Massachusetts: Can you sell your Subaru donor shell to someone?

[ben1272]

We have had offers for our 2004 Subaru donor car and would love to get the cash, not to mention we have the use of a trailer right now. Gov't agencies are either clueless or don't return multiple phone calls.

Can ANYONE point me in the right direction of where to get the answer for this question:

Can we sell our donor chassis (no engine, no tranny, no interior, no wheels, no nothing except metal and front/back windshields) as scrap metal to an individual without doing the title thing? We are concerned b/c we need to retain the title to register our 818 (engine/tran) when the time comes. The real hiccup seems to be that the body has the VIN stamped all over it and we don't want someone taking that VIN and doing anything funny with it!

Thanks for any help!

[ben1272]

Do I register as salvaged and let someone buy it to rebuild it? If I sell as scrap they can certify it has been decommisioned, but I think I will get more from someone who wants the chassis for racing or quarters etc. Dont want car showing up on road again under its original VIN....I dont think?

[mrmrules]

You dont want someone rebuilding the car and trying to register it. You cant sell a car in MA without a title. Best bet would be to let someone cut parts off and scrap the rest when you are done to get rid of it knowing it wont show up somewhere down the road.

[RandyB]

I can share a little history on this now as I just went through the inspection. After removing all of the necessary material, I sold the rest of the donor to a salvage yard with a photocopy of the title, keeping the original for my own purposes. When I went in to the state police for my inspection last week, I had the donor title and was able to obtain the MA issued VIN. With that, they allowed me to register and apply for a title for the finished 818. The only thing the state police was looking for on the donor was that I had the original title and a complete list of parts removed from the donor.

[ben1272]

Thanks Randy.

I have a copy of the original 'clean' title and have since had the title turned into 'parts only' so that I can sell shell to anyone who might want it. Registry claims I should be all set with this, but I guess we'll see in the end! Glad your process went smoothly! I look forward to meewting all you guys at a drive-in one day.

-Ben

[idf]

I did as Randy did. Also wrote up a bill of sale and removed all the VIN tags. Never heard back from the scrap dealer so I presume all was ok.