2010 ranger fx4 title chasing?

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Found this truck on the local Facebook marketplace and the previous owner lost the title and with the covid stuff the motor vehicle is closed and only accepting appointments in April. I did a vin check and and it doesn’t show up as salvage or stolen... my question is do you guys think it would be worth chasing the title? It’s a super nice and clean truck I just need to reassemble the engine since he started an intake o-ring job and never finished.

 

[franklin2]

If you are confident it's not stolen and doesn't have any lien's on the title. For all you know he skipped out on a title loan place and owes them a bunch of money. Or he just got a divorce and half of it's value is his ex-wife's. Definitely get a bill of sale with his signature.

 

[Dirtman]

It comes down to your state laws. Some states you can re-title with just a bill of sale if it comes up clean with no leins, salvaged, stolen etc. Some states you have to basically hire a team of lawyers and a voodoo priest. No matter what get that bill of sale, signed, dated, multiple copies, notarized if possible.

Also comes down to price. With no title, at least here in NJ I would barely be willing to go over scrap value for any vehicle without a title because with no title, thats what you're selling me. Scrap.

I've bought alot of cars with no title over the years. Only one ever got re-titled and put back on the road. That process was a nightmare and no one can really even tell me if the car is 100% legit. The DMV approved it but technically the title is from a different car. There was no VIN so they didn't care.

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

I have all the bills of sale, his address, etc....
I even ran the vin number and it came back clean. I wouldn’t have loaded it up onto my trailer unless the vin came back clean

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

It comes down to your state laws. Some states you can re-title with just a bill of sale if it comes up clean with no leins, salvaged, stolen etc. Some states you have to basically hire a team of lawyers and a voodoo priest. No matter what get that bill of sale, signed, dated, multiple copies, notarized if possible.

Also comes down to price. With no title, at least here in NJ I would barely be willing to go over scrap value for any vehicle without a title because with no title, thats what you're selling me. Scrap.

I've bought alot of cars with no title over the years. Only one ever got re-titled and put back on the road. That process was a nightmare and no one can really even tell me if the car is 100% legit. The DMV approved it but technically the title is from a different car. There was no VIN so they didn't care.

I’ve never done the title process so it’s all new to me. I only paid $500 for the truck and it’s only got 140k miles. I’m probably gonna go to the local sheriff office and have them run the vin ?

 

[Dirtman]

I’ve never done the title process so it’s all new to me. I only paid $500 for the truck and it’s only got 140k miles. I’m probably gonna go to the local sheriff office and have them run the vin ?

That would probably be a good idea if they are willing. Anything you can do to cover your butt in case something pops up down the road. I don't know how in depth checking the vin online goes. Like does it show if the truck is currently still being paid off, like the other dude stated maybe an issue with ownership between husband and wife, if a mechanic worked on it and was never paid he could have a lien on it etc. Stolen or salvaged would be obvious but I dunno about the financial stuff like that.

 

[MikeG]

Can't speak for Idaho, but yes by all means see if you can get a (somewhat) clear answer from YOUR state. I had to do something similar, not exact, with a title that wasn't clear on a motorhome that a brain-damaged ex bought which had an out-of-state title that didn't match the name of the people she bought it from..... OMG what a mess. Fortunately I knew a tire shop owner who dabbled in flipping junk cars and I will be forever grateful to him for connecting me with the right people to end that nightmare. But all that was specific to where I live, so I wouldn't even begin to guess if there are any parallels.

Where I'm at, a salvage yard will NOT take a vehicle with no title, so people who have junk cars that they have lost the titles to just abandon them on the street (I know some folks at a wrecker company who told me this) and just let them get impounded. Once they are impounded for being abandoned, there's a process where some sort of impound title gets generated, so they can be auctioned off.

Anyway, just an example of one state law that doesn't apply to you, there's 48 more where that came from I'm sure. I'd be making some phone calls.......

 

[MikeG]

A vehicle with a loan on it should have a lien on the title, and that would have been filed with paperwork when the title was transferred from the manufacturer (or dealer) to the person who bought it. So the state should have a record of any lien. That's the normal process. Divorce / etc., that's (typically) just a paragraph in the decree, typically, awarding each party whatever, if the decree even has that much detail. If it really was an ex's and they found out about it, it would probably be a civil court matter for someone to press a claim, maybe, depending on state law.

 

[franklin2]

I have been in title messes before, but I never have had to find out if a vehicle was clear of any other obiligations. Will the sheriff or the DMV look at the title for you and tell you it's clean? I don't know. There may be privacy laws they don't want to break. They don't know who you are or have to believe your story and figure out what your motives are. I would be curious how this goes for you.

You are in the same pickle I was in several times. The more you try to find out, the more exposed you are and the more you are in jeopardy of losing your $500. The truck is not really yours till you get a title in your name so anything can happen and they can jerk the vehicle away from you. In one case I was looking at how many parts I could sell off to recoup my investment if the worst happened.

 

[Dirtman]

I think we can all agree... there sure are alot of worms in this can!

$500 bucks aint a bad price though, I'd probably pay that with no title. But I'd be leary investing a single penny into any repairs until it's legally declared mine. Get the title sorted before you go dump a bunch of time and money into it just to have it end up being repossessed by an angry ex wife of the previous owner lol.

 

[adsm08]

I would not trust an engine worked on by someone dumb enough to loose a title.

 

[Dirtman]

 

[sgtsandman]

Unless it was being used as an off road vehicle on private land, I wouldn’t buy it.

It sounds like you already did. I wish you the best on getting that headache sorted out.

 

[09fx4guy]

I would be careful in this whole process.

Is this vehicle a Canadian model, because Ford discontinued the FX4 option for the Ranger in 2009, in 2010 the highest option was the SPORT model. I would also try and search for other spots on the truck that a VIN may be located. If you find a different VIN in another spot, I would also have that number run as well. You never know if somebody cobbled a few different vehicles together to make one.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I would be careful in this whole process.

Is this vehicle a Canadian model, because Ford discontinued the FX4 option for the Ranger in 2009, in 2010 the highest option was the SPORT model. I would also try and search for other spots on the truck that a VIN may be located. If you find a different VIN in another spot, I would also have that number run as well. You never know if somebody cobbled a few different vehicles together to make one.

Without a title it could be an '09 model year.