Titling/registration nightmare. Advice?

Am I missing some salient points?

The van is registered but not currently licensed. Two very different animals. That's no big deal.

Unless I'm missing something, the seller and the van are both located in Arizona. The van is licensed in Missouri, which I assume is where the seller is from, and he doesn't have current plates because he doesn't want to license it in Arizona. Pretty straight forward to me. I don't see a scam anywhere.

Nowhere does the OP say he hasn't seen the van or confirmed the VIN.

It does seem like a lot of trouble to go through for a vehicle, but maybe the price is good enough, and the distance isn't far enough to be an issue. All in all it sounds legit to me.

2lazy4U wrote:
I bought a trailer in AZ and brought it back to CO. Went down to the AZ DMV with the sellers and was issued a temp. AZ permit for the drive, no problem. They had to show the title and that they had signed it over to me, also a bill of sale, and all proceeded well. IIRC it cost $10.

The problem is the seller didn't register it in AZ, where he appears to now live. His bad.

Having said that, I agree with the above post - why buy it at all?

Yeah, I could see a TRAILER not being registered in another state, but a VAN not registered is a whole nuther can of worms.. Trailers often end up placed in a backyard for storage or hunting camps or the owner lost interest in camping..

A van not registered in the state is sits means the van has not been driven or moved for some time.. Could be something major wrong or could be nothing wrong, but none the less it has the makings of something not right..

If the OP really wants this van then I would suggest that the SELLER should pay to have a roll back pick it up and TAKE it to the SELLERS current location at the SELLERS EXPENSE.. Then the SELLER needs to get the TITLE changed to the CURRENT state they now reside in.

Sure, the seller can ask more for the van, but in the end it will be a wash in costs and the BUYER takes far less risk.

The SELLER needs to make it right, not the buyer.

I think the OP is way underestimating the cost to haul that van.. 6 yrs ago, I bought a car that was several states away, I personally drove there with my flat bed trailer, round trip of 1200 miles at 120 gallons of fuel which at the time was about $3.50 per gallon.. That trip cost me $420 in fuel alone.

It was one day each way, I was able to overnight at a relatives place, but if I had to use a hotel room I would have been another $100 easy..

Then I had two meals plus breakfast each day x2 (helper) so call that another $100..

So now I am at $620 costs for my deal just to get it to my driveway..

A professional hauler would have cost me well over $1000 at that time plus I would have still made the trip to view the vehicle in person..

The pictures do not show the real condition and my inspection revealed a lot of rust damage that the seller either didn't know about or was not planning to disclose..

Grit dog wrote:
Eh, most states give you x number of days between purchasing a vehicle and registering it. Not sure why it would be any different for you.
Go buy it, drive it home w a signed title, bill of sale and your insurance card for it. You'll only get stopped if a cop is following you and you'll only get in trouble if you're doing something wrong. Register it when you get home.

I agree with these types of posts. Get the title signed over to you, get a bill of sale, and have your insurance in order, and make the trip.

I bought a Suburban in Oregon last year. Drove it home to Colorado as suggested above, and registered it when I get home. It wasn't a big deal at all.

I bought a trailer in AZ and brought it back to CO. Went down to the AZ DMV with the sellers and was issued a temp. AZ permit for the drive, no problem. They had to show the title and that they had signed it over to me, also a bill of sale, and all proceeded well. IIRC it cost $10.

The problem is the seller didn't register it in AZ, where he appears to now live. His bad.

Having said that, I agree with the above post - why buy it at all?

Naio wrote:
So there is a van I want to buy. It's located in AZ, titled in MO, and I am going to register it in a third state, where my S&B is.

I've talked to the DMVs in all 3 states. None will issue a trip permit. I can register in my home state by mail, but I don't have the time to hang out in the seller's state and wait for snail mail.

I don't have anything big enough to tow the van.

I don't get any kind of hinky vibe from the seller. He seems like a straight up guy. Nevertheless, I want to make sure all is in order before I take the van. I sure don't want to end up with some kind of title problem. I also don't want to drive it across multiple states with no registration.

Is there some solution I am not seeing, here?

Man, I must be really missing something here.

Nothing "adds up"..

There has to be MILLIONS of vans on the road and of those millions you are picking out the charity cases..

It isn't like you are searching for a highly sought after uber rare antique car of that only a handful were made and only one is known to exist and you are looking at it..

Red flags and loud bell alarms should be going off in your head..

The story does not add up, seller in one state, vehicle sitting unregistered (which means most likely not drive able as is, even if it exists)..

There is no way for you to verify that the title matches the vehicles VIN without YOU personally going there to look at it.. But one catch, the owner with the title is in a completely DIFFERENT state!

You have the makings of a TYPICAL SCAMMER!

Typically these scammers will skim a photo then post it with some hard luck story about a relative passing away, a divorce, got assigned out of the country, ect..

These scammers often will want a down payment or even full payment up front vi Western Union, Walmart Green card or any instant wire payment service..

They often post their scams with a "it's too good to be true" price well below the actual value of the item.

Look, I don't want it to sound like I am being mean you.. But you REALLY need to step back and rethink this BEFORE you loose big time with your money..

I HAVE bought vehicles out of state, BUT, I have ALWAYS gone in person TO where the vehicle is.. I have always insisted on a CLEAR TITLE free of liens and titled in the current sellers name..

As I see it, you have no way of knowing the vehicle exists nor even if the seller has a title since the owner and vehicle are in two different places..

Your method of bargain hunting is wasting your time and potentially risking a large loss of your hard earned cash in the process.

There are just too many "vans" out there for sale and most likely some in the SAME COUNTY you live in..

YES, you might have to pay a little more for one locally, but the way I see it it WILL be cheaper than chasing all those bargain basement bin basket cases..

Eh, most states give you x number of days between purchasing a vehicle and registering it. Not sure why it would be any different for you.
Go buy it, drive it home w a signed title, bill of sale and your insurance card for it. You'll only get stopped if a cop is following you and you'll only get in trouble if you're doing something wrong. Register it when you get home.

If you have bill of sale and insurance, who cares. Seriously, the odds of getting pulled over are rather slim. If so, present the paperwork and move on. And take a piece of cardboard and write "LAF" license applied for. I'll bet you'll be just fine. Good luck.

Yeah, it's not ok with me, either. It's only ok with the insurance company.

He has the title, and my insurance says it will be covered with or without a trip permit. I did check the title with the state.

Shipping is an option. $750, and that plus my $$ to see the van and sign adds up to a lot.