georgia has extremely lax title laws and only requires a bill of sale. Still, for bikes titled in most other states, this process would not work. Moral of the story, if its out of state check up on their laws first. Or, just title in VT...
Hey, it's all good... bottom line is that there are "who knows how many" perfectly good bikes out there collecting dust and rust. Anything we can do to legally get them back on the road has to be good, right?
A buddy of mine over in PA owns a vintage Myers Tow'd dune buggy that was never titled. In addition to it having no title, it'll have to meet all the PA requirements (numerous!) for a hand-built vehicle AND will have to be pretty much road worthy before he can even start the process that may or may not end with satisfactory results. At least with motor cycles we can get the leg work done before putting in a huge amount of time and effort. (At least we SHOULD get the leg work done first!)
A buddy of mine over in PA owns a vintage Myers Tow'd dune buggy that was never titled. In addition to it having no title, it'll have to meet all the PA requirements (numerous!) for a hand-built vehicle AND will have to be pretty much road worthy before he can even start the process that may or may not end with satisfactory results. At least with motor cycles we can get the leg work done before putting in a huge amount of time and effort. (At least we SHOULD get the leg work done first!)
