I can't figure out how to register my car in WA. (Seattle: sale, lease) - Washington -Seattle and King County Suburbs - City-Data Forum

Reutte · 07-06-2013, 03:39 PM

Hey! I'm finally posting for help here because I'm at the end of my rope.

First things first, I'm way beyond the 30 day period to register my car. I keep getting blocked by the fact that offices aren't open when I'm not at work and that I don't have my title because I'm still making payments on the car and I couldn't even figure out who had my title for about a month.

Okay. So I need to register my car in WA. I'm still making payments on it and the lienholder still has a my title. They are located in Georia I believe and my car was bought and driven in IL for 2 years before I moved.

I contacted my lienholder for a copy of my title and they said okay, we need an out of state transfer form filled out and faxed to us before they will release my title to the state of WA so I could then fill out the whole "New car in WA registration" paperwork at the DMV. However, I can't for the life of me locate this "out of state transfer form" the my lien-holder is asking for. The DMV paperwork only covers if you have your title already and when I went to the licensing office, they told me until I get my title they can't do anything for me either. But I have two more years of payments on the car and I can't drive around with out of state plates until I pay my car off so I can actually get the title and then submit it! I don't know what to do and I work when all these offices are open so unless I can go on Saturday, I keep getting pushed back week by week by week. And no, I'm not allowed to take a vacation day for the first 6 months so taking time off to get this done isn't an option either. I don't know what to do but it shouldn't be this difficult!

What paperwork am I missing that allows me to get a car transferred when you don't have the title because you're still making payments? Does anyone know what this out of state transfer form is and where I can get a copy so I can submit it to my lien-holder?

Thank you for any help. I'm trying to do the right thing here but I'm running into walls over and over. I'm in Bellevue and I'm hitting up the offices in this area.

twelker · 07-06-2013, 06:02 PM

Wow, that's crazy.... I just moved here and have 3 vehicles. I just called the lien holders gave them the fax number to washngton's DVM and they fax them. Different lied holders also.

Reutte · 07-06-2013, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twelker

Wow, that's crazy.... I just moved here and have 3 vehicles. I just called the lien holders gave them the fax number to washngton's DVM and they fax them. Different lied holders also.

Yeah, Hyundai is requiring some sort of paperwork before they'll do it. And I can't find that actual piece of paperwork.

cocaseco · 07-06-2013, 07:35 PM

I just followed the instructions on this page and never was asked nor did i bring anything titled like your form.

WA State Licensing: Moving? Get WA plates

Reutte · 07-07-2013, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cocaseco

I just followed the instructions on this page and never was asked nor did i bring anything titled like your form.

WA State Licensing: Moving? Get WA plates

The problem is this part.

The out-of-state title.

If you’re making payments on the vehicle, submit a copy of the front and back of the out-of-state title.

But you say that the licensing office didn't ask you about your title at all? Because the one I went to pretty much refused to help me without mine.

RVD90277 · 07-07-2013, 12:44 AM

I had a similar situation. I contacted the lienholder and they made a copy of it for me and send it to me via mail. They knew what they were doing since I wasn't the first to ask them for this.

I would try calling hyundai again and explain to them that you moved so the dmv here is asking for a copy of the title. If they ask you for a form, ask them what form that is because nobody at the washington dmv knows. i didn't fill out a form first...I just contacted my lienholder and told them.

If it matters, in my case the car is a lease from BMW so BMW financial services took care of everything.

We have another car that is another story though...car was bought in my sister in law's name for my mother in law. My wife and MIL are here but we can't register that car since it's in the sister in law's name. She needs to fly up here to do it I guess. We would just transfer the car over to my wife's name but if we do that, it counts as a sale of the car so we would need to pay taxes on the used car value. As a republican, I hate things like double taxation...we already paid tax on the car when we bought it.

Anyway...didn't mean the hijack your thread. I hope my experience helps.

poopskooper · 07-07-2013, 01:31 PM

Could it be that the lien holder needs an "out of state transfer form" from the state of Illinois?

Since your title is currently an Illinois title, it might be that they'd be the one who would have to give permission to release it to another state?

I might try calling the Illinois SoS to see if they have such a form or the procedure to give permission for the lien holder to release the title to another state? (217) 785-3000

And, it might be a good idea to give a call during business hours to the King County Records & Licensing Services in downtown Seattle to inquire about the procedure.

You might know this but in Washington state, the Department of Licensing farms out its vehicle licensing functions to private contractors. However, each county will have its own vehicle licensing section that acts as an agent/partner for the state to handle vehicle licensing also.

I'm not saying that these independent agencies do not know their stuff but that may be the reason for the subtle procedural differences? ...I don't know.

There are quite a few private licensing agencies in King county that are open on Saturday if you need to talk to somebody in person but, again, if you are having problems, you may want to contact the county office for clarification (206) 296-4000

List of Vehicle Licensing Agencies in King County

cocaseco · 07-07-2013, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reutte

The problem is this part.

The out-of-state title.

If you’re making payments on the vehicle, submit a copy of the front and back of the out-of-state title.

But you say that the licensing office didn't ask you about your title at all? Because the one I went to pretty much refused to help me without mine.

They did ask, but i had it as I own the vehicles. That pretty much changes the issue I guess, sorry I cant offer anything else.

Reutte · 07-07-2013, 10:22 PM

Thanks for all the replies! I'll try calling Hyundai back and calling the IL DMV too I guess. Yeah, I realized that WA farms out the liscening once I tried to find an office and kept running into little private offices rather than like a state office. I might have to find another one and see if they're more helpful. I also don't want to have to pay double taxes on a car that I've owned for two years. That's just silly. But I'm worried too since I'm beyond the 30 days thing. I don't want to have to pay a fine or get ticketed for it.

poopskooper · 07-07-2013, 11:52 PM

I'm thinking that they won't know it's been over 30-days if you don't tell them ...or so I guessing.

I've thought about this some more and could it be this "out of state transfer form" just merely be the application for the new title? In Washington, it's this form > click here ...I'm wondering.

Maybe call your lien holder again and ask if it's the application form in the new state that they are requesting. Or if not, actually pin them down on where to obtain this "out of state transfer form." Maybe it is actually from them? Or if it's the old state or new state that the form should be acquired.