Alabama antique vehicle titling?

[Dennis Bernth]

Originally Posted by 800bman

I just recently found out what a mechanic's lien was, but I'm still foggy on the details. So basically you declare the owner cannot pay the bill and you obtain a title?

Probably the law differs by state, but in Indiana anyway if you have a claim against the vehicle (say, towing and storage), after a certain amount of time you can file for a mechanic's lien. You have to advertise the 'sale' according to whatever the law says, stating the vehicle specifics and the amount due, and the time and place of sale. Of course, if you have a 67 Travelall with $4,000 in storage due nobody is going to show up at your sale, so you basically then file for a lien title and one is issued in your name. My buddy with a towing service does it all the time rather than waiting for the state to do their periodic 'abandoned vehicle sales'- in fact the DMV people are the ones that recommended he do it that way to clear the backlog faster. It costs a few bucks for the advertising, title search and title fees and such, but mostly the stuff he uses it for is going to scrap anyway and with the prices where they are it pays for him.
If there is no other way to do it, I'd check the laws of your state and see what they say about lien sales. You might have to have a sales tax license, or an incorporation, in which case if you have a friend in the towing biz you might be able to have him pick the thing up, store it for a few months, and do a lien sale on it to get a clean title. At the sale the lien holder can sell it for whatever they want basically, so if you show up and bid $50 he can call it sold, do the paperwork in your name, and you're done, title will be issued. The only other option is one of the 'title services' from out of state, on older vehicles lots of them use Alabama to get a title. Hemmings Motor News has ads for those places, I do know of a couple people who used them to title legit rigs that they just could not get around the BMV to title and it worked well.

[800bman]

Thanks for the info Dennis. Sometimes I like interstate laws being different, sometimes I don't. I'll have to investigate and see what ours are.

[Thomas]

---1975 is the cutoff date. Don't do anything to it until you have the title in hand or at least state/legal verification that it belongs to you. Would hate to see you fix it up and they tell the DMV that it was stolen. All you dump into it will be gone (for good)... as well as you (for a while).

---Here's the ignorant, lazy official's evidence/proof, just remember to apologize for bothering her/him and suggesting they do something productive, as a service to you.

---All forms as said are available on the internet for free. If you go to city hall, the court house or police department and request the form(s), you will be charged anywhere between $5 and I have seen up to $40 for a form. You might be required to file for a lost title. Your BOS might also need to be notarized. Illinois* is not stupid. It's just strict. It's the employees you're dealing with that are ignorant and the reason* they were hired... stupid.

---Filing for a lost title in Alabama is $90 (it's a "kit"... lol)... if* you download the forms, I believe $20 for the form itself. I guess government issued paper from Office Depot is really somethin' special. Might cost you more if you interrupt their two hour lunch that usually starts the minute they order their food.

---It's quite possible that all you have to do is what I did when I purchased a FL Scout and tagged it in AL. First off the vehicle must be turn-key ready and all safety features must work. Wipers, horn, lights, signals, etc. Download the form offline, have an officer come to your house, hand him the forms and take him by the hand, kiss his butt while he performs a state inspection on the vehicle. Once he signs off on it, you apply for the title, using the BOS. Chances are he'll tell you about how his "... Father/Grandfather/Great Grandfather use to have an IH and it became so hard to get parts for..." .

---Illinois I believe is one state that has what's called a "Sheriff's Title" as well. You claim the vehicle has been on your property for 3 months, they issue a notice to the owner's last known address and if it is not picked up, you apply for a title. Basically the same as applying for a "lost title", but a lost title goes to the actual owner. All you need is for the original owner to ignore the mail he receives, or if he'd like he can call and verify he sold it but could not find the title.

---In Michigan they have another one which basically you call the state and tell them the vehicle has been abandoned on your property and if they wish, they can issue you a certificate right then and there declaring you the owner. Forget what that one's called, but it's nice. Cuts away red tape.

---When all else fails, go up to the police department and ask what to do. You're not the first person to have done this and chances are 3 officers or half the precinct will be into some aspect of old vehicles and will be able to tell you exactly what to do.

[StanWalls]

I've registered several antique trucks in Alabama, and it's much simpler than applying for a lost title. As long as the vehicle is 1975 model or older, all that is required is, first insure the vehicle. Insurance on an antique vehicle is cheap and easy as well. I've used Hagarty most of the time, cost on an old truck valued at, say, $5000, is around $100/yr. Take proof of insurance, along with a bill of sale to your local license office. I might have an advantage here because we have a courthouse extension office in the small town where I live, and it seems to help that the girl there is local, and knows me somewhat. The proof-of-insurance and bill-of-sale is all that's required to register the truck. I register it as a vintage vehicle, cost is about $100 for lifetime registration, or less for yearly, don't remember how much. I have sold such registered vehicles to folks in other states, and so far none of them has had any problems getting registration for the vehicle in their state, with nothing more than my bill-of-sale and current Alabama registration. I'm quite sure all states honor all other states registrations.
A vehicle inspection by the troopers has never been required, and several times I didn't even have to have the truck present. It had "brake problems" and I couldn't drive it till I got them fixed, or whatever. Of course, I'd never try to circumvent any legal requirement, regulation, directive, opinion of a person in authority, or anything similar. If you believe that, just try life as an independent trucker for awhile. You'll be lucky to pay for your fuel.
Good luck,
Stan

[Stan Dowiat]

My Scout came from Alabama. It was my dad's & I inherited it. No title is required in Al for any vehicle older than a 75. Kinda funny, I don't think Alabama wants to register older vehicle by the title even if you HAVE the title! Dad bought the Scout in 85 and had the signed title which I still have now, and the cut off date in Alabama was 75 even back then... but it was never registered through that title.

When I got the truck a year ago and brought it to Georgia I had no trouble getting it registered.