FB has NO TITLE!! wtf!
 

ok now.. yesterday i went to the DMV and found out that my car doesnt exist. I went in to try to get the papers to it because my uncle just gave me the car w/o papers. (he claims he lost them). Now i dont know what to do. I gave the lady the VIN and License plate # and nothing showed up. ive never had this problem and i really dont wanna get rid of my car after all the work ive done to it.
what should i do?

See where you're uncle got the car. Maybe it was from a different state? If not just try and get a title made for it

how do i do that? how long is the process?

I'm not honestly sure on either of those. Just do some research and ask some questions at your local Department Of Motor Vehicles

Usually,if the car isnt registered for a set number of year(7-10) itll drop off the DMV computor.They must assume its just totaled,stored unused,or just plain dissapeared.
Youll probably just have to bring the car to the DMV for VIN verification to get it reinstated, and file for a lost title.
I had to do that for my sandrail when I bought it from a guy in Nebraska.He actually drove it on the street there,but since it was considered an offroad vehicle only in CA,I had to "create" a new identification for it in the CA DMV.

yeah. the car hasnt been registered since 2000. is that why they cant find record of it?
i keep hearing different things from different people
some guy i talked to said that ill have to put all the emissions back on and take it to state ref for them to check it out
and another guy said what you said steve. To take it the DMV and have them verify it.

hmmmm.....JUNK THAT POS..
hmmmmm....I Know ppl at DMV...
hmmmmmmm..... Its your only solution If you prefer my way....the right way.hmm

Smog comes last.
Wait until the end for that,you can still get the car in your name and get a clean title in the mean-time.With a clean title and paid fees you can obtain temporary operating permits(ferry pass/red sticker) which will allow you to drive the car legally.I drove a car for nearly a year,legally by repeatedly going to different DMVs and getting 3 month red sitckers.Completely legal so long as you show that your fees are paid and you have insurance.

Worst case scenario is if the car is out of state.CA DMV doesnt communicate with many other state DMV's.If they require you to contact the last registered owner,the investigative work will be up to you.You could try doing a CarFax type search on the VIN and see if you can determine the car's state of orgin.Then work from there with that state's DMV to locate the last know owner.Then just send them a notice of release of interest in the vehicle.This will show the DMV that the last known owner has released his interest in the car,allowing you to take possesion of it legally.
You dont neccesarily have to contact the last owner, either.I went through this with my Samurai.So long as you ATTEMPT to contact the last owner,the DMV will give you the car.You just have to bring in a certified letter containing the right documents showing you attempted to process the paperwork with the last owner.If the owner no longer lives there or refuses to accept the certified mail from the postal carrier,the car is yours.You PROVED(with the returned certified letter) that you attempted to do your part.The car will be yours by default.This is exactly how I obtained the new paperwork on my Hawaii reg'ed Samurai that had been passed from 3 different people without any proper paperwork done.

Youll likely have to do a brake,lamp and headlight inspection just like when you re-register a previously totalled car. Almost certain youll have to take it to the DMV so they can verify all the VIN numbers are the same(to confirm its not a chop job)

try and run a carfax on it.. post the vin in the vin section of this board. someone will run it.. bring the copy to the DMV to prove the car exists

Call the DMV in Sacramento. As I recall there is a way to do this, but they may not have the answer at the local DMV.

Im probably leading too much into this.If I were you Id just ask your uncle who he got the car from,and if they were legal registered owners.If it was a CA car,then it should still exist in the CA DMV records after only 5 years.Be sure all your VIN numbers on the car match.Dont go by the dash VIN since heater defrost vents are often cracked and replaced.Check under the hood on the firewall and on the door sticker.If the DMV cant locate the car in the computor,the VIN's are correct,and it was a CA car,then theres no way they can direct you to the last owner.In that case,the whole certified mail and release of interest mess I went through wouldnt apply to you at all.I would think in that case,they would just inspect the car and start a new DMV record on it with your name as the legal owner....

just get a inspection from a local mechanic shop, then have it insured. i dont see why thats such a huge problem?

From what ive read, i dont think CA's DMV operates like either the MTO or whatever you western bud growers call the DMV there..

Rotarx7: move to canada, bring the car. Get canadian tire to inspect the vehicle (imported vehicle inspection) and then take the mess to the liscensing office. pay your fees and laugh at all your old friends: you have a sweet ride and free medcare incase it fucks you up. (tree, hatch-crunch, any variety of knuckle scrapes)

Correct.
Our DMV is very different,as are the inspection rules in CA.
All CA cares about is pollution control and collecting fees.Smog test every 2 years,reg fees every year and a new driver's licence about every 5-6 years.

Here,we have no annual safety inspections.You can drive the biggest piece of shit on the road and as long as you can pass a smog test and pay your regs,your good to go.Bald tires,rusted panels,worn brakes,loose steering,hackjob lift kits......its all up to the local authorities and CHP to cite those unsafe vehicles then send them off to be inspected for compliance.There is no mandetory inspection,if you dont get pulled over,there is no regulation.
The only time you have to get a safety inspection before being issued new DMV paperwork,is when re-registering a peviously totalled vehicle.

yeah i gave the DMV the VIN on the firewall. all the VINS match (upper dashvents, door sticker, firewall) and they all look legit.
my uncle bought the car from some guy from FONTANA (here in CA). sometime in 99 i believe.
I just Carfaxed it. they have 6 records of my car of when it passed its emissions tests. i just understand how CarFax has the info but the DMV doesnt.
yeah and there is no way for me to get a hold of the previous owner. hes long gone to i dont know where!
thanx for your help STEVE.
btw: i dig your ride!

oh yeah.. move to Canada for this? an FB? hell no!

okay, more advice RotarRX7:
make sure your handbrake works
all vehicle lighting works
no exaust leaks
front liscense plate holder
no broken suspension linkages/bushings
good rubbers
good braking system components
working speedometer
working seatbelts
working drivers side window (its the law in ontario!)
no rusty fluid lines
no nasty oil smoking
NO BODY HOLES ANYWHERE (goddamn!)
and then follow my earlier advice

yeah.. im all good in those areas. all the car needs are its papers =)

ooh.. except for the working SPEEDO. i still need the cable
but thats last of my worries

DMV wont care about any of that stuff so long as the car wasnt a salvaged vehicle.

Sounds like your got your bases covered.Take the Carfax paperwork to the DMV and see what they say.If they can track the last owner's whereabouts,you can attempt a mailing for a release of interest to you.
If not,then at least youve proven the car is a CA vehicle and the DMV should have some info somewhere......unless it was striken from their records due to a totaling by an insurance company.In which case, the car is/was salvaged and youll have to go in for a brake/lamp/headlight inspection before getting your tags.
That inspection is cake,its not even close to as thourough as the other states.....they only check the basics.I did this with a 94 Civic auction car I bid on and won from a body shop that had rebuilt it.I passed the CA re-registration inspection easily....the front fenders didnt line up right and the airbags hadent even been replaced!

that story would be funnier if the airbag was still hanging out from the wheel when they passed it through inspection.
"looks good to me, but you should empty all those grocery bags from the car, they're getting stuck to the dashboard!"

I might have your answer Rotarx7. I just did this myself to buy an SE. I guess the first question is: what state are the plates from?

If you've got CA plates, which I'm guessing you do if the car came from Fontana, then you can probably use the same form I used, REG 227.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr14.htm

My car was recently registered and in the system so they didn't hassle me much about the situation. You'd fill out the part of new owner and your uncle would fill out the part of registered owner if indeed he had ever registered it at any time. If he never registered it, he was still the previous owner, and that Statement of Facts form looks like it would come into play. If you meet these criteria, CA plates, and your uncle had it registered at some previous time, then I should tell you one more thing about the form REG 227. We printed out a copy from the link above, filled it out completely, notarized it as required, and turned it in. The DMV sent it back to me saying it was the right form, filled out correctly, but it needed to be on their original pink colored paper :mad:. If this is the right form for you, perhaps print it out, and go get an original from the DMV to fill out and turn in.

If the car doesn't have CA plates and/or it was never registered in CA, then you probably need to do what it says here:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr9.htm

That looks like a whole mess of stuff, a number of which have been mentioned in previous posts.

Broadway Title
 

I have a friend who used this twice on cars he patched together from miscellaneous parts, and he had no problem.

http://www.broadwaytitle.com/

cool! thanx everyone

ok now..
today i went to the DMV in Pasadena to get a VIN verification. Little did i know that my dashboard VIN plate isnt there. So the lady just told me that i have to go get it checked out by CHP. I dont feel to comfortable w talking my car over there. i dont have any of my emissions and it wont pass smog for crap. Is going to CHP my only option here now??

Listen to me! you may as well as junk that shit as CHP nor DMV WILL be looking for smog crappola. You got 3 options.

1. Put it back into stock condition (BULLSHIT)
2. Find another shell and transfer everthing there.
3 You got to know people as in $$$ talk and bullshit walk :ky: