Car purchase gone wrong, need advice

[lookforjoe]

Actually in Calif (where this car was being sold from) you could easily have to pay much more than $2000 for a title. The state requires payment of all back fees (unpaid registrations, etc) that are on file before they will release the title. So if the car has been sitting unregistered for several years (e.g. in storage), but it wasn't officially placed on a hold ("non-operation") status, then all of those years of reg fees, plus penalties, are due regardless of who is buying the car or where they live. It can easily come to several thousand dollars. This often happens with old cars and makes them not worth buying, which is the state's intent - they want all older vehicles off the road permanently.

Dang. That's crazy! In NY, if the car is not registered, it cannot be insured, and therefore cannot be used on any roads. They can't assess fees for a car that is titled but not registered for road use. CA definitely has some ****ed up laws around vehicles, given that it is home to so many older/classic cars. One cannot have more than one unregistered vehicle in one's driveway, however. Vehicles must be on blacktop also, parking an unregistered vehicle anywhere other than on a driveway is illegal. I don't know if the one-unregistered car is state-wide or by county, it applies to my area of NY.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

One cannot have more than one unregistered vehicle in one's driveway, however. Vehicles must be on blacktop also, parking an unregistered vehicle anywhere other than on a driveway is illegal.

So you're saying the neighbor's yard does not look like this:

 

[kmead]

So you're saying the neighbor's yard does not look like this:
View attachment 27865

Sheet, no wonder the neighbors hate me...

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Funny enough, a lot of properties around here are something like that in one way or another. Often it is more junk than actual vehicles. So by comparison mine looks good with only 6 or 7 cars.