DMV Horror StoriesSo we all have DMV horror stories. In fact, this publication asks readers to talk about your worst experiences at the DMV, and they had no shortage of responses. But, you know, it’s not hard to find the bad stories. The question is, why? Anybody ever stop to wonder why the DMV is so difficult to deal with and why they make it a hard time? Well, it’s a combination of a perfect storm of two factors. One factor is, it’s a government agency. It doesn’t have the same efficiency, implications, and goals and objectives as a private company.
Government Agency vs Private CompanyIf you’re a private company, if you don’t do things well, you go out of business. If you don’t serve customers well, customers don’t come see you, and you close, you fail. If you’re a restaurant and have terrible food, you’re done. Right? If you’re a bookstore and you don’t have good customer service, lock your door. DMV is different. The DMV doesn’t matter how bad the services are; you have to go there. You don’t have a choice. There is no competitor to DMV. They don’t have to make a profit. They don’t have to have good reviews. They’re the DMV.
Legal Documents and DMV ResponsibilitiesThere’s another factor that people don’t realize. They’re handing out legal documents. When they hand somebody a license, a driver’s license, that’s not just a card something you put in your wallet. It enables you to do lots of things: to go on airplanes, to show your ID, to buy things, to vote, to open a bank account. If they handed it out without doing the proper due diligence, it could create a lot of problems for identity theft or fraud. When they hand out a car title, they’re handing the ownership legality of that vehicle to that person because the title doesn’t just have information about the car, it also tells who is the owner.
Title as Legal OwnershipSo if I went to the DMV and said, “You know what, I want a title for this car, 2022 Toyota Camry, whatever it is, fin number 1234, give me a title,” if they didn’t make sure all the documentation was correct, giving me a title to the car isn’t just a piece of paper I can put in my file cabinet. It now gives me an equal dollar amount to the value of that car. So if that car is worth $30,000, when they hand me a title, in effect, they’re handing me $30,000 in cash. And also, the other side of that is they’re taking it away from somebody else because somebody else used to be the owner. So unless they make sure all of that is correct, they’re arbitrarily taking away something from somebody and giving it to somebody else. So they have to do it right.
Bill of Sale and DocumentationSo their process is going to be pretty strict, and you might say, “Well, I have a receipt. I have a legal bill of sale. I bought it from somebody.” What is a bill of sale? We will be back in 8 seconds. In the meantime, remember, you have access to live, one-on-one consultation, undivided attention of a licensed, certified expert in this subject and many others. We want to listen to your story, we want to hear your questions, and give you expert advisement of your options. We want to tell you what we know about your situation and what options you have. Now, back to your video.
Understanding Bill of SaleA bill of sale is just something somebody wrote on a piece of paper that said, “I took the money from somebody and gave him this car.” It doesn’t necessarily mean they were the legal owner. It doesn’t mean they had the right to sell. It doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lien holder on it, a co-owner, or it wasn’t their car at all. Right? Well, I rented the van. It’s not a stolen car. It doesn’t have to be stolen to not be sellable. If I rented a car today from Hertz to rent a car and drove it around and then put an ad on Craigslist and said, “Hey, I want to sell this car,” I could give you a bill of sale, sell you the car. It won’t come back as stolen. I gave you a legal bill of sale. I can even get it notarized. Does that make you the owner of the car?
The DMV’s Role in Protecting LegalitiesWhat happened to Hertz? It’s not how it works. There are legal documents you have to have. So the DMV is enforcing those to protect you as much as anybody else. You wouldn’t want somebody to sell your car out of your driveway if you went on vacation without paperwork or with fake paperwork and didn’t check everything out. So it protects everybody. Is it inconvenient? Absolutely. Is it tough? Sure. And that’s why we have a division of our company called Cartitles.com that helps people navigate that difficult title process. It makes it easier.
Helping Customers Navigate the DMV ProcessIt’s tough because we are the ones that have to deal with the DMV, work with the bureaucracy, and then also deal with the clients that still have, you know, some difficulty. But at least it makes it easier for our customers, which we love doing. Someday, there’ll be electronic titles, and you won’t have to do paper. But that’s years away. So if you’re wondering why the DMV is always so hard to deal with or gives you the runaround, that’s why. They’re not bad people. They’re not trying to, you know, make your life more difficult. They have a job to do, and their system of structure is different than a company.
Understanding DMV’s System and MindsetLook, if me and you walked into the cell phone store and we wanted to go get a new cell phone, right? We walked in and say, “Hey, I want to buy a new phone.” There would be five people jumping over themselves to try to help you to sell you a phone because they’re going to make money on that phone. They’re going to make a commission. They might get a bonus. DMV is not like that. They don’t get a commission if you get a title. They don’t get any extra money if you get a title. So there’s two different mindsets. They’re there to protect the legalities of a process, unlike a private company that’s trying to get as much stuff out the door as they can.
Perception of the DMVSo if you look at it that way, it won’t be as annoying. It won’t be as frustrating because you have to look at it as two different things. Just because you walk through a door into a lobby, it’s not the same experience as walking into Home Depot, where they ask you, “Can I help you find, you know, that fitting?” DMV is not like that, and if you look at it differently, it’ll be much easier to navigate and much more peaceful for your well-being.
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Welcome MessageHello, for fans of this channel. You’ve been watching this for years. We now have an additional channel where you may be able to see some additional car titles videos along with videos on other subjects that may be of interest.
New Channel IntroductionIf you go to the link below, our channel is Actual Human. It will give you information on vehicle titles, as I know you all like to see, but also information on other subjects such as investigations, commercial insurance, mediation, conflict resolution. All of those videos will be included on that.
Content AvailabilityThe channel, along with the other subjects, will still have videos showing up here on a regular basis, even more than we’ve had before.
Additional Content ScopeBut you can observe development in other markets, even automotive markets that have less to do with vehicle titles, but also automotive industry news, at our YouTube channel at Actual Human and our website actualhuman.com.
Closing StatementLook forward to seeing you there.
As title specialists processing thousands of inquiries annually at CarTitles.com, we’ve seen firsthand the complications that arise from purchasing vehicles without proper documentation. Here’s what every potential buyer needs to know.
While it’s often possible to obtain a title for a titleless vehicle, there’s never a guarantee. The most frustrating part? You won’t know if you can get a title until after you’ve already purchased the vehicle.
Many buyers assume that if a car isn’t stolen, getting a title won’t be an issue. However, numerous other situations can permanently block title acquisition:
Even with methods available for lien release (detailed at CarTitles.com), about 15% of liens prove impossible to clear, regardless of your efforts.
Cars designated as “parts-only” or “junk” face different challenges than salvage vehicles. While salvage vehicles can potentially return to the road after inspection, junk-designated vehicles are permanently barred from titling.
Unpaid taxes, registration penalties, and DMV holds from previous owners can create insurmountable obstacles to obtaining a title.
Probate issues, inheritance disputes, and other legal claims can prevent title transfer, often without any advance warning.
While CARFAX and similar VIN check services provide valuable information, they have significant limitations:
As title specialists, we strongly advise against purchasing any vehicle without a title unless you’re prepared to lose your entire investment. Consider it purely speculative, similar to gambling.
If you’ve already acquired a vehicle without proper documentation, visit CarTitles.com for potential solutions and expert assistance.
For more detailed information and regular updates on vehicle title issues, subscribe to our YouTube channel for expert insights and discussions.
Title Company and Buying Cars Without TitlesOkay, I know that we are a title company obviously our website is cartitles.com but really you have to stop buying cars without titles. All the people that are out there that call us every day, we get hundreds of calls every day, sometimes over a thousand contacts. A lot of people buying cars without titles and certainly in many cases, in fact most cases, you can actually get a title for a car that you bought without a title. However, there is some percentage of vehicles that are not eligible for a title and the problem is there’s no way of knowing in advance if you’re able to get a title.
Risks of Buying Cars Without TitlesSo if you have not already purchased a car and it does not have a title, we never recommend buying a car without a title because there’s some chance that you could never get a title. Now obviously the first thing that people think of is, well I know it’s not stolen. Well, that’s only one possible scenario that will keep you from getting a title. There’s all kinds of other situations that could block you from getting a title. For example, if there’s open liens on it that hold the title back.
Releasing Liens and Other IssuesNow there are some methods you can use to release the lien and you can see that on our website cartitles.com, but those are also not 100% effective if the lien holder is adamant about their lien. In fact, about 12 to 15% of the time, you cannot get a lien release, but 85% of the time you can. But that 15% could be a problem for you. What if the car is reported as parts only or junk? That’s not the same as a salvage. It could be that the car is not eligible for a title because some insurance company put in a notice on the system that it’s not eligible.
Other Scenarios Preventing Title EligibilityWhat if at some point somebody had it and didn’t pay their back taxes or the registration and accrued penalties and that’s at the DMV blocking the title? That could be another problem. In some cases, there are other claims against the car from a prior owner. Maybe it went through probate, maybe it’s in a will. Again, you won’t know these things until you try to get the title. There’s no database or online search you can do to find this out. Sure, you can run a Carfax and Carfax or VIN search or any of these online, you know, cheap $10 VIN checks will give you some information, but they don’t show liens. They only show stolen, about 60 to 70% of the time accurately. They don’t show other claims. They do show things like salvage, but sometimes it’ll say salvage when really it’s a junk.
Limitations of Carfax and VIN SearchesA salvage car can be inspected and put on the road, but a junk car you cannot. So take it with a grain of salt. CARFAX is definitely a place to start, but it’s certainly not the official record of the government. It’s a third-party database, and it does a pretty good job, at least it’s something. But even if you look at their own disclaimers in Carfax or VIN check or any of these online VIN searches, it’ll tell you that it’s not 100%. So you’re always taking a risk if you buy a car without a title.
Final Recommendation for Buying Cars Without TitlesSo our official position is stop buying cars with no titles unless you’re looking at that money as completely speculation. You’re okay to lose it if you can’t get a title and it’s like a gamble. But if you already did buy a car without a title, now you have to do something, and now you can use our website cartitles.com.
Why Mechanics Liens Are Not the Best Way to Get a TitleSo you’ve heard me talk many times about mechanics liens and why they are not the way to go about getting a title. Many times, an automotive shop or even a private citizen thinks, “I’ll just slap a mechanic on this car and get a title for it.” It doesn’t work. It’s the worst way to get a title. In the past, years ago, it was a viable opportunity, but nowadays, you definitely don’t want to use a mechanics lien as a way to get a title. This article tells you exactly why. Here’s an article from The Daily Dot.
A Mechanic’s Ordeal With a LienInterviewing a mechanic who works on cars for a living, somebody brought in a car, dropped it off for work, and never picked it up. His ordeal in even trying to get a title was so long-winded and so torturous that he swore he’d never do it again. Here’s why. For many years, an automotive mechanics lien was a viable way for a legitimate automotive repair shop to get paid for their vehicle. Then, about seven or eight years ago, in 2015 or 2016, many automotive shops started to abuse the process. They used it as a way to get a title for their buddy who lost a title they bought on Craigslist.
Abuse of Mechanics LiensThey put ads in the newspaper that said, “Hey, if you need to get a title for a car, bring it to us, and we’ll put through a fake mechanics lien.” Some shops were using it to get titles for cars that they really didn’t work on that much. The privilege given to automotive shops started to become curtailed. Some states stopped it altogether. There was a period of time in Indiana where they stopped and put a hold on all mechanics liens for about 14 months.
Stricter Requirements for Mechanics LiensNow, even in states that allow them, they do what’s called a level three audit on every case that comes through their file. They make sure that the owner signed a repair order authorizing work. They ensure the car was actually auctioned off to the public, not just given to somebody directly. They make sure all the proper procedures are followed. All the right notifications are followed, meaning certified letters must be sent to the lienholder, the owner, and any interested parties multiple times over the course of two or three months.
The Complexities of the ProcessYou have to send out a certified letter, wait 45 days, send another one, wait 30 days, and put an ad in the newspaper announcing that you’re going to auction off the car to the highest bidder. That way, people will come bid on the car—you just can’t give it to one person. It’s a very complicated process. For the most part, even if you are a legitimate automotive shop and you did work on the vehicle, the easier way to get a title is just to go to a court order title.
The Rise of Alternative MethodsIt’s faster and cheaper, and you don’t have to jump through as many hoops. Because mechanics liens were used improperly for so long, all the states’ DMV commissioners have cracked down on them. In fact, the Commissioners have a biannual meeting where they discuss this issue. For many years, they’ve said that half of mechanics liens are fraud, and the other half are scams.
Oversight on Shops Using Mechanics LiensThey now audit the ones that come through and review records for that shop to see how much they have paid in payroll taxes, sales taxes, and permit fees. This gives them an idea of how big the shop is. For example, if Joe’s Automotive reports $38,000 in sales taxes last month, but they are putting through 10 mechanics liens, that raises a red flag.
A Real-Life Case StudyIn this article, a shop owner faced a difficult process. A customer brought in a car, approved a repair quote, and the shop installed a new transmission. Afterward, the customer never came back. The shop had to go through a mechanics lien, which turned into a brutal process taking seven or eight months, costing thousands of dollars. It was rejected twice because it was audited and found to have minor errors.
The Verdict on Mechanics LiensThis article, shared by The Daily Dot, includes quotes from CarTitles.com stating that while mechanics liens are a legal process allowing a shop to recover costs, they are complex to execute and should only be used when absolutely necessary. States require cars to be sold at auction, and in some cases, shops can only keep the money owed for repairs, with anything over that amount going to the state.
Consider Alternative OptionsThink twice if you’re considering a mechanics lien. It’s certainly not a go-to method if you’re not a licensed mechanic or trying to get a mechanic to do it for you on a car that wasn’t in their shop. Even if you are a mechanic, there are better, faster, and more cost-effective methods available today.
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