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Thanks again for the heads up, talked w/the "owner" a little while ago, he's trying to find the paperwork for the original bank loan so I/we can contact them and find out what the situation is w/paying it off to them or the repo company. I was told that I could also contact the RMV with the VIN # and they might be able to pull up who the original title was written to?? Any ideas on that?? I'm not paying him for the bike until all this is legally taken care of (IF IT IS EVER LEGALLY TAKEN CARE OF!!). So there's not an issue w/receiving stolen property or anything along those lines
We would all love to hear what the end result may be, please do come back and let us know how it all ends...
the only legitimate way to get title to this bike is by a release from the lienholder and a bill of sale from the titled owner.
may be worth your time/effort to settle up with the lienholder which shouldn't be too difficult to locate. There should be a filing with the Sec'y of State where the note was held. May be possible to trace via the VIN at the DMV/registrar in your state.
Good luck with tracking this all down and resolving the cloud on the title.
Keep in mind that the bike, no matter how lovingly kept for all these years will still have old rubber on the tires and soft components ... and likely deterioration of internal components due to so much sit time between running. You may discover issues in these areas when you put the bike on the road.
The bike is stolen. Your buddy stole it in 2004, and has been riding a stolen bike ever since. It has probably been aged out of the vehicle registration database, but the bank still owns it. What would you do if someone offered to sell you a stolen car?
My question is this, he's offered to sell me the bike EXTREMELY CHEAP, and made me aware of the situation of him hiding it from the bank 10+ years ago.
The bike isn't his to sell. It's now owned by the bank, and has been ever since they initiated repossession. You'll have to get in touch with them and work something out.
Banks don't want bikes, really. The want the money for the bike. If you make them an offer, they might take it, even a low one. But they are the owner you have to deal with.
Receiving stolen goods is a felony. However, there may be a statute of limitations on the possession and ownership of the bike. For my part, I would not get involved with it.
Run as fast as you can away from this deal. Unless you are able to get in touch with the lien holder, and get them to sign off on it, your buddy does not own that bike, the BANK OWNS IT. There have been many stories of someone buying a car, with a similar story like yours, and they can never get it registered, or, they fix it all up and the real owner shows up with the sheriff and they tow it away. Same with a bike.
Do it totally legally or not at all. And give NO money until you have a clean title in hand that you can take down and register. Someone owns that bike and it is not your friend.
I know of a guy who built a car and titled it with a bought title. The car was later stolen and he put a claim in with the insurance company. He ended up getting arrested and losing everything he owned while he was doing time for vehicle fraud. The days of playing games with titles is over.
Run as fast as you can away from this deal. Unless you are able to get in touch with the lien holder, and get them to sign off on it, your buddy does not own that bike, the BANK OWNS IT. There have been many stories of someone buying a car, with a similar story like yours, and they can never get it registered, or, they fix it all up and the real owner shows up with the sheriff and they tow it away. Same with a bike.
Do it totally legally or not at all. And give NO money until you have a clean title in hand that you can take down and register. Someone owns that bike and it is not your friend.
I know of a guy who built a car and titled it with a bought title. The car was later stolen and he put a claim in with the insurance company. He ended up getting arrested and losing everything he owned while he was doing time for vehicle fraud. The days of playing games with titles is over.
in the end don is right on this. even if you get in touch with the lien holder, and get them to take pennies on the dollar, and give you the lien release, you still have many other legal issues you have to deal with in the long run. for instance the cops might want to talk to you about this, among other people.
The way I see it you aren't going to win. If you manage to get the title cleaned up then the owner can sell it to someone else for more money cause the bike is suddenly worth a lot more since the title is no clean.
The bike isn't his to sell. It's now owned by the bank, and has been ever since they initiated repossession. You'll have to get in touch with them and work something out.
Banks don't want bikes, really. The want the money for the bike. If you make them an offer, they might take it, even a low one. But they are the owner you have to deal with.
i would think the guy that has the bike could clean this up easier than you .. have him fix the mess he created and get a clean title THEN sell you the bike ...
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