Let's see if I can remember everything that was said..
I went to my county clerks office where I usually take my registration/title stuff, get my tags etc. The woman there said that first of all to purchase a vehicle without a title is against the law.. Oh well people do it all the time for parts bikes.
She could run the VIN number and see that it wasnt titled in TN, but it wasnt stolen and there was no liens on it either. But since it wasn't title here I would have to contact the State, and request the Vehicle Information. However when I left I called from my car, and immediately the woman from the state said they should know at the County Clerk's office that the State cannot provide me with that information. There is a new Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act for the state of TN, and I would not be able to get the information from the previous owner.
See originally, The woman and the Clerk's office said I could call them, get the PO info, go the post office send out a Registered Mail with Return Receipt to the PO's address and request the title. Of course if there was no response I take that Registered Mail when sent back to me, bring it to the Clerk's office and boom have a title.
However now that the State can't provide me with the information the only thing they told me to do is get a Notarized bill of sale from the guy I am buying the bike from, and get it titled that way through the Clerk's office. But the woman at the Clerk's office said, since the guy isn't the Actual owner of the bike, when she sends off the Notarized bill of sale to the State, it will be worthless, and not even worth the paper it was written on, because that man is not the actual "Titled" owner. So it will come back and I still won't be able to get it titled. There was also mention of a Lawyer having to get involved to um do some sort of request to the state for me, something about getting them to release the PO information to be able to send off that Registered mail to the PO..
Basically, some how in order for me to make this work, I have to find out who the last person who had it titled, send off the request, blah blah blah, but there is all this red tape due to the Federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act.
The fee is minimal once I apply for ownership and get the title it's like $5.50. I have a good friend who is a lawyer, I guess I'll discuss it with him, but as of right now it seems pretty darn difficult.
If it was registered here in the state it would be no problem at all, but since it wasn't I have to go through the State, so they can run the national search and some how have them relinquish said info to me.. But I'm not sure I can do that without a lawyer, I'm not sure..
Ugh.. F'in politics.. Atleast I haven't bought the bike yet..
I've seen some people hacking off the necks of the frames, and just selling them with a title, hahaha.. Geez desperation at it's finest!
Good luck to everyone else outside the State of Tennessee.. But if you were here trying to do it, I'd say go find another bike with a good title.
