The Expert Podcast

Occasionally we see some illegal car title so we want to make you wear them so if you're buying a vehicle or looking at a vehicle you want make sure you avoid these. first is recently seeing color copies of the title. somebody wants to make a photocopy of a vehicle title sometimes just the front sometimes a front back but it's not actually the original title. you can tell an original title have watermarks from the state it'll have the scroll work it won't just be on a plain piece of paper. so watch out for color copies of titles. the other thing we're seeing is what's called the superseded duplicate. what that means is if you have a title for your car and you lose it you can apply for a replacement from the state but when that replacement comes that prior titles now invalidates void. but what people will do in some cases they'll apply for duplicate use that duplicate to get a car title loan or a payday loan or some other incumbents on the vehicle and then sell it using the old title. and the buyer doesn't realize this until they try to register with that title and it turns out to be invalid. so verify the title you're getting that is the most current title and it has not been replaced with another one. another example or altered titles somebody does white our scratch out and they don't make the title valid on its face because of that damage or alteration. many times at forged signatures are not discovered until the true owner comes forward at a later date. so if you see somebody signing a title over to you verify their identity by looking at their ID and matching up the name and signature on the title. sometimes titles are obtained using fraudulent mechanics liens where the car didn't have a title and somebody lost the paperwork and they use the mechanic's lien process to get a title when it was simply a title recovery. we had a client we talked to earlier today actually had a an older nineteen fifty two Ferrari hundred thousand dollar vehicle plus that was stolen from his family years passed. and a mechanic's lien we use for the person to get a title and it was all unwound ten years after the date so be aware of these fraudulent mechanic's liens. the last one is what's called title washing where if a vehicle has a certificate of destruction or salvage title or some other insurance event on the title people will jump the title around different states to try to wash that brand off the title temporarily. get a title without the brand sell it to you but then that title be revoked and the new one will be issued with that brand. so do your research on the cars run a Carfax at least to make sure that there's no hidden histories of cloud on the title to the vehicle that you're buying.