you dont necessarily need a title to prove ownership,[quads bought legit come with a certificate of origin from the manufacturer with the vin # and a bill of sale from dealer /seller], now if you need to title[for whatever reason] , you take those documents to the proper authorities and you can get a title issued[at which point you would most likely be liable for sales tax in the issuing state. anyone legitimally selling a vehichle should have those particular documents.....

 

yeah but he does not LEGALLY own them the bank does untill he pays the loan off and the bank hands the title over.

 

You should of gotten the VIN numbers and went to the state police, They coulda run the numbers and givin you a complete rundown on them. just my .02¢

 

Yes I could have done this but I dont think that the police could bring anything up unless they were reported stolen or something like. They could probably only tell me if they were reported stolen. But I dont know if they put them into a data base to see where everything is on them or they dont have access to that information, but i could be wrong.

 

If the bank indeed does have the title and will release it upon payment of the amount that he is selling the bikes for, you can go down together with the guy, pay the bank in cash, file the paperwork, and get the title in the mail. I sold 2 cars that way and bought a quad that way.

If, however, the titles are part of the collateral for a larger personal loan, and the bank won't release them, then forget it. The seller can drag that loan out for years while he plays around (or uses your payment to increase his line of credit.) Even if he is not going to report the bikes stolen, you could way for a long long long long long time for a title.

I think the deciding point is to go with the seller to the bank to take care of business and get the receipts for the titles in writing from the bank.

A handshake used to be all it takes, but not anymore.

 

Also a very good point. =]