Texas registration, versus Title

[silver]

So, I was able to get the car registered and License plates fairly easily within the first day that I got it, but, the application for title was rejected by the state.....why....because no one knows how to do it properly, WIERD a government agency that has no directions on how to get a new car titled.  The big pain in the butt, is that the DMV office is 20 miles away from my house north, and the place that I now have to go to get the VIN inspected is 5 miles south of my house.  This morning I took my rejected paperwork back north 20 miles, after talking to the DMV lady on the phone and I expressed my concern that I did not want to have to make multiple trips down there to get this done, she assured me we had everything in order....

I get up there, and the bright part of my day was she had me skip the 2 hour line and I went right up and we started filling out the corrected paperwork.  They needed a picture of the car and a pencil shading of the VIN plate.  Oh yeah and 2 forms filled out that I had filled out the first time that magically dissappeared.  Then she hands me a form and says I need to have it inspected for the VIN plate (why I need a pencil shading and a separate form filled out who knows).  She however couldn't even tell me where I could go to get the inspection done, and Since it's 50degrees outside I didn't drive the atom down there.  So I head back south, I go to the police department, the one guy that is able to do the inspections isn't "available" although they give me his phone number and I call him and he promptly infoms me that I need the MCO.....where's the MCO you might ask, that's right, its north 20 friggen miles.  I call up north and ask them if they can fax it to me, they're not allowed to.....It's my friggen MCO for christ's sakes, oh well you can't win.  Now I have to go tomorrow back north, hope they let me skip the line, I have to pay .10 cents for a copy of the MCO then back down south to call and make an appt with the detective hopefully for Wednesday, to get the inspection done.  Providing that goes as planned, mail that document back north because I'm not driving up there anymore, and hope that once it gets to Austin that it is accepted. As usual with me, I get stuck jumping through all the hoops.

Oh yeah on a side note, because the make on the MCO is "assembled" that's what the friggen title will say, they won't put ariel atom on the title, what a mess.

[maverick1]

Ok Silver, sit down and take a deep breath. You sound really stressed out. I know gov bureaucracy can be very frustrating.
One thing I learned a long time ago is always take photo copies of all your paperwork....just in case.
I hope it all works out for you and quickly. It's too bad the weather was not cooperating for you. I'm sure you wouldn't have minded all that driving if it was in your Atom.
cheers

[silver]

You're right, i'm stressed, new job, G-MOTHER going into hospice, just not a good time all around, although driving the atom makes things much more fun

[Karl]

In CA we run on the assumption that DMV employees are monkeys (or worse, robots) that haven't read through their employee training guide completely - so we have to scour the Internet and figure out for ourselves the correct way of registering kit cars.  I know all too well how frustrating a process this can be.

We don't get "Ariel" or "Atom" on the title either, but what difference does it make?

[silver]

hopefully none, but, whenever it comes time to sell the car and you are selling it to someone with a title of a car called "assembled" it just creates further un-needed explanations, I'm sure it won't make a darn bit of difference and as for selling it, it's the furthest thing from my mind so I'll not worry about it.

[Karl]

I wouldn't worry about it either.  Anyone who wants an Atom should be knowledgeable enough to know that it will qualify as an "assembled vehicle" in most states.

[cshama]

I may be a moron but don't we get titles from Brammo. I am just getting my car registered and thats it.

If it makes you feel betterthe dmv I went to made me get a Vin tracing last week. I am getting it to them tomorrow and we will see what torment they have in store for me next. The person I dealt with was a horrible,characterless, joyless blob. Getting the Vin tracing involved hassling Brammo and I am not sure it is clear enough. The DMV office itself seemed like a prison- I was ready to be shanked(shawshank style) at any moment. The only redeeming thing was that for some reason amongst all the convict/customers were a smattering of super sexy women(obviously these were not the ones working for the Dmv)

[Karl]

Brammo does not give you a title.  Only states can issue titles.  Brammo, just like other kit car manufacturers, gives you a Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin.

[silver]

You get a manufacturer's certificate of origin, what's the difference between that and  a title, i dunno, but, I know that you need to have the car titled so that you can prove ownership in Texas.

[rfmarz@frontiernet]

Is there something that Brammo can do to help expedite the process? I don't have my car yet but my request for an order to do things in -to get a plate- has already gone to the top man in Atlanta- nobody knows what to do at this stage of the game. Hard to believe.

[Driver]

The process is different in other states. How does Georgia regulations play in this thread about Texas? I only bring this up because we run the risk, yet again, of going off topic. Wouldn't it be better to ask the question in a new topic if you are looking for Georgia -specific information?

Now with that said, when I have my Atom built (no time soon) I will ask Brammo for:
Pictures and rubbings for each of the chassis PIN and the engine and transmission serial numbers. Of course there's also the COA (MCO). Even if the picts and tracings are not needed it's better than having to do it after the fact. No matter what state I'm looking to title it in I would ask for these things.

PS: A COA is just that. Think of it as a Factory Title. It shows the manufacturers info, info on the car and the company they sold the vehicle to. It's used for transfers between dealers and such. The consumer never see's it. When you buy a new car the dealer files it with the state to get you a title and plates.

[silver]

next step is complete, I met this morning with 1 of the only 2 people in the entire county that can do the VIN inspection....where was he located you might ask....at the local LEWISVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT   anyhow, things went well, he brought out about 5  to come check it out, they asked all sorts of "normal" questions, and more than one of them asked for a ride, stating they would make sure they could get me out of a ticket if I got pulled over.  As I was leaving I asked if anyone really wanted to go for a ride, but, then I realized that they were on duty and they couldn't actually go, but, it all worked out ok.  Now on to the next step, I've got to mail this form back to the county so they can file it with the state, and hopefully I'll have a title soon.  Also, the  gave me a great idea of how to properly display the tags, I'll post pics when it's done.

[silver]

Almost a month later and look what I got in the mail.... A TITLE

[img width=750 height=600]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/ ... o-0007.jpg[/img]

[Alec]

Congratulations. 

[1965Cobra427]

Congratulations Silver. Ain't it nice to be completely legit?! Too bad it was such a hassle. Arkansas used to be a lot like you described, but it's been streamlined in the past few years. The state even conducted a program called the "Streamline Vehicle Registration" program. Inspections were dropped and most of the paper shuffling can now be done via Internet. I still make lots of copies though, never know when their system will be down.