Who can I contact to get a Title?

[Burt Munro]

I understand that there are companies out there who will assist (for a fee) in getting a new title for a motorcycle.  Anybody know who they are and/or have had experience in this area?

I won't mention any names since the guilty party is known to many on this board in the Midwest region.  Situation is a little complicated, but I thought I was buying a bike with a title.  Turns out the party I paid my money to (we'll call her Lavern) did not "technically" own the bike.  Lavern acted as an agent for the bike owner (we'll call him Squiggy) and was to forward the money I paid on to Squiggy, who has the title in hand. 

Only catch is Lavern never gave the money to Squiggy and has now apparently spent the money on new sweaters or something.  Consequently, Squiggy now having no bike and no money from the bike sale, understandably isn't real anxious to forward the title to me.  I, at least have the bike, even though I would not have paid as much for it if I knew I wouldn't be getting a title with it.

Am I better off trying to prosecute Lavern or does Squiggy need to start that process?
Or do I forget about Lavern and Squiggy and try to get the title replaced by some other means?

And thoughts and/or ideas about how to resolve this would be greatly appreciated.

[Jeff]

Track down Lon Allen.  I think he knows of a place that can help.  He managed to get titles on some shit I sold him that had changed hands 20x before I touched it.

[iyeager]

International Title Service, I've heard from a number of people that they are very trustworthy. The only problem is they only do pre-'88 bikes, so I'm not sure it'll help you.

Web addy is www.its-titles.com

Ian

[catman]

GREAT INFO! "You can get anything you want".......  Thanks I needed that!john

[Burt Munro]

Thanks Iyeager!

Unfortunately, the bike in question is a 1995.  Looks like it's time for plan B.....

Think I'll keep an eye out for a titled frame that the owner isn't trying to sell to pay for his sex change surgery!

[Protein Filled]

Here is one that it's at $45.00 right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330016416223&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Sqiggy needs to file charges against Lavern for theft. She acted as an agent and didnt give the money to Squiggy so her ass is now in the hot seat. Couple things can happen now. Either she gives squiggy the money and you get your title, or she gives you back ALL the money and the bike goes back to squiggy. You bought the bike with the understanding the title was coming to you and was clean. Maybe you should contact squiggy and the both of you start to put some serious pressure on her so he gets his money and you get the bike clean and clear.

[Burt Munro]

Here is one that it's at $45.00 right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330016416223&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:

Thanks Edgar!  I'm watching that one.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Burt, switching out frames to get a 'clean' title can come back to bite you in the ass if the bike ends up reported as stolen (which he would be in his right under the current situation). You really need to get this crap ironed out.

[cbirk]

I have a cbr 600 f2 frame with clear title. It has a bent swing arm and the subframe MAY be mildy bent, but not by the eye. Its totally bare. have title. let me know if you are interested, can bring to Blackhawk Aug 18-20 and Sept. 22-24.

[George_Linhart]

Burt,

If the owner didn't get the money, he could file a police report that it has been stolen and you would then be a criminal as you are in possesion of stolen property...  You probably have a defence (assuming you did got a bill of sale from the owner's agent) in that you were a good faith buyer from a party that represented themselves as the owner.  However, you don't have a good faith argument anymore because at this point you clearly know the situation.  There might also be some legal defenses about the agency relationship and what could/should have happened there, but its a slippery slope.  Particularly as the "agent" wasn't given title to the bike so couldn't actually legally transfer title so you never actually bought the bike.  I think that if push comes to shove you will have to hand over the bike to "Squiggy" and try and recover the cash from "Lavern."

If I were you I would work with "Squiggy" and see what you can sort out.  Frankly, if "Lavern" screwed you and "Squiggy" this party deserves to be called out on the board.  There is no excuse for screwing other racers, we need a certain amount of trust to share the track at speed - voilate that trust and you need to go away. 

Just my 2 cents.

George Linhart
#773

[Burt Munro]

George,

I understand completely what you're saying and I agree.  This has turned into a real messy situation that has me stressing over the right way to handle it.  "Squiggy" would be totally within his rights to start legal proceedings against me and "Laverne".
I think the tough thing for him is the fact that he and Laverne had, up until this situation, been very good friends.  He knows full well how we got to this point and that if we went the legal route, Laverne would have some serious " 'splainin' to do" to the law.

The real kicker in this for me is that the 'guilty' party is related to a very good friend of mine and he has attempted to sort things out  - without success.

Calling this person out on the board wouldn't accomplish anything as Laverne no longer is active at the racetrack (possibly because "she" would have to face up to this situation).   I don't feel compelled to "out" Laverne as it's not a situation where it would save someone else at the track from getting ripped off.

Doing an end run (finding a new Titled frame) really is a last ditch effort for me.  I agree that Squiggy and I need to join forces to get this resolved, starting with written communication with Laverne, giving her an opportunity to clear things up and give all parties what they were expecting out of the deal.

I guess if all else fails I can try for an appearance on "Judge Joe Brown"!!

Burt (Rick)