Buying a used car, seller doesn't have the car registered

[e36bmw///]

-p

[Ven]

I've been there before, on both sides. There's cars, motorcycles, and ATVs I've bought with a future intention in mind that never came to fruition, so they never got registered and I sold them instead.

I've also bought from people in the same situation. I'm a sucker for other peoples project cars or just buying nostalgia stuff I always wanted, things like that. In that case I do the same as you, Car Proof and Lien check, and do up a bill of sale from one of the registries. Never an issue.

[HomespunLobster]

Bought one vehicle that supposedly traded hands 6 times without registration before i registered it . Hadn't been registered in over 15 years. Just get all the paperwork checked and you're good

[MR2-3SGTE]

I don't know the technical term for it here, but in the US it's referred to as "title jumping" (and is illegal down south) when seller A sells the car to buyer B, who doesn't register it, and sells it to buyer C. So on paper, it's recorded as being sold directly from seller A to buyer C.

The reason for buyer B to do this could be to avoid buying an insurance policy and paying registration fees if the plan is to sell the car anyway

If the seller didn't register the car, then I don't see how he can provide a bill of sale for something he doesn't technically own. The bill of sale would have to be signed by the first owner (as far as I know)

Is this an expensive car? Can you find out who the car is registered by? Maybe ask for proof of him purchasing the car

[tawheed]

In Alberta, you do not need to register a car to sell it. Any bill of sale with the required information, name / signature of buyer and seller, along with VIN, make, model and colour and you're good to go.

[Kloubek]

It's perfectly legal - you just need to ensure the seller is really the owner. Does he have the paperwork to support his purchase?

Last summer, I came to terms to buy a BMW but the guy selling it wanted to sign me over the registration that had someone else's name on it. Claimed he was selling it for them while they were out of the country. Seemed fishy so I nixed the deal.

[pheoxs]

So long as the car was A) Last registered in Alberta, B) The title is as he says (i.e. not salvaged), and C) Not stolen, then it's perfectly fine & legal to do so.

I would pull a stolen vehicle report on the vehicle as well as maybe go to AMA and do history report (carfax or whatever you want) to check that the title is clean as well and it wasn't salvaged and patched up


Originally posted by MR2-3SGTE
I don't know the technical term for it here, but in the US it's referred to as "title jumping" (and is illegal down south) when seller A sells the car to buyer B, who doesn't register it, and sells it to buyer C. So on paper, it's recorded as being sold directly from seller A to buyer C.

The reason for buyer B to do this could be to avoid buying an insurance policy and paying registration fees if the plan is to sell the car anyway

If the seller didn't register the car, then I don't see how he can provide a bill of sale for something he doesn't technically own. The bill of sale would have to be signed by the first owner (as far as I know)

Is this an expensive car? Can you find out who the car is registered by? Maybe ask for proof of him purchasing the car

Not in Alberta. We don't have formal titles here and a bill of sale does not need to match the previous registrant. Here you can literally scribble the buyers & sellers info & vehicle VIN/info onto a napkin, sign it, and register a vehicle with that.

[jacky4566]

Originally posted by pheoxs
So long as the car was A) Last registered in Alberta, B) The title is as he says (i.e. not salvaged), and C) Not stolen, then it's perfectly fine & legal to do so.


on A) I dont know if my registry is just lazy but my 1973 Datsun was a title jump from out of province. So I still needed OOP inspection but my bill of sale was from a dude in Alberta who got it from a dude in BC. No hassle other than a physical VIN check. (And the $600 inspection :/ )

[carson blocks]

Originally posted by MR2-3SGTE
I don't know the technical term for it here, but in the US it's referred to as "title jumping" (and is illegal down south) when seller A sells the car to buyer B, who doesn't register it, and sells it to buyer C. So on paper, it's recorded as being sold directly from seller A to buyer C.


The title system is pretty different than our registry system. The idea behind titles is to keep a constant, accurate record of who owns a vehicle. Our registration system is just to get license plates, so it is no big deal if a vehicle is unregistered for a while, or even a few owners.



Originally posted by MR2-3SGTE
If the seller didn't register the car, then I don't see how he can provide a bill of sale for something he doesn't technically own. The bill of sale would have to be signed by the first owner (as far as I know)


The seller does legally own it, so long as they bought and paid for it. Registering it or not has absolutely no impact on legal ownership of the vehicle.

[Weapon_R]

Sounds like a curber to me.

[redblack]

Curber car for sure. Looking to make a quick buck

[RealJimmyJames]

Is he a chill guy?:dunno:

[OTown]

Was he driving the vehicle around while it was unregistered?

[01RedDX]

.

[dj_rice]

The real question here, is if its FULLY LOADED or not?

[MR2-3SGTE]

That still leaves a bit of confusion though, if I buy a car from seller B who hasn't registered it and we fill out a bill of sale, I take it to the registry, won't they see in the system that it's registered under Seller A's name? But signed by Seller B

I guess the bigger question is, what's stopping someone from stealing a car and then selling it if the third person can register it (unless it's reported stolen I suppose).

[speedog]

Originally posted by e36bmw///


He provided me with Carproof and I personally ran a Vehicle Identification Report from a registry. The car comes out clean with an active status and no leans.

No leans is good but what about liens? :)

[carson blocks]

Originally posted by MR2-3SGTE
That still leaves a bit of confusion though, if I buy a car from seller B who hasn't registered it and we fill out a bill of sale, I take it to the registry, won't they see in the system that it's registered under Seller A's name? But signed by Seller B

I've never had a problem, they see it all the time. Of all the cars I've had, they've mentioned it once, and I said it was parked for a while and likely resold. No problem.


Originally posted by MR2-3SGTE
I guess the bigger question is, what's stopping someone from stealing a car and then selling it if the third person can register it (unless it's reported stolen I suppose).

Nothing. Unless the VIN is flagged in the system, you can fake a bill of sale from "John Smith" and it will get you plates.

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by MR2-3SGTE
That still leaves a bit of confusion though, if I buy a car from seller B who hasn't registered it and we fill out a bill of sale, I take it to the registry, won't they see in the system that it's registered under Seller A's name? But signed by Seller B

I guess the bigger question is, what's stopping someone from stealing a car and then selling it if the third person can register it (unless it's reported stolen I suppose).

Again, in Alberta registration =/= ownership unlike the US where whoever has the title owns the vehicle.

Anyone can register a vehicle with a made up bill of sale here. I can walk up to your car, copy the VIN# down, write a bill of sale from John Smith to Me for 1000$, walk in the registries and register your car and get a plate. Of course it's illegal/fraudulent and when you find out and report it to the police and they track me down I'll probably be arrested for theft. But the registries don't care, they are just there to register vehicle plates to owners for a vehicle. They do not track actual ownership of a vehicle.

The back of the registration is just a convenient way to sign over a car, it's not a title.

[RedDawn]

Originally posted by pheoxs


Again, in Alberta registration =/= ownership unlike the US where whoever has the title owns the vehicle.

Anyone can register a vehicle with a made up bill of sale here. I can walk up to your car, copy the VIN# down, write a bill of sale from John Smith to Me for 1000$, walk in the registries and register your car and get a plate. Of course it's illegal/fraudulent and when you find out and report it to the police and they track me down I'll probably be arrested for theft. But the registries don't care, they are just there to register vehicle plates to owners for a vehicle. They do not track actual ownership of a vehicle.

The back of the registration is just a convenient way to sign over a car, it's not a title.

If registration doesn't equal ownership - how does one get ownership?

[90_Shelby]

Originally posted by RedDawn


If registration doesn't equal ownership - how does one get ownership?

A Bill of Sale.

[carson blocks]

Originally posted by RedDawn


If registration doesn't equal ownership - how does one get ownership?

By buying it, and getting a bill of sale to prove you did.

[rage2]

Originally posted by speedog
No leans is good but what about liens? :)
https://media.giphy.com/media/lGkUyj3IrEcvu/giphy.gif

[hrdkore]

has it ever been registered in AB? if not you will need to get a OOP (out of province inspection) done and fix any major concerns before they'll legally let you register the vehical.

[raceman6135]

There are a couple of times when an Out of Province inspection are not required. Check out the Government of Alberta Ministry of Transportation PDF:

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/Content/docType41/Production/oopexemptions.pdf

[e36bmw///]

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