tibimakai wrote:
I don't know, where on this forum should I ask these next questions.
I'm looking at whole cars on CL/Offerup, and I have some questions.
Some cars don't have title, or are sold for parts, but the owner owes back fees to the DMV. Should I skip these type of cars?
If I find for example a transmission, or an engine, we should fill out a bill of sale?
I would avoid anything without a title, no way to really know if the parts are stolen and DMV will check anything with a VIN on it (like engines/transmissions). Likewise I'd avoid anything with back DMV fees owing, CA is pretty militant about those and you'd likely be the one to have to pay them.
I would definitely get a bill of sale for anything I bought (CA DMV will want it), including chassis steel and any major component.
The car I just picked up in CA, the prev owner had junked the car but did it officially and had the "junked title" paperwork from CA DMV to go with.
If you're thinking of buying a whole car, it may be useful to get a Copart membership and use their auctions to find a donor with proper paperwork. $50 for a year is a drop in the bucket to not have DMV hassles (and you will, CA even with SB100 is a PITA). Most of the DMV employees have no idea how the SB100 paperwork is done, and the rest all have a different idea of how its done.