So my dad bought a racecar a few years ago and it came with a 16’ open trailer. He bought himself a brand new enclosed trailer, and was holding on to this one for me until I needed it. In the meantime, he was robbed and lost the title to the trailer. In order for him to (and ultimately me) get the title for the trailer, NYS DMV dictates we contact the previous owner and get him to sign some forms and re-pay the tax (again) to NYS. Then we can get a new title and he can transfer it to me.
The first issue was with the previous title. When my dad bought the car/trailer, it came from Florida, which does not issue titles for trailers (apparently). The previous owner originally sold the car/trailer because he was done racing and moving to South Carolina (did not leave a forwarding address for us). My dad went through this process before and it took almost 6 months to get his NYS title, but for some reason is required to go through the entire process again.
The next issue, which was never caught before, is that the trailer was registered at 1600#, which is about 400# too low for the actual trailer.
I really need to use my trailer since my racecar is not street legal and really not much fun to drive on the street anyway. So getting it to Watkins Glen, NJMP, PIR, etc. is proving to be near impossible.
So wait, was the trailer ever properly registered and titled to someone in NY? If so I don’t understand why you need to go back to the original owner. Once the title paperwork is done once it should just be a matter of filing for a lost title.
They probably never titled it in the first place… you’re going to have a hard time with this unless you try to get away with getting issued a homemade trailer title.
Yes, it was registered by my father a couple years ago. He is applying for the new title, NYS states he has to contact the owner prior to him for the information. They do have documentation of him registering the trailer, but for some reason that is not acceptable. He has to mail the previous owner a form saying it was purchased from him, when, and for how much. Then taxes will be paid again, and the new title can be issued. If the previous owner does not sign the form, it will be deemed “ignored”, in which case no new title will be issues. If the form is returned “undeliverable”, then a new title can also be given.
---------- Post added at 04:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:22 PM ----------
The DMV stated very clearly that it was be bad news if we tried to do that. If they found out this trailer was registered as home built, when it is not, it would be deemed stolen (although I don’t know how they’d know or who it would be stolen from).
So I see three options based on what the DMV told you.
Pick an address that doesn’t exist and send the form there. Wait for the Post Office to eventually send it back undeliverable. Now you have your US Postal Service stamped letter saying you tried.
Forge the form since you know the previous owner is never going to claim the trailer was stolen.
Actually find the previous owner and do it legit.
What I still don’t understand is why you’re having to pay sales tax again if the trailer was actually registered to your dad. He would have had to pay sales tax on it at that time and the trailer hasn’t been sold again. Something still isn’t adding up. Probably time to go talk to someone face to face a the DMV instead of trying to get answers over the phone.
Since my dad is the one who has to handle this first (unfortunately for him), I’ll send him in to an actual office. I too do not understand why this is such a hassle since it was once registered in NY not that long ago.
What would happen if I tried to register it in Maine?
You need a title for Maine as well Greg. I’m swapping mine over to Maine next year. You can register a large amount of things in Florida by mail. It’ll be a bit more time consuming, but it’s possible.
Yeah, real bad idea using a slap on expired FL plate.
I’ve debated the Maine reg but haven’t bothered. While it’s technically legal it does give prick cops a reason to pull you over and hassle you. I never could find a straight answer about inspections being required or not on non-commercial Maine registered trailers being operated in NY. Some say not required, other say police friends have said they still have to be inspected.
My boat trailer I let expire over the winter every year and then register it in the spring. By doing this they pro-rate it and I get about 30% off when I go to register it online in April. This year it was $27.50. The snowmobile trailer is light enough that it’s only $20 something a year. If I had a car hauler with a high GVWR it might make it worth it though.
Kinda thought they’d take the trailer, didn’t know they’d take my racecar too. Not worth the risk of losing both if I get caught with the wrong plate. Ugh…