Hello Alabama

ozeanriese · 04-08-2009, 03:10 AM

Hi,

I'm going to buy a '70 911E. Unfortunately I'm not sure how a title from a car from Alabama should look like, because I'm located in Germany. The seller sent me the title via fax but it looks different from other titles I've seen before.

Hope anyone can take a look at it and tell me if its correct or not.

Thanks a lot & kind regards
Konrad

IROC · IROC's Garage

That's not a title - that's a vehicle registration (in other words it is basically the receipt you get when you pay for your license plates every year). Beware.

I used to live in Alabama.

beamonk · 04-08-2009, 04:05 AM

He might not have a title. alabama did not become a title state until 1975. All you need is a bill of sale in alabama, not sure how it would work in Germany. If you need any help, let me know, i am a lawyer! I know, trust me!

John Brasfield
Beamonk@aol.com

tomphot · 04-08-2009, 04:26 AM

It is not uncommon for a car of that age to not have a title.
I have a '65 Mustang that I bought without a title - when I went to my states DMV, I was told they could not create a title for it - all I needed was a bill of sale and registration.

IROC · IROC's Garage

Won't Alabama issue a title based on a bill of sale, thouugh? I used to know folks who would buy cars out of state (without titles) and then get the State of Alabama to issue a title and then re-register the car in another state based on the Alabama title.

tomphot · 04-08-2009, 05:30 AM

Just found this link.

The owner of the car in Alabama should be able to get a title.

http://www.broadwaytitle.com/

Miguel Antonett · 04-08-2009, 06:49 AM

Alabama issues titles like any other State, for all vehicles, and the title looks very similar to the ones from any other State.

id911T · 04-08-2009, 07:48 AM

John's right. When my 70T was brought from Alabama to Miss, it was a PITA to get the title for it because AL didn't title vehicles in 1970. I ended up having to get a notarized bill of sale for every transaction from then to now in order to get a title, but every state and area is different in this regard. Do your homework carefully!

Zeke · 04-08-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miguel Antonett

Alabama issues titles like any other State, for all vehicles, and the title looks very similar to the ones from any other State.

Not true, even though you live there. At least it wasn't true when I lived there. Older cars did not have what we call pinks here in CA. However, a notarized BOS should get the car on the boat.

What happens when you pick the car up in Bremerhaven (I presume), I would not have a clue. Perhaps the poster should ask Germany's official motor vehicle dept for advice.

Miguel Antonett · 04-08-2009, 09:55 AM

My bad, I can only speak my experience which goes back to 30+ years living in Al; my vehicles have always had formal Titles like any other State.

Zeke · 04-08-2009, 10:43 AM

No big deal Miguel. I just didn't get titles to some older cars and a trailer. I sold the trailer in NV with the registration only. The NV DMV knew that AL did not title some vehicles and processed the sale quickly. What I found out is that each state has a manual that shows how every other state goes about things now and in the past. They can take your document and match it up to what is shown as correct for other states.

I suppose this is all online these days.. You don't really get to mess around too much with vehicle documents anymore unless you know what you're doing. When I lived in AL in the early 90's, I could get registration at the court house for anything, sight unseen. A lot of funny things went on in those days. Lots of people got registration for custom rods as real deal 32, 33 and 34 Fords, which they were not. As such, when titled in CA, they became a 30's Ford and had no restrictions on fenders, etc.

Nowadays, you build a kit rod, you need a complete DMV inspection for lights, brakes, the whole ball of wax. I'd venture to say there are a few kit Cobras running around with titles showing them as made in the 60's. Of course the VIN would not be correct as a real Cobra.

Still.....

ozeanriese · 04-08-2009, 10:49 AM

wow, so many answers! Very interesting to read that there are so many different opinions about alabama titles ... in germany we have in every state our Fahrzeugbrief ;-)

I think the german government won't accept the paper I scanned. Now I've to check how I can register that car. The Porsche is already in germany (came via Rotterdam - because of lower taxes than Bremerhaven). Taxes are paid.

Kind regards
Konrad

Miguel Antonett · 04-08-2009, 10:58 AM

Amazing, totally amazing...

Zeke · 04-08-2009, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozeanriese

wow, so many answers! Very interesting to read that there are so many different opinions about alabama titles ... in germany we have in every state our Fahrzeugbrief ;-)

I think the german government won't accept the paper I scanned. Now I've to check how I can register that car. The Porsche is already in germany (came via Rotterdam - because of lower taxes than Bremerhaven). Taxes are paid.

Kind regards
Konrad

You may have to establish communications between your registration office and the court house in AL. I don't know where the car came from in AL, but a lot of the paperwork is done at a county seat court houses and there are a lot of little counties. But, if AL does something for you, they can put an official seal on the paperwork.

Since that will be verifiable government documentation, I think it's worth looking into. You may need a representative in the US, particularly in AL. If you mention what part of AL the car came from, there's a chance someone from AL will respond.

In our state, we have state run offices in all the major cities. We don't use county offices for registration. I guess that might be one good thing about this place.

And, I'm surprised your freight forwarder did not secure the needed paperwork. Unless your car came over in a container, it would have been scrutinized as it was being boarded on the ship. Lots of paperwork on cars coming in and going out at the dock where my wife works.

beamonk · 04-08-2009, 01:43 PM

I tried to get a title for my 68 datsun several years ago and they said that AL is not a title state, etc etc, thus no title. You might be able to get a certified tag receipt or some certification from the courthouse saying that the car was tagged for such a date. If you want, I can call one of my connections at the tag office and find out if there is any official certification that may be had. Otherwise, you ain't getting a title.

tomphot · 04-08-2009, 01:52 PM

Konrad
Please post a Picture of the car when you can.
How did you find the car?

Zeke · 04-08-2009, 02:35 PM

Ah, yes, I remember "tags." Out here we refer to the stuff as title and registration. You may not have a title to a car, a bank might and will if you owe money on it. But you will always have registration.

I paid my truck off while living in AL. The title was with some finance company, I don't remember. But it started off as a CA title that they had. My truck was registered in AL at the time. So, the CA title was useless, at least that's how it seemed. I never did get my pink slip.

A year later, I'm in NV with a paid for truck, no title, just "tags." No problem. As I said, they knew how AL worked and gave me a NV title and registration. Then, another year later I'm back in CA with NV docs. Confusing? You bet.

It gets worse. I now have to weigh the truck and now pay a yearly weight fee in addition to CA registration. I never paid a weigh fee for the first few years I owned the truck bought in CA and living in CA.

Konrad may have a bit of work to do, but I hope it's not as screwed up as what I've been through.