California registration

[Shoooter]

I've been looking at a car here in Canada that came from California.  It was imported and all the paperwork is there EXCEPT the piece of paper that has the ownership or title. All thr boarder papers are there and match the vin, cowl fender tag ect. The car still has a California license plate on it. He has been in contact with the person  he bought it from for years but haven't been able to get him to send anything. Does California has anything where you can get a title with a bill of sale? Or does anyone in Canada know a company that could straighten this out? If not the car will sit where it is.

[Cudino]

California is a "Title" state, so within CA when a car changes hands the old owner signs off on the title as release of ownership, and the new owner then signs it and gives it to the DMV along with an application for registration to get their new title.  In case of a lost title the current owner can also apply for a Lost Title, where they will be reissued a new/copy of their title, but I think this can only be done by the current owner (meaning whoever CA has on record as the current title holder).  Connecting to that old owner sounds like it might be difficult in your case, since it sounds like there's already at least one untitled owner in the middle.  Another option is to have the person who owns it now apply for a paperless title, using their bill of sale, and once they get their title they can sign it off for you as normal.  Here's a link to this process:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/forms/reg/reg227
I don't know if this will apply to out-of-state/International cases like yours, but maybe.  And also keep in mind that the CA DMV is normally very slow, and now with COVID is probably even slower, so I think this retitling process may take at least several months.

- Wade

[Brads70]

Has it even been registered here in a province? If so they take the title and give you a ownership either fit or unfit. I can't figure out how it was allowed to cross the border without a title?

[Shoooter]

Has it even been registered here in a province? If so they take the title and give you a ownership either fit or unfit. I can't figure out how it was allowed to cross the border without a title?

It hasn't been registered in Canada. I can figure out how it made it too. He has all other documents for import. The only other thing I could think of to do is try to get it through a bill of sale up here. When you dont have the registration you can use a bill of sale and the insurance company will try and find the last registered owner. It goes back 25 years or so but isnt crossed with other provinces.  When it comes back with nothing they give you registration.  Not sure if it would pop up as it was registered at the boarder??

[IRON MAN]

My son was able to get a truck put in his name without title in California. A guy who went to prison owed him money. My son owned an automotive business and with a mechanic's lien and was able to get a title from the Calif DMV. Eight years later and he still owns the truck. When the guy gets out of prison can he get the truck back if he settles the debt? I don't think so. The truck is a  60's desirable short bed truck that has increased significantly in value. I purchased a C3 Corvette/M22 with LS5 from a county asset forfeiture auction. Owner had gone to prison and tried to get it back by stealing it. Long story short, he went back to prison.

[1970Cuda]

The fellow above is right; CA is a title state (unlike a lot of states that simply issue tags/registrations).

My car came from Minnesota and didn't have a title (it was lost). I live in CA and it's a nightmare to get a CA title (I'm not exaggerating). The best option from my experience is to hire a VIN verifier in CA (someone who's licensed by the state to verify the VIN) and then get a new title that way. That's around $600, to verify it, plus the fees for the title. Otherwise, you need to bring the car to the DMV (by appointment) and have the VIN verified.

OR you can hire a third-party to help you have the car titled in another state (Vermont is a good state). The fees vary because it depends on the car's value, plus the fee from the titling company. That's a few thousand, but it's faster to do that vs. going through CA.

When I had my car titled in CA it took around six months to get it done. Good luck.