PhilJohnson
Well-known member
Last fall I bought a 1950 Dodge Coronet for 500 bucks from a dealership about an hour away from my house. Everything was cool, it seemed in decent shape, ran, even had brakes. So I decided to buy it. The dealer had advertised the car as a 1951. After looking up Coronets on the net I quickly realized that I had a 1950 model. I brushed it off as maybe an error on the part of the dealer in the ad. Two weeks later I show up with my truck and trailer ready to bring it home. A quick check of the VIN on the vehicle revealed that the VIN was nowhere near a match
I took the Dodge home anyway since it was well worth 500 bucks and left the obviously wrong title with the dealer (West Side Auto in Eau Claire).
The dealer said he was going to look and see if there was a title mix up. A little digging by the dealer revealed that the car had been titled wrong since the early 80s. He tracked back the car through 2 owners, one guy was dead so the trail went cold. He offered my money back, plus he would transport the car back and sell it for parts. I looked at the Dodge, it ran good, I even took it out for a 24 mile jaunt. I told him not to worry about it and I'd look into seeing what I could do to title it. Westside then sent me all the money I had spent on tax and registration I asked for some advice on a few forums, most folks suggesting buying a "historical document" but that didn't sit well with me.
So I did my own research, had a VIN verification sheet sent to my house. A friendly State Trooper did the deed. I then called the dealer and told him that I could indeed get it registered but I'd need a bill of sale from him and mentioned I'd probably need a title bond. He asked me what the cost would be, I said 100 bucks. So he sent me another 100 bucks to cover the cost of the bond. I have to say for everyone saying how bad dealers are this guy is the real deal.
I sort of stalled out on the registration process after the snow started falling. I sent in the paperwork in June this year. I got more letters asking for more information (like pictures of the car, and a written statement how I got the car). I then got another letter a month later stating that I would need a title bond (which I expected). I finally got the title bond during the beginning of August, sent it in and then about a month later I got an envelope from the DMV.
I excitedly tore into it, hoping to see a freshly printed title with my name on it. I started pulling the paper out of the envelope, the familiar coloration and border of a Wisconsin title poked out of the ripped up envelope. I had gotten my title, no stamping of fake VIN plates, no buying overpriced historical documents for hundreds of dollars needed. It does say that a bond was posted for the car on the title but other than that it looks like a normal title.
The whole process was only a hundred dollars more than the regular registration process. The hundred bucks was for the title bond. It wasn't complicated although I had to do a little verbal arm twisting with a grouchy DMV guy over the phone to convince him that yes there was a such thing as a VIN verification form. The guy that handles the actual issuing of bonded titles was very easy to work with and answered all my questions with no attitude. If I hadn't procrastinated I would have had a title within a month and a half or less. It was really easy and at least in Wisconsin it seems like just doing things the right way isn't any harder or more expensive than doing it the wrong way.
Having a title in my name has given me a little boost on the project. The poor Dodge hasn't been touched since last fall. As of now I have the starter getting rebuilt and the gas tank removed so I can clean it and repaint it. I would like to have it on the road before the leaves fall off the trees. I don't have any recent pictures of the beast so this one from last fall will have to suffice:
I took the Dodge home anyway since it was well worth 500 bucks and left the obviously wrong title with the dealer (West Side Auto in Eau Claire). The dealer said he was going to look and see if there was a title mix up. A little digging by the dealer revealed that the car had been titled wrong since the early 80s. He tracked back the car through 2 owners, one guy was dead so the trail went cold. He offered my money back, plus he would transport the car back and sell it for parts. I looked at the Dodge, it ran good, I even took it out for a 24 mile jaunt. I told him not to worry about it and I'd look into seeing what I could do to title it. Westside then sent me all the money I had spent on tax and registration
I asked for some advice on a few forums, most folks suggesting buying a "historical document" but that didn't sit well with me. So I did my own research, had a VIN verification sheet sent to my house. A friendly State Trooper did the deed. I then called the dealer and told him that I could indeed get it registered but I'd need a bill of sale from him and mentioned I'd probably need a title bond. He asked me what the cost would be, I said 100 bucks. So he sent me another 100 bucks to cover the cost of the bond. I have to say for everyone saying how bad dealers are this guy is the real deal.
I sort of stalled out on the registration process after the snow started falling. I sent in the paperwork in June this year. I got more letters asking for more information (like pictures of the car, and a written statement how I got the car). I then got another letter a month later stating that I would need a title bond (which I expected). I finally got the title bond during the beginning of August, sent it in and then about a month later I got an envelope from the DMV.
I excitedly tore into it, hoping to see a freshly printed title with my name on it. I started pulling the paper out of the envelope, the familiar coloration and border of a Wisconsin title poked out of the ripped up envelope. I had gotten my title, no stamping of fake VIN plates, no buying overpriced historical documents for hundreds of dollars needed. It does say that a bond was posted for the car on the title but other than that it looks like a normal title.
The whole process was only a hundred dollars more than the regular registration process. The hundred bucks was for the title bond. It wasn't complicated although I had to do a little verbal arm twisting with a grouchy DMV guy over the phone to convince him that yes there was a such thing as a VIN verification form. The guy that handles the actual issuing of bonded titles was very easy to work with and answered all my questions with no attitude. If I hadn't procrastinated I would have had a title within a month and a half or less. It was really easy and at least in Wisconsin it seems like just doing things the right way isn't any harder or more expensive than doing it the wrong way.
Having a title in my name has given me a little boost on the project. The poor Dodge hasn't been touched since last fall. As of now I have the starter getting rebuilt and the gas tank removed so I can clean it and repaint it. I would like to have it on the road before the leaves fall off the trees. I don't have any recent pictures of the beast so this one from last fall will have to suffice:
