Repo'd boat Registration Hell Need advice

So in November I bought a boat off craigslist from a dealer. he bought it from the auction after the repo. It was pretty cheap considering the year so we jumped on it. At the time of purchase the dealer told me the title co. had lost the trailer title and they were getting another one and i should have both titles in a few weeks.

well here we are in April, the title for the trailer has still not shown up at the auction house, or at my house for that matter, so i still cannot register my boat or trailer, and the kicker is that the reg. sticker on the boat is for 07, so i can't even take it out and use it.

I have called CA dmv a number of times and they say I can't do anything until i get the title transferred to me. What has to happen is the Auction needs to get both titles together to complete the sale, then they need to transfer title to the dealer I bought it from, who then needs to transfer the title to me.

Anyone out there who know CA law on selling stuff, what actions can i take other than bugging the auction people and the dealer I got it from and waiting for the third party to finish business??

As far as my understanding a dealer can't sell a vehicle/vessel w/o title. But on a repo'd vehicle this must come up from time to time. If only the bank hadn't lost the trailer title I'd be sittin pretty. This hassle is definitly not worth the couple grand we saved buying this boat, but i really like it and don't want to demand my money back, thus making me not have a boat anymore.

We have used the boat a few times and I always bring my bill of sale and copies of all paperwork i got on this deal just in case, but I'm afraid the delta is the only place I can take it because i don't have to drive by a Ranger to pay my fees and they call BS on the expired reg before I get in the water. I have a trip to Don pedro coming up but am afraid to take my boat and get denied at the gate. do the money takers check you reg???

Any help or advise or ideas are welcome

i'll pay a lawyer in free pulls all summer long on the dirty D if I can get this resolved before summer hits!!

Thanks
Scott

Dude this sucks! What did DMV say for them to do? Request a new title wait 10 years for that and then remember to transfer it to the dealer who then 10 more years latter will transfer it to you? Man it sounds as if you will need to do the leg work for them to expedite it. Make a bunch of appointments with DMV and the auction house as well as the dealer you bought it from and maybe between you and the dealer together with the auction house can lean on the bank to have a new title issued. The reissue should only take 2 weeks for the bank to get once they request it. After that have your dealer work with or meet the auction house to transfer title to the dealer and then with you. Sounds redundant and what you already know but just be the initiator and stay on top of it so no one take a vacation on it. Besides technically you are paying for a boat that isnt yours. Good luck, was this an actual boat dealer? Currious if this happens a lot. And a bank loosing a title? Thats nuts.

I have documentation from the auction via the dealer that the new title was issued on 2/16, so its out there, but where???

He's a used car dealer, not so much boats,and of course doesn't have a lot just sells them at the auction mainly or from his house. PITA!

Thanks for the help,

What about if you have no trailer... like at all? You can't reg a boat w/o a trailer there? what about ocean boats? I say reg the boat and worry about trailer tags after you're done riding. I think most states reg the boat through their game and fish and the trailer through their DMV? If that's the case you should have all the papers(title) on the boat ya? If that's the case reg that mofo and risk the no tags ticket on the trailer.

I have registered 2 boats in the past 15 months so here is my thoughts....This is in the state of Missouri and not California. You can register the boat and not the trailer. Right now my boat is legally registered but my trailer is not. It is 2 seperate things. About the not haveing a title in MO you can go to the dmv with a bill of sale and file a lost title. You take a white sheet of paper, put it over the hull id number and use a pencil to etch the numbers onto it. As long as you have a bill of sale thats legit the DMV files a lost title and you are good to go.

I don't have the title for either the boat or the trailer. The auction house can't release one w/o the other because that wouldn't be a complete sale in their eyes, so the boat title which is all I care about is just sitting somewhere I can't get at, I wish I could go with your idea Scott, I have a permanent trailer plate with no tags and I could give a crap if its registered, but unfortunately the trailer title is holding the boat title hostage.

The problem with my current bill of sale is its betwixt me and the dealer, the dmv sees a different party than this dealer on the current reg, so my bill of sale doesn't mean much to to them, according to the CA dmv.

In Texas the boat is registered through parks and wild life and the trailer at the DMV. In Texas you can register just one does not matter which one either. If the auction house has received the boat title and just won't release it because they have not received the trailer ****le. Then I would assume the boat ****le has been transferred to you're name already. If that is the case file for lost ****le like Eric said.

ok so if indeed the title was issued to the auction house then all the auction house has to do is file a loss of title. We do it at my work for cars all the time. I believe you may even be able to do this too.

^^^ I think he can do it him self. If the ****le was issued to the auction house. They should have received it in the buyers name.

In GA we have no title and no tag for the trailer. you pick up a form from wallmart, fill it out with whatever you want. They dont check, my last boat info was all wrong when i bought it. You send 38 dollars they send a sticker good for 2 years. Its kind of scary as far as a stolen boat goes but in your case would work great. shall i mail you a form?

Oh yeah, wanna sell the trailer?

The auction place still hasn't got the title for either boat or trailer, the seller has not sent it to the auction. The seller is dropping the ball on this one, but since they aren't a retail seller I cannot get into contact with them because they don't have a retail license. The auction folks I have been talking to say they can't talk to me either, but they have been because of the rare situation at hand.
I've tried about everything except walking into DMV with my biull of sale and trying to pull some strings but the dmv guy on the phone says that won't work either.

The seller(bank) has applied for a new trailer title and that was issued a month and a 1/2 agho, they just are not turning it in for some reason...

Anyone ever been busted on CA waters for expired registration, or been turned away at the ramp???

Also thanks for all the ideas, I guess this is why lawyers get $300 an hour

I purchased a used boat in Cali and the owner did not have the title for the trailer. I simply told the DMV that the trailer was packaged with the boat and I only ever got the boat title. This was true really. They issued me a new title for the trailer.

Might work for you, not sure though.

I'll sure as hell give that one a shot, you probably had the title for the boat though right?

what i was getting at is maybe tell them you bought the trailer from a state that doesnt require a title,give them a fake bill of sale and they might issue a title. i had a friend move to florida with a georgia boat, they gave him a title. With some red tape.

The bank had the title. But everything was clean and pretty straightforward. I think they might do the same if you show up with the boat title at least.

Good luck Chili. Does the trailer have a license plate?? In Cali it's a permanent registration, so you might be cool for a while without the title. Just don't get pulled over.

I would pay a lawyer to call the auction house, they should not have sold you a boat without a title.

I'd call the auction house and demand your money back ASAP, in all seriousness, this is fraud.

Just so I am clear, you bought the boat from a dealer? If so, You need to demand the dealer get you the title or return the boat for a full refund... period. It is the dealers responsibility to get the title to you, the customer.
As a dealer in Washington State, we have to transfer title within 45 days of sale or we are hit with a massive fine by the state and I don't know why California wouldn't be much different.

Seriously return it. This is what you get for not running the details of this purchase by me before you bought it.....and i'll take my boat to Pedro... chicken. Lol. Take it back and get another boat through Rick D.THis sucks considering you tow your boat 80 yards.... round trip. Call me

(Message edited by tinytdubb on March 31, 2008)

So I called the guy today and he said I can meet him wed. at the auction and he will get me the boat title. The auction house faxed me a copy of the title with the dealer's name on it as the new owner, so hopefully I have enough info to get the biotch registered and at least get my 09 sticker.

The trailer title is still in limbo but at least by Wednesday I should have the boat registered so i can take it out w/o worry. Thanks for the help and advice, I was afraid I was going to have to get a lawyer like flux said, I won't rest easy until I leave with the sticker in hand so I'll have to wait a few days to get this resolved. I'll try the old "trailer title was lost" technique also at the dmv when I go down there

Thanks again and I'll keep y'all updated

Can't you file for lost title there? Cost a little and requires a trip to a state troopers office, but it would solve the problem.

Scott-
Tow Truck companies (and ones with body shops) should have some sound advise about obtaining a new title (for boat and trailer). Any shop that does lien sales is selling cars that they did not originally have a title on. I bought a titleless car from a friend of mine in Berkeley. He filed a "lost title" form (or something like that) with some other "lien" paperwork he had and was able to transfer title. This is really something the dealer should be able to help you with, but from the sounds of it they are not being very helpful or cooperative.

Here is a link to forms that the dealer/bank should help you with: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/forms_vrindustry.htm

The forms should have been files prior to your purchase, but at least the Boat Title is coming around. Check out the DMV link and see if any of the forms are helpful and hopefully the dealer will help you with them on Wednesday. Good luck and hope to see you ripping it up on Pedro this summer.

Right on thanks, i'll try that, you will not see me ripping anything except maybe my board shorts from eating it real bad, i am a before beginner wakeboarder, like worse than a little kid, but i try....

Well, at least you are out there trying. Hope everything works out quickly so you can start enjoying your new boat.

UPDATE!!

So I met the dealer at the auction and after he put the screws to the folks there they gave up the title for the boat and are getting a trailer title drawn up, so although I don;t have my beautiful new 09 stickers yet i do have one of those ghetto red stickers with a 5 on it so if I get accosted by the po po I am all legit and the trailer is in the computer under my name, just don't have a hard title yet....
My dealer said in 32 years of buying and selling used cars this is the first time a bank has lost a title and this snafu happened, just my luck but thank you all for your help and advice, its appreciated, any midweek riders on the delta hit me up i have lots of time off!!