I have a Lotus Europa shell that I acquired without a title. The only part of the car that I intend to use is the body. Does any one out there have a Title and VIN plate that could be assigned to my car? I would consider a cheap wrecked car that has a clean title.
Ohio DMV hasn't been very helpful in trying to find the original owner. Any ideas would be appreciated.
i think your best bet is buy a "wrecked or stripped shell with title" wink wink. since what you're asking is technically illegal.
Right. Even a completely balled up car should work.
patgizz wrote: i think your best bet is buy a "wrecked or stripped shell with title" wink wink. since what you're asking is technically illegal.
Aren't Europas in that type of condition free?
I would start reviewing what it takes to get a dune buggy titled or some other home built car titled in Ohio.
What you likely have is a fiberglass body and a y-beam.
What you end up with might "resemble" a Europa but...
I bet that if you could get a VW Bug VIN you could argue that you have a VW converted to kit car. It even continues to have a rear engine.
In current times, the answer might be Fiero based kit. I would bet you can find a Fiero title.
In reply to JohnRW1621:
Build it as a kit car, but call it a "xxxxxx Europa" They should assign a vin and title.
He's be bettor off finding a Europa as he will suffer a lot of dimineshed value with a kit car vin
markwemple wrote: He's be bettor off finding a Europa as he will suffer a lot of dimineshed value with a kit car vin
You can get cheaper than free? I'm pretty sure in GRM-land the going price for a Europa shell is $0.00.
The kit car idea is a possibility. But a "self built" car would require a great deal of inspection and review of receipts on the major components. Since I don't have receipts for components that I currently own and will be using, I am trying to avoid that scrutiny.
I like the wrecked car title idea. What I want to try to do is restore the wrecked car using the parts that I have. With the possible only part from the wrecked car being the dash and VIN tag.
In reply to "patgizz" , this is probably more that "technically" illegal. I have tried to contact the previous owner, but he hasn't responded. I would hate to do the work that I plan, only to find out that the car had been stolen at some point. The Ohio DMV doesn't seem to be interested in helping me find the previous owner to find out how it left his possession. (and it is technically illegal in Ohio to buy a car without the title. But this is not a complete car, so in my mind it is just "car parts".)
In reply to Sofa King:
Where did you buy the car? I bought a car in NY once without a title. I don't remember the details, but it wasn't a big deal for the previous owner to get a title for the car and send it to me. I then just had to go through the normal out of state inspection in order to get the title. Now that I read what I wrote, I guess it's not very helpful for you, but maybe it will spark and idea that will help you.
http://lansing.craigslist.org/cto/4918172067.html
In reply to dyintorace: That car has a lot of parts that I need. Unfortunately it is missing the Title also!
I bought the car from a collector that found the car in a field. He never had the title. If I could contact the owner of record, he could get a replacement title for only a couple of bucks. Unfortunately I can't find out who he is. The car is listed on the Europa registry, and I e-mailed the contact listed, but got no response.
Title shouldn't be hard for him to get. Go to Secretary of State (MI version of DMV) and apply for lost title. The cops will check to insure its not stolen and the title will be issued. Then you buy the car from him with a good title.
In reply to Gearheadotaku: That would work if I was dealing with the guy that held the title.
dyintorace wrote: http://lansing.craigslist.org/cto/4918172067.html
pretty sure that's one of the $0 ones.
What year is it? I've done it in NY with pre-1972 vehicles. DMV's concern is that it isn't stolen.
Do you know any cops? Ask one to run the VIN.
Dan
In reply to 914Driver:
Mine was '74 and I had no problem with the NY DMV.
it is a 72
Your original post was technically illegal.
Now, you sound like you are adding the liklihood that it could be stolen.
That's a bit further than I'd like to stretch. If you are knowingly switching the VIN on a stolen vehicle (I know you didn't actually say that yet), you are no longer a bystander. You are actively participating in he crime (of not returning to the rightful owner).
I'd do a police search, then proceed depending on the outcome.
As a car enthusiast, I'm not keen on this idea. I wouldn't want to be the guy who had his classic car stolen, then had some guy switch the VIN with the help from a car enthusiast website.
It's like being kicked in the ass by my brothers. I also think it is kind of uncool for our hosts on this site.
Sofa King wrote: In reply to Gearheadotaku: That would work if I was dealing with the guy that held the title.
So the person with the car never got a title? That sort of thing irritates me.
How bad do you want the car? You may have to do the leg work for him if he's reluctant. (And it had better end in a lower price)
Get the VIN, go to DMV and they should be able to track the last known legal owner and any theft reports. If you cannot contact/find the last owner but the title is clean, see if there is a process to lay claim to it as an 'abandoned' car. I forsee lots of hoops to jump through but not impossible.
Another option is to have a friend in a bill of sale legally register it in their state for a while then "sell" you the car with a valid title.
In reply to SVreX: No, I don't think that it was stolen, but I understand that it is a possibility and I certainly would be glad to return it to its proper owner if he could be found. The DMV will not aid me in the title search, and I don't have any friends in the police that could run the VIN for me.
I have not tried calling the police directly to see if they would run the VIN.
I don't want to circumvent the system, but the Ohio system is not set up to deal with this. I want to do this as legally as possible, but trying to keep the process as painless as possible.
As I said above, it is not legal in Ohio to buy a car without a title, but it is legal to buy car parts. This is not a complete car by any stretch, but I want to turn it into a hotrod, much like pulling a '32 shell out of a creek, and building a car.
If you want to hotrod, then get a new vin by the method(s) listed above.
Where are these mythical $0 Europa? Cause I have lust.
In nc, you can go through the dmv for a bonded title. The big city dmvwwon't even mention that its an option. My small town dmv title office offered to help me get the process started for a car I hadn't even bought yet.
The system is setup to protect victims of theft and loan agencies. Therefore they make it hard to get a title. If it were me, which it has been, I'd go to a small town title office on a slow day, and ask around. There's gotta be a way, even in Ohio. Take printed pictures of the hulk with you.
Not getting a title is common here in Mass. Mass RMV wants to charge you sales tax and title fees to get one. Title is $75 but they tell you how much the sales tax will be. They assign a value based on Kelly Blue Book. Recently bought a $2500 car that the RMV said was worth $19K. Do the math. 19,000 times .0625 plus 75. Thats $1262.50 for a title. When and if I sell it, its the next guys problem. He can have the signed title I got from the PO. Lots of nice restorable cars are getting lost in no paperwork land, but thats what the state wants anyway. They want everybody driving new clean cars that generate the most excise tax dollars.
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