drguitarum2005

I'm in the market for a 4x4 utility quad (used) and found a good deal on one down in KY. I talked to the guy and he says he can give me a bill of sale but lost the paperwork (title) for it when he bought it a couple years ago. He said he checked with local police and its not stolen. I'll check the same myself but what does it mean to not have a title for an ATV? What bad could happen without having a title? How hard is it to get a title after ones been lost? Thanks!

Team420

depends on the state laws...In maine...you dont need a title for atv's, and if a vehicle is 15+ years old...you dont need a title...however...go to mass., and you need a title for atv's and all vehicles to be registered.

drguitarum2005

i guess I should say that I am a Texas resident with my truck titles and registered in Texas, I go to school in Georgia (where I will be doing half my riding) and work in Ohio (where I will be doing the other half of my riding). The ATV is in Kentucky. I talked to the current owner and he had the title, but it was still in the previous owners name, and not his own. He only rode it on his private farm so he never dealt with the title. What steps can I do to get the title recovered in my name?

EDIT: I also know Texas requires ATVs to be titled and registered to ride on public lands. I will be doing some riding on public lands in Ohio and Georgia so I should probably eliminate any risk and have the thing registered, but I must have a title in my name to do that.

Team420

well...as long as the current owner didnt sign the title...u can, and that would just mean that you bought it from the previous owner...technically

drguitarum2005

from what I understand, the current owner bought it from a place called OK Cycles and he never bothered to get the title put into his name. That dealership is now out of business and he doesn't remember the name of the salesman. I think I understood that the title is still essentially under Suzuki. It seems like there was 1 or 2 steps of the title in there that weren't taken care of it. Assuming the VIN checks out not stolen, I don't see why I couldn't get it put into my name, but that process seems like a long, drawn-out thing.

Team420

yeah...I would just look at the title, and if the previous owner signed it over(with no name mentioned as new owner) you should just be able to put your name on it and go...however...things are much different here in maine...hell...you dont even have to be a resident or have ID to get a license here.

zlathim

The title has been lost guys. He said so in the first post. There is nothing for him to sign.

Unless you can be absolutely certain that all is on the up and up, I would say that you should pass on the deal. If it is stolen, you may have to return it to the rightful owner and lose any money that you paid for or invested in it. Keep looking, you will thank yourself later.

Not worth the hassle IMHO.

CJM

Its an ATV, 1 its either stolen or 2 someone lost the title. Still its an ATV, you dont need a stinking title unless your state requires one to ride on the road. Even so, in most cases no one cares depending on where you are.

drguitarum2005

half of me thinks its not worth messing with...lots of *possible* things could go wrong such as it coming up as stolen later, or something like that. i will need to get it registered to ride on public lands, so i'd need a title. if i was able to get the title, i'd probably have to pay several fees for the states in which it was never titled. its such a great deal though I hate to pass it up ya know? he told me hes selling it so cheap because of the lack of title

zlathim

IIRC, a replacement title can only be granted to the person (or entity) who's name appeared on the last title. If the business is gone, so may be your chances of getting that title.

Just find a deal on one with less hoops to jump through.

pyro

man I worked in a bike shop for years, if it is not stolen ( contact you local po po dept. to make sure) then you have nothing to worry about just get a bill of sale that both of you have signed and you are golden pony boy.