THSCC Forums

Well, thanks for all the replies, but it turns out what the seller told me was not what was actually on the title. According to David Edwards (I called him to discuss the situation), there's no way I can legally title the car in NC, even with a friendly notary. The dude has to title it in his name first, and it's going to be tough for him to do so. He said the easiest thing for the guy to do is to drive it to Kansas and get it titled in his name there.

I told the seller that if he could get it titled in his name, to give me a call, and I'd pay the fees (within reason) and buy the car. From looking at the title, it looks like he's going to be hit with some penalties, and I'm not paying for that.

I'm not expecting much at this point. There are still a couple of other options, though, so hopefully I'll have a decent rallyx car soon.

IF the signature on the title matches the seller's name, and the "buyer" portion is blank, then you're OK IF you can find someone to notarize the title for you and you have some trust in the guy you're buying the car from that it's not stolen, etc.

You alluded to the fact that something was not right on the title, but did not say what it was- so there's that.

What you're being told by DMV and some others is technically the way it should be done- i.e.- buyer #1 transfers the title into his name from original seller, then you transfer it to your name from buyer #1 (once he's the legit owner/seller).

If the buyer portion is filled in with someone's name, then the title will have to transfer to that person first before it can be transferred to you.

All of this can be done in one step, provided the guy you're buying it from is willing to pay to have the car put in his name (which it sounds like he isn't).


There is a small (~$20) penalty for not transferring a title within 30 days (?) of the date shown on the title (Date vehicle transferred to new owner), but other than that, there are no penalties for delaying the transfer of a title. There ARE some fees that can be substantial such as "highway use tax" that is based on the DMV's computer "book" value of the car. It does not matter if it's a total POS that you're getting for free- the new owner has to pay 2% (?) of the vehicle's value (there is a cap on this, not sure what it is).

The name on the front signed the car over to a second name on the back (with the same last name) for $0.00 on 07/??/2010, with no other details. No addresses, no mileage, nothing. The second person (I think; the signature is illegible, and the printed name isn't exactly the same as the buyer at the top of the back of the page) signed and printed his name below that with no other details when he sold it to the guy who is selling it now.

As far as I can tell, neither the current nor previous owner ever got the car titled in their name.

Current seller says he will "go talk to this girl I know" and will get the title in his name tomorrow afternoon.