OK, not sure when you guys obtained titles in the past, but things have changed big time in the past 2 years. And this is across many if not all the states. None of the title services work any longer, including Broadway and many are out right scams or being indited by various states. Just google these guys and add the word scam and you can see the results yourself. I had done many "Barn Find" cars in the past through R.I., but I understand that no longer works, at least not in NJ. Normally these states did not require a "Title" so your buddy residing in that state would provide a Vin tracing and a affidavid saying he was the owner. He would then get a xeroxed piece of paper saying that state does not require titles and your buddy was the owner. Your buddy gives you a bill of sale, and that was it. Turn it into NJDMV and they will issue you a NJ title. No more.
But all is not lost, but it becomes very complicated and time consuming. I am going through this process right now in the state on NJ. You have to call Trenton DMV and have them send you a no title car packet. This is a 15 step process, but you have to be very careful filling out the paperwork. If you are a car dealer, or garage, or private citizen, there are different steps you have to do. And to confuse things even more, there are steps to obtain a regular title, or just a salvage title in order for you to dispose of the car. Needless to say, you want the regular title.
The steps include getting proof of "non" ownership (lien searches) from all the 5 surrounding states. basically getting the prospective DMV's to say that the car is not titled to someone else in that state. Publishing a notice in your local newspaper saying you are taking ownership of the car. Getting a note from the local police dept. saying the car is not stolen. Getting 3 of your friends to testify that they have seen the car and verify the vin through a notarized document. Photos of the car. Vin tracing. And a bunch of other hurdles. Just don't say you bought the car from another state as then you will have to do lien searches for the 5 surrounding states for that state as well.
None of the steps are impossible, and some easier than others. The biggest PITA was the lien searches. Other DMVs all have different forms which are not necessarly easy to obtain. So you have to write letters and wait. Sometimes they respond, sometimes not. So you have to keep on top of them. Each state requires some payment for the search. $10-20. And they really take there time. I have been doing this for 6 months and just finished with collecting all the documents and have sent it to Trenton.
Now with all this done, there is no guarantee that Trenton will isuue a title. Also, get one document wrong and they will send everything back with an obscure note which leaves you trying to figure out what are they trying to say. Then after 3 hours on hold trying to contact the person who wrote the note, you may or may not get your answer. Again, difficult, but not impossible. Good luck, just make sure the car is worth the aggravation.
