Is it dumb to pay cash for a used rig, private seller?

Naio wrote:

The sellers suggested AAA as an alternative to the DMV. Anybody know if they are able to tell me officially that the title is valid, etc.? I have been trying to to call them but no luck so far.

The local AAA should be able to determine if there is a problem with the title. Usually there is one or two people at each office, with experience, that do the title transfers, depending on the size of the office.

The DMV would probably be my first choice.