The Expert Podcast

…So here's one of the most common questions that we get We hear this 20 30 times a day. Where a customer calls up has a car. That they did work on that they fixed. And they want to own the car. Right. maybe somebody gave it to them and they fixed it up Maybe. They repaired it for somebody and that person didn't want the car anymore. Maybe they repaired it and fixed it. And the owner. Didn't pay the bill. They didn't want to pay for the repairs and just said keep the car. Maybe you're an auto shop that has customers of bringing their car in for repairs maybe a body shop. And they don't pay the bill or they don't want to pay the bill or an insurance company. And you want to dispose of that car. So the question is if you fix a car, can you keep it Can you fix a car and get the title? Well if you're an automotive repair facility and you have an automotive repair license it's pretty straightforward You can do it What's called a mechanics lien. Where almost every state has a process that you can go through. As a licensed automotive facility. To take a. Customer order that has been placed for repairs. Convert it into a title. There's a step-by-step process for it Every state does it differently. And you've seen other videos We've talked about mechanics liens. We even have all the forms and documents and even instructions on our website car titles.com. But what if you're just a backyard mechanic or maybe just…a private person that fixed the car Can you keep a car just because you fixed it? Well it's a little more complicated. The short answer is just because you fixed it doesn't mean you automatically get to keep the car, but there may be ways that you can own the vehicle…First. On our website you'll see options for a bonded title. For a court order title for a magistrate title. All of those are methods that you can use. To get a title ownership transferred to you. For certain reasons. One of the reasons could be that you fix the car, you put money into it you put time into it you put parts into it. If that's the case, you can use one of those processes Now keep in mind that…just because you fixed it by itself doesn't mean you automatically get to own the car You have to go through some steps because if the true legal owner of the vehicle objects to it, then you're going to have to. Get somebody to decide who's right. If you say Hey I fixed your car. And the owner says well it's still my car. Who wins. Right. That's up to you to decide it's not up to them to decide it's not even up to for the DMV to decide or the title agency it's up to a court to decide. Here's why that's important. If it was just as easy as saying Hey I fixed this car give me the car for free. Anybody could just buy a set of $10 wiper blades put them on a car and say Hey it's my car. Right. So there has to be more to it than just I fixed a car There has to be some…Decision making process Otherwise, no car would be safe Somebody could see the car in your driveway, put on a new set of hubcaps and say Hey I fixed it It's my car. Right. Obviously that's a ridiculous example, but. Who's to say what's ridiculous and what's not. Right. If you're a licensed repair shop you're going to have a signed repair order a business license You're going to have all the proper documentation. If you're just a backyard mechanic that fixed the car, look it's your word against theirs…You say you fixed it you know you did, the owner probably knows they did too, but. Who at the DMV? Is going to give you a free car just based on your say So cause if they would that anybody could get any car they want it. So there has to be more to it than that. The court ordered title process. Is the most A definitive way to do this Here's why. The department of motor vehicles or Penn dot or whatever agency in your state gives out titles. They only have certain authority They can't give out titles based on a verbal request. They have to have certain documentation They have to have either the old title or proper documents from a mechanics lien. If you don't have that, DMV can't do anything. Even if they wanted to even if there was somebody there who liked you it was a nice person that wanted to give you a title. They can't push a button and print a title unless they have the right paperwork. So a court order title can override the DMV…The court has authority over the DMV So if you get a paper from the court, boom slap it on the counter at DMV you get you a title. So that would be one method that's very definitive. You cut through all the red tape, you cut through all the bureaucracy of the DMV. It's not that hard. You file a petition. You file an affidavit saying here look here's what I did. And you probably have to do some title research. File with the court show up on a certain date that they tell you to with your documents. They're going to make you raise your right hand. under oath That everything's true. If it seems like it checks out, they'll give you a judgment of ownership. You walk right across the street to DMV Boom Slap it on the counter. You got you a title…If…you have limited documentation. About that you were supposed to fix the car. Do you have authority fix the car That's the best way to go now? If you have more clear documentation I mean signed contracts, paperwork, you might be able to go through the DMV through a bonded title. Now a lot of times people will ask well I have text messages I have I can show you on my phone. That's not documentation. Because anybody could Photoshop text messages. You can't show your phone to the DMV and say this is a contract. Text messages on a phone I mean nothing. So forget about your text messages. If you have signed papers, different story. So. If you have. A vehicle that you've done work on. Don't give up hope. you may have gone to the DMV and tried to get a title and they threw you out…Don't quit. There's things you can do. Look. In almost all 50 states 48 or 42 or 50 states. There's a process called a bonded title surety bond title that you can use to get a title in cases like this…I can't tell you how many times. Callers call our help desk and the agents there. Say why don't you do a bond to title I knew nothing about it. These are people that have been to the DMV or the title office in their state and their title off has never even told them about a bond a title Sometimes the DMV doesn't even know about it. It's a legal process directly through the DMV You don't even have to go to court. So. If you're in one of those 42 states and we have a list on our website. You can check that out If you need more information call our help desk. You know we have people on the phone all the time standing by the answer phone calls. And. They can give you more information on that. On a bond title, worst case scenario you could do a court order title. There's a lot of ways to work around us. Before warrant. Don't file for an abandoned title. An abandoned title and a bonded title sound the same but they're two different things. A bonded title is you getting a title, An abandoned vehicle is one that nobody wants and in most states most jurisdictions abandoned vehicle You don't get to keep the state seizes it and they auction it off. Because abandoned means nobody wants it. Abandoned is not finders Keepers is not whoever has it gets to keep it. It's nobody knows whose it is Nobody knows where it came from. So the state. Takes it. And they try to contact the owner or try to contact the lien holder If that fails they auction it off. You don't get to keep it So a lot of times we have people that call us up and say Hey look I filed for an abandoned vehicle and they towed the car away What do I do too late? So don't file for abandoned. Cause once you file for it it's too late Now it's in the system as abandoned and you might lose out on it So, you know be aware of that And before warn that you don't want to file for an abandoned vehicle unless you just want to give it away. There's other methods you can use. If you have any questions put it in the comments. Check out our website car titles We also have a website specifically dedicated to court ordered titles. that you'll see on the screen as well. And we build be glad to be of assistance…