Buying Abandoned Motorcycle?

[jch216]

Hey,

Just wondering if anyone has any experience doing this...

There is a motorcycle for sale, very cheap, that was abandoned at a repair shop over a year and a half ago. The reapir shop sold the bike to an individual without getting a title. This individual is marking the bike up a hundred bucks and selling it via a classified ad... also without title. All this person has is a Bill of Sale from the repair shop.

How would I get the title if I were to buy this bike?

[Bovon]

You would have to run a title check thru your states license department...located usually at the State Troupers/State Police building...call them, they can at least point you in the right direction.

It will be have to be traced to whoever owned it last and has title to it...then you go from there...any taxes will have to be paid up to date.

It has been my experience that buying a vehicle with no current title is not good on the pocket book..unless you are buying for parts only.

Sometimes a give-away will cost more than a good, titled vehicle to get it in your name, and titled...but, do check it out...times change.

I bought two `58 Thunderbirds and made one good one..then tried for two years to get a "clean" title...never did, and I sold it for junk prices...bummer

[jch216]

This is what I've found on my own...

http://www.dmvs.ga.gov/motor/titles/titlebond.asp

Looks like I can do it for 10% of the retail value of the bike. It's a 2002 ninja 250r with only 1100 miles on it for around $400.00

I have a friend who works for a different motorcycle repair shop, so anything mechanical won't be a problem.

I'll have to pay back taxes on the bike if I purchase it?

[Ed_S]

Title & tax laws vary by state - you're on the right track, checking GA law. But did you see this:

You cannot obtain a Georgia title on the basis of a surety bond for the following vehicles:

An abandoned vehicle.
A 1985 or older year model vehicle.
A vehicle that does not require a Georgia title. Click here for a list of vehicles that do not require a Georgia title.

Sounds like a loser to me - you'll be snarled up in legal garbage forever!

In Missouri, the simplest way would be for the shop to apply for a "lien title", claiming ownership on the basis of money owed. But this is a pain to get done because of the requirements, and that's probably why the shop dumped it cheap. Wasn't worth the hassle.

I'd steer clear of it. In the best case, it'll be a hassle to get cleared up. In the worst case, it could have been reported stolen at some time. They'd seize it & you'll end up with nothing but a lot of trouble proving that you acquired it legally or else be accused of the theft!

Per NADA book, that machine's valued at $1450-$1900, and you can probably reduce that due to depreciation while you're tied up with title work. You pay $400, plus whatever it takes legally, plus any need repairs, etc. - will it end up worth it??

Also, why was it abandoned at the shop? What repairs did they do? It's been there 1½ yrs, so it was 1 yr old at the time??? Something's fishy...

[Ed_S]

Another thing you might think about - I had a situation come up years ago, but I was on the other end. A guy called me, he'd acquired a bike I'd sold several yrs earlier. Had changed hands a few times, but it was still in my name, apparently no one had ever legally transferred it. He wanted me to apply for a lost title to clear it up.
Couldn't do it - if I did, I'd become responsible for the taxes & fines for those yrs, plus I'd then be liable if anything had happened since the sale. I still had my dated & notorized copy of the bill of sale, I sent him a photocopy of it so he could track it further. No idea what happened then, but I'm sure it was a mess to try & fix.

Unless he got lucky somehow, he was the proud owner of an absolutely useless vehicle that most likely could NEVER be legalized since the last registered owner had proof of sale matching the date written on the old title, and several owners since had written on it.
Felt sorry for him, but he should've covered this BEFORE buying it.