marky522

I recently purchased a car for parts. It had been sitting for 3 years so i thought it would be a basket case. Well I had it running in 2 hours, and the body and engine are in VERY good condition. So i want to get a title and drive it, I need to know how i can run a VIN to find out the current registered owner? I have run a carfax, but it didnt come back with an owner, just that it was last tagged in IL. VIN is WP0AA0945FN473377. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Mark

hardtail15

notary or AAA?

marky522

Sorry, I dont understand.

Mark

MichelleJD

If it was last titled in IL, call the DMV in Springfield and see if they still have any info. Might be a good starting place.

hardtail15

http://www.123notary.com/

that might work, although i've never used it. try giving one of the places a call in your area and ask them

marky522

Thanks for the suggestion, I was able to get the IL registration website to give me the tag number... I now have the title number, tag number, vin number. so i am going to call them tomorrow and see what i can get.

Mark

tifosiman

Why would a notary know? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Tom R.

here is what i see as your problem. you have a car and no title. while you paid money for it, you in theory (other than the good faith purchaser for FMV stuff they teach in first year law school which will cost more to prove than the car is worth) just fixed someone elses car. if you track that person down, be very careful how you word things otherwise they may say you have their car and it was just stolen from them a day or two ago.

bottom line, you fixed their car for free and are being called a thief to boot.

just some random ramblings. and for a mere 15k more than you bought that car for you could have bought countless other cars.

MichelleJD

I'm assuming there was a bill of sale?

marky522

Yeah, bill of sale. I understand I run the risk of losing the car, but its a $300 gamble. I am a very optimistic person, lets hope it doesnt bit me in the A$$

Mark

MichelleJD

Shouldn't if you have the bill of sale. Did you buy the car here or did the PO move from here? If title ended here and you need legal help, lemme know. I am licensed in IL and will help if needed.

marky522

I appreciate the offer, I dont exactly know hte story of how the car got from IL to NC, i know the person i bought it off of said he got it from a body shop, somone never came to get it, or somone didnt pay the bill i am not sure but thats the story. Funny, I am just finishing installing that harness i got from you what 3-4 YEARS ago... LOL...

Mark

Jfrahm

Here in Co you need to post a bond that is equal to the value of the car and then pay to have a title search done. I'm told it's a big pain. I would suggest calling a title clerk in IL and asking what your options are, if the owner of record is findable you could bribe him with $100-$200 to get a replacement title and send it to you, signed, so you can title it in NC.

-Joel.

MichelleJD

NOT a job I envy!

alordofchaos

Then the DMV in Illinois should be able to confirm that the body shop applied for and got a "garage keeper's lien" on the title.

Normally, I'd expect that info to show on the Illinois website that you checked, but maybe not if it only showed as a lienholder.

According to NICB, the VIN hasn't been reported as stolen or totalled (by insurance) yet