Efficient, cheap beaters! Used car ads: 35 mpg highway or more for $1500 or less

[Xist]

In the absence of the regularly required supporting evidence of ownership upon application for certificate of title, [...], the division may accept an undertaking or surety bond, in an amount double the value of the boat or vehicle...

A Motor Vehicle Division Certified VIN Inspector must inspect the vehicle.

An “NCIC Clearance”, is a statement from law enforcement indicating that the vehicle is not listed as “STOLEN” on their files. Applicant must submit a completed NCIC Certificate of Clearance.

The applicant must purchase the bond from a bonding company authorized to do business in New Mexico. The bond must be for twice the value of the vehicle and issued for a term not to expire for three years after issuance. The value of the vehicle for bonding purposes must be comparable to the most recent NADA Used Car Guide Listing

Odometer Mileage Statemen

Fees for Title and Registration Issued with Bond

Chapter 10, Section F:
General Surety, Indemnity or Certificate of Title Bond

[MetroMPG]

Woo! Hoops, meet jumper.



Now I understand why so many US ads say "have title" etc. That never appears in ads around here.

[Xist]

When I searched for "How hard is it to get a title?" I decided to go directly to the MVD, but since you need to go through a third-party, I wish that I had gotten my information from one.

I do not know if it is the same in Arizona and I am not looking it up, just moving on whenever I see "No title."

[JSH]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

How hard is it to get a title?


The first car I ever bought had no ownership papers - I had to get a notarized document, but it wasn't too complicated.

In the USA vehicle titles are handled by state governments so there are 51 different answers to your question ranging from easy to impossible.

About 10 years ago I lived in Alabama and bought a barn find motorcycle on eBay. The ad said no title but that wasn't an issue when I lived in Michigan so I bought it. When I took my bill of sale to the Alabama DMV I was informed that Alabama does not issue new titles for vehicles without a title if they are from out of state. I asked what I need to do and she said get the former owner to get a new title, transfer it to me, and then retitle in Alabama. I explained that I bought it from a guy who bought it from an estate sale, because the original owner was dead. Oh, and BTW, the last time it was registered was 1981 in Indiana. She said, so sad but the only way I was getting a Alabama title was if I had an existing title signed over to me.

I did find a work around. It seems that the State of Vermont will register motorcycle under 500cc with only a bill of sale and no VIN inspection. So I hired a company in Las Vegas to do the paperwork. With a clean VT registration in my name a was able to get an AL title. It cost about $125.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

How hard is it to get a title?


The first car I ever bought had no ownership papers - I had to get a notarized document, but it wasn't too complicated.

Live Free or Die, baby:

I. No certificate of title need be obtained for:
...
(k) Any motor vehicle whose manufacturer's model year is before the year 2000, except heavy trucks and truck-tractors whose gross vehicle weight exceeds 18,000 pounds.

All you need here is a bill of sale and proof of VIN. If the seller didn't leave an old registration in the glove box, the VIN verification form can be filled out by any mechanic that has a State Inspection license.

[Xist]

$125 is too much! This site helps you register any vehicle from any state for a flat fee of $79! CarTitles.com.

How much does a super deluxe Carfax cost nowadays?

[hayden55]

Mmmmm I don't know about that. You would have to do a bonded title. It takes like $100 bucks and then you can be driving it within two weeks. But it takes like 6 months to get a title to be able to sell it. From my personal experience...
My insurance company actually filled the whole thing out for me so I thought that was nice lol
So yeah you end up with a clean title with a bond attached to it in case the original owner wants to claim it, then the bond amount pays out (for me it was like $3700 on a motorcycle worth about $1500), and if not the bond drops off as the previous owner only has so long to claim it back. 99.9% of the time I've never heard of a previous owner getting their crap back.
So the bonded title company will pay you if the original owner wants their stuff back. You are basically buying a $100 insurance policy with them. lol

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

$125 is too much! This site helps you register any vehicle from any state for a flat fee of $79! CarTitles.com.

How much does a super deluxe Carfax cost nowadays?

Read your link:

How much will the bill of sale only title process cost me?
When you order with CarTitles.com, our $79 flat fee provides you with all of the documents and instructions to obtain your title.

What about sales tax and registration fees?
You will receive a notice for the sales tax and registration fees separately. You can pay these fees directly to the DMV at any time you wish, by check or money order. The current Vermont DMV fees are $48 for motorcycles and $76 for cars, plus sales tax.

$79 + $48 = $127 (+ postage)

[samwichse]

If someone on here doesn't snap up this 3cyl, mt, rust free, near perfect looking metro for $500, I'll be disappointed. That deal is almost too good to be real.

https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/i...8776845455444/

[MetroMPG]

Wow - and it's the CUV version: small, tall 4-door wagon. Today's most popular bodystyle? Surprised it hasn't sold yet!

It looks like it may have been used as a tow-behind dinghy for an RV or something - is that what the hardware is on the front bumper?

A little odd that they don't mention odometer reading. But if a lot of those miles are from towing, you'd want to explain that.