As many of you probably know i have owned a bunch of FD's over the past 20 years. I have never dealt with the issue i am dealing with now.

A little over a month ago i purchased a CYM from a guy in Chicago. I pulled the Carfax and had a buddy give the car a test drive along with a FaceTime review of the car. Carafe showed the car with a clean title. The car was in an accident in Florida back in October of 1999 but apparently nothing to be overly concerned about.The car looks and drives great...as described.

Here's the issue...3 weeks ago i went to title the car in Texas. Last weekend i received an email from the Texas Dept of Motor Vehicle that when they did their vehicle title check they came across information that in May of 2000 Florida issued a Junk Title on the car. The person that i bought the car from titled the car in Illinois in March of 2000 (2 months before the junk title in Florida). The car has been in Illinois for the last 15 years and registration has been renewed every year. Now that i have the car in Texas i cannot get the car titled because of the situation in Florida. I have talked to the Florida DMV and they are saying there is nothing they can do. I am sure this was an insurance situation where the damage from the accident was more than 70% of the value at that time...(keeping in mind that was before the F&F movie came out so the total value of the car was probably pretty low.)

I now have a bad ***, great looking and perfect running CYM RX7 that i can't get titled. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

 

Wow sounds like you have a bad situation on your hands...... Err I have dealt with similar issues. Go to your DMV or Clerk and recorder office and ask to speak to the highest ranking person there. Explain the situation and see if they are willing to issue a title. If not you might have to deal with Florida and see if they will issue a title "Rebuilt from Salvage" type thing or talk to a lawyer

 

Sounds like something to take to court or something, make sure you have all the info on the vehicle as well as past records, or find someone that works at the dmv, JK. Also If you can get the car titled they will more than likely want to run the car through state inspections which is not a big deal as long as the vins on the whole car match, the car was in an accident so you need to find out what was replaced as depending on what was replaced could mean that A there is no vin as the piece was a factory new replacement part or B a part removed from a different vehicle with a different vin in the part. Make sure to have all the receipts for the parts removed as that would be an issue if there are no receipts, IF you cant find receipts message me and I can explain more on the title process as well as ways so that you can acquire a receipt the legal way.
Thanks
Richard

 

Thanks for the input so far. I have already talked to the DMV in Florida. They stated they cannot help.

The car has already passed inspection in Texas. All the Vin's are in place. I've had the car up on my lift and there are no signs of any major repairs.

I don't think anyone at the TEXAS DMV would be able to do anything with the title until it was changed in Florida...

From what i hear Florida is one of the worst states as it relates to salvaging cars...they are quick to trash the title...

I will probably talk to an attorney next week to see if there's any legal recourse...

Any other ideas or suggestions????

 

That's terrible. Really sorry to hear it. What about the Carfax buy back guarantee for the inaccurate report!?

 

Are you sure your car was the car totaled in Florida if it was physically in Chicago at the time? Isn't it more likely a clerical error and the incorrect Vin number was recorded? Either way this is what I would do as I've had a similar situation, contact the previous owner from whom you purchased the car, any info they have of the car prior to their ownership would be helpful to you at this point. Get them to sign an affidavit, witnessed and signed by the witness stating the car was in Illinois at the time of said accident. Contact Florida DMV every state has different laws most counties within states have different laws, what's more important is finding the right person who may be willing to help you in Florida. If you get nowhere with Florida DMV/county clerks start contacting your local county clerks and DMV's and explain your situation. The affidavit will help you to persuade them to consider the fact that it's possibly a clerical error
GL

 

I am going to look into the carfax option.

The accident happened in October of 1999. Marty the previous owner bought the car in March of 2000 and had it titled in Illinois the same month. 2 months later the junk title info was posted in Florida.

The junk title info doesn't show up on Carfax.

 

I thought a totaled car could be declared safe or road worthy by an inspector and then titled as rebuilt.

 

Do you physically have the title in hand or trying to get a title through the DMV?

 

I had the Illinois clear title that came with the car. The title was turned in to the Texas DMV along with all the paperwork and payment needed for the Texas title. The Texas DMV will return the title i gave them but it will have a Junk Title stamped on it.

 

Sue CARFAX!

 

I am looking into the carafe buyback guarantee. This is one of the lines in the disclaimer...

The Branded Title must have been issued by a motor vehicle agency from which CARFAX receives and loads data about Branded Titles in regular monthly transmissions.

Will see how this works out.

 

Gotcha you have the title and can drive the car but it's now branded and you want the title to read clean despite the fact that is was totaled in FL?

Good luck

 

Fritz,

I would actually be okay with that...not happy but okay. I do not have a title in Texas. The title that i would get back from the state is the one from Illinois. The stamp would be placed on it so it can't be transferred.

We are about to put the car on the lift to look for any damage under the car. I've already checked the entire car when i had it on stands to replace the coilovers...

You have a good roller than i can move all these parts over too???

 

This is horrible, CYMs are so damn rare and to see you have these problems

I remember the car on Ebay, a friend was interested in buying it......

 

So the state of tx doesn't allow you to have the car inspected and given a clean bill of health or considered rebuilt/safe so you can title it?

If that is the case I definitely feel for you because that would make this a super effed up situation

PS No rollers at this time

 

Anyway way to go about it in a neighboring state?

Hell, if it checks out in NJ maybe I'll buy the damn thing from ya

 

I hope the Carfax route works for you. Seems like you may need a lawyer if they don't admit accountability.

I remember your user name now, you had a montego blue with chromed out everything in the engine bay, basically a show car that you also raced.

Funny there are only a dozen people still around from a decade ago.

 

You will probably need to get a lawyer. Also, you may want to look into business that deal with getting abandoned vehicle titles as they will know your state's laws a little better.

In the end you need to find a business, or lawyer that deals with this kind of issue as they would have the most knowledge and contacts to help you out.

 

Since it already has an Illinois title maybe you could take that dream vacation you always wanted to Chicago and just get a new title in your name up there. Who wouldn't want an excuse to spend a few days in Chicago? Before doing that make sure they don't require you to bring the car in for a VIN inspection or something.

 

Chicago is fun!

 

Not an expert but I support the idea of trying via a neighborhood state (Arizona? I say that because there you can license cars like the Atom, forbidden in TX).

Good luck!

 

All,

Thanks for the advice so far. I am about to file with CarFax to see if anything comes from that. i am also doing some research to find a dealer in Texas that deals with getting cars a title. At this point i would probably settle for a salvage title...at least i could legally drive it.

I asked the seller in Chicago for assistance in talking to the Florida DMV....basically i am getting this is my problem not his and there's nothing he can do!

Sux...

Anyone want to buy a bad *** CYM without a title

 

Keep us posted!

 

I've been on the phone for over an hour with the Texas DMV and Florida DMV...on hold with Florida right now. So far no good news

I may end up having to take the car to Florida to have it inspected at the DMV office. Being that the car has been driven for the last 15 years and is in great condition...They would probably issue a different type of title at that time.

As for the carfax buyback guarantee option, that doesn't look like a good option. It appears they would only pay on the book value of the car. I could part it out for way more than that.

I am open to any and all suggestions at this time. Or if someone wants to make an offer on the car...maybe you would have better luck outside of Texas.