lost auto title

Who leaves the title of a car in the car??? That's nuts! Like leaving your credit cards in wallet in the car.

If you really bought it on ebay, there would be auction history you could look up and find the contact information. Look up completed auctions and do a search, Unless it was a long time ago, you should be able to find it.

If all else fails, do a carfax report on it.

Bob

Maybe try here?

Used to be, you could do a title search through the state of PA to find who the car was last titled to. Only cost $15 or so, back in the 90s. I did this with a '62 Olds Starfire that was parked at a gas station in Pittsburgh and left with the windows down; ended up corresponding with a sweet sounding but slightly batty old lady who sadly was too attached to the car to sell it to some kid who was actually going to try to get it back on the road. It's a shame because other than one piece of aluminum side trim that was missing and a purple (?!?!?!?!) respray over the original maroon, it was a nice looking car.

I at least convinced her to have the gas station people hook up some jumper cables to it and roll the windows up :( the car disappeared from the gas station shortly thereafter and I have no idea what happened to it. I left her my parents' address to contact me if she ever wanted to sell, but I never heard from her.

But anyway, if you can find the last holder of the title, he can request a duplicate title from the state and assign that one to you. You'll probably have to send him a couple bucks for his trouble though, most people don't like going to a title agency on their off day. That's the

*RIGHT* way to do it; if that doesn't pan out, look into something like Broadway Title. I had to use them to title my '62 Studebaker; it had *never* been titled anywhere until I bought it maybe 5 years ago. (was driven by the owner of a Studebaker dealership on dealer plates; wiring caught fire in the late 60's and it was hidden in a shed.) The state of MD wanted a letter from the manufacturer; they didn't seem to share my amusement at this suggestion.

You did file a police report, yes? If the seller left the title "open" (illegal, but it happens) the thief could try to title the car as his own, and if there's no flag on the VIN he could get away with it and cause you all kinds of headaches.

good luck,

nate