Jim Cathey wrote:
Here in Oregon, if someone buys a car with an Oregon title, all that
person
has to do is to send a certified letter to the last known address of
the
previous owner. If it comes back undeliverable, DMB will grant a
title.
In WA it's the same, though it works for other state titles as well.
The Frankenheap was a CA car, and the DMV had a CA address as last
owner of record. One registered letter bounce later and the car was
mine. Also, WA will grant a license even if you don't have a title.
(Extremely common. Read: payments.)
It's worth noting that not all states are so forgiving. In Michigan it's
much more difficult to register a car without a title. If you have a
loan on the car, you still get a title, but it has a "secured interest"
noted on it, with a space for the bank to sign off when you pay off the
loan.
I was actually surprised how loosely WA handles such things. It also
seems to be common here for cars to be sold among family members without
ever re-registering them. The car I just bought was like that; the
title was for two owners ago, and I had two bills of sale to bring with
it. The vehicle licensing office didn't give it a second thought.
