Missouri Titling

[Peeker]

I bought my kit as the second owner of the kit so the COO was not in my name. I’ve read quiet a bit on the forums about how to go about the titling process but really not much for here in MO. I know some states sound like nightmares. I was told you need to go to court and get a Declared Judgement, I’ve was told the original owner needs to title it, I was told to sign the COO, etc. All of these were false. I spoke with Sally at FFR and she assured me that with a properly executed Bill of Sale, it should not be an issue. I tried to call to Jefferson City to see how to go about this. I got some of the previous responses and was starting to get really discouraged. I then found two other individuals, Rich Schipper and Mike Moen, here in MO who were in the same situation as I was, purchased from an individual with the COO not in their name. They both assured me it would not be an issue and advised me to just take my paperwork to the state office in person. To my surprise, there were no surprises. The person who helped me was Melissa Harrell. I include her name so that if anyone is in my position they will know who to go to. She knew exactly how to handle this. The only bump in the road was I did not have the Bill of Sale notarized at the time. Bills of Sale do not need to be notarized in MO except for this situation. It spelled in out on the application but I did not see it. She took care of everything and gave me her personal info and said once I had a notarized copy to send it to her and she would finish the submission. She said it would be 4-6 weeks. 11 days later I received a call to come get my VIN plate attached and that’s where I am now, awaiting my title. I let Sally know how everything worked out and she encouraged me to write this so that the next individual who buys a kit here in Missouri has some info to go from. If you are that individual who is thinking about buying a kit from someone or have already done so, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

[rich grsc]

Good the hear you've got everything taken care of. Glad I could help out. Congratulations

[frankenford]

This sounds promising to me. I just bought a kit and would be the 3rd owner. If the second owner doesn't have a bill of sale notarized from the first and never had any registration paperwork done would a notarized bill of sale from the second owner to me be worth anything? I'm starting to worry i bought a kit that i will never be able to make street legal.
thanks in advance

[Peeker]

First off, are you in Missouri? If so, check with Melissa at Jeff City. Second, I believe you would need all the documentation for the first owner to the second owner in proper order before it could be properly transferred to you. The good news (might be expensive) that with a lawyer, you can petition the court for a Declared Judgement. The judge basically says it is your pile of parts. He/She is kind of hanging it out by doing this, at least that is what a judge friend of mine said. I could walk into your garage and take the parts and through the legal process, have them in my name. That is why the judge friend said exhaust all other options first.

[Duster]

Consider trying to go through the State Troopers. Each of the zone headquarters have a person dedicated to dealing with untitled, unregistered, cars needing verification etc. etc. I am down in the bootheel and I talked to an auto salvager who refurbishes flood damage cars from down south and the local zone person (Troop E, Poplar Bluff)is at his shop 2 - 3 times a week dealing with these issues. They were tremendously helpful to me including giving me the straight dope on what equipment you must have and what items you do not need to pass inspection and registration. They also came to my house to verify and attach the vin plate (not the FFR serial number) to the car (which only they can do) so I wouldn't need to put it on a trailer and haul it to them. I did buy my car direct from FFR, different from you, I understand, but after working with the troopers I made one trip to the DMV, wrote one big check to the DOR and the title was in hand 2 weeks later.

A phone call couldn't hurt. You'll need them at some point anyway. Good luck.

David

[Peeker]

The Troopers are not the ones that issue titles. They are the first part of the process and the third. In between you have Jeff City. If you do not have your paperwork in order, the Troopers can do nothing for you. Don’t bother with a phone call. Every single time I called I got an answer that I did not want. You are gonna need to walk the stuff in.

[frankenford]

thanks for the reply duster and peeker. The guy i bought it from is supposedly talking to Sally from ffr and working out the details. Ive got a step brother that is a lawyer and he owes me some pretty big favors so I will use him as a last resort. I also have the original owners name and address so i think im going to reach out to him and see if he might help as well. And yes im in the Kansas City area.

[Peeker]

I believe Sally will tell you the same thing she told me. They can’t do anything at this point except get you a copy of the original COO, which it sounds like you already have. If you have the original owners info and he is willing, you could get him to re do a Bill of Sale to the guy you bought it from and have it notarized. That sounds like the only thing you may be missing.