Buying a Car Private Party Title Already Signed off (insurance, credit report)

[Solere]

I would like to buy a car from a private party. I went to look at a car that I am interested in and the car's title is in the name of the seller's father who is in a retirement home. The title has already been signed off by the registered owner (elderly man) and notarized, so all that needs to be filled in is the buyer's name and mileage. The MVD website cautions buying cars with already signed off titles as these may be "curbstoners." However, in my case, I am not dealing with a curbstoner, but rather the daughter of the registered owner. Is there anything to be concerned about when I take the title to the MVD?

[Brandoaz]

How old is the notarization? Check with MVD if there is a limit on how old that can be before the title is transferred.

[Solere]

The notarization is 3 days old. Before I give a cashier's check to the seller, I just want to make sure I am getting a valid, legit title.

[AZ Manager]

The notary stamp should have a license number on it go to this site to look it up. Do it on your phone before you sign a check over.

Notary Department

[mzbk2l]

For $1.50, you can run a title search on the Arizona MVD website:

https://servicearizona.com/webapp/lienmvr/search

All you need is the VIN and a credit card, and this will tell you the status of the title, including any liens.

[nightnurse613]

Word of the day: "curbstoner". While the MVD regulations may require a person who sells more than his/her own personal car to be licensed - as long as the title is properly executed I don't see the big deal for the consumer-there's generally no way for the consumer to know. In fact, a couple of years ago I noticed a few new businesses who consigned your car on their lot. I don't know if they ran afoul of this law of are even still around. I also didn't know you could get lien info without a registered owner's name so, chalk up two things I learned today!

[urbex]

I typically include as a condition of purchase that the seller accompany me to the nearest 3rd party title/registration place. I cover the $20 convenience fee for title transfer, and only hand the seller the cash/check/whatever after the registration place tells me the title is good and transferable. We're typically in and out inside of 10 minutes.

[ScottsdaleMark]

Originally Posted by urbex

I typically include as a condition of purchase that the seller accompany me to the nearest 3rd party title/registration place. I cover the $20 convenience fee for title transfer, and only hand the seller the cash/check/whatever after the registration place tells me the title is good and transferable. We're typically in and out inside of 10 minutes.

This is how I've done it in the past: I run a Carfax check on the car to make sure that's clean. I go to Chase bank, get the cash in bills and then we sit down with the Notary (most banks have a number of notaries on staff) and after the paper is signed and notarized, then I can exchange cash for keys of vice versa. I figure a bank is as safe a place as any to do this kind of transaction with so much cash-in-hand.

Have you ever encountered title issues on a car with a clean Carfax? Or do you do it this way to skip the step/cost of getting a Carfax?

[urbex]

I don't even bother to do the CarFax. It's a flawed system - the only thing that it shows is anything that gets reported to an insurance company, and even that is dependent on that insurance company reporting it as a claim. Similar to way things get reported, or not reported on your credit report. Not all creditors report to all three bureaus, and some don't report at all unless you get behind, and that's assuming what information does get reported is even accurate in the first place.

Personal example - a buddy of mine bought a SUV that appeared to be in absolutely superb condition. Low miles, immaculate interior, only minor scratches on the outside. CarFax reported 100% clean. When he brought it to me for work, I suspected it had been involved in a collision, but he was positive it wasn't because "it's far too clean to have been hit!"

Upon disassembly of the front end to fit a heavy duty winch mount bumper, it became plainly obvious that it was involved in a pretty hard front end collision, with significant frame damage. It appeared that the previous owner merely replaced the cosmetic parts, beat the frame around enough to half way mount the stock front bumper, and repainted it. There was absolutely no way we could have possibly mounted an "off the shelf" aftermarket bumper to this, thus I ended up building one from scratch specifically to fit around the damage to his truck.

I've been around the block, so to speak, with cars and trucks for many years, so I'm confident with my ability to spot issues like these when looking over a vehicle. I understand the peace of mind some people get from a CarFax, but I don't feel it's something to be relied soley on, especially when it comes back clean.

[ScottsdaleMark]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, that is good information.

I try to get down on the ground and look up at the frame, etc., as best I can to make sure it's straight and doesn't show collision damage. Just try to take a close look at everything inside and out, you never know where something could have gone wrong. Also learned to use a magnet on metal body panels if you suspect that something might have been in a wreck and repaired some point ... if it's Bondo it won't stick, if it's metal it will. Of course with cars increasingly being plastic and aluminum, that one isn't as useful I suppose.

I am sure I've missed things even still, but at least I'm trying. Haha.