How picky is your state?

[CG]

Now that the 67-72 trucks are in the 50 year old range Im curious how picky your state is about inspections and title issues. With the advent of the internet its as easy as a mouse click to purchase a truck from pretty much anywhere on the globe. The big world wide way to purchase back in the day was Hemmings and phone calls.

With all the mods done like frame chops, frame swaps, burb truck quad cabs and 50 years of being on the road, a lot of things could have been done to change the identity of a matching frame, cab, spid and build sheet.

In our state if you are buying a truck in state you just take the signed title and bill of sale into the DMV or a state licensed agency and you are done. No inspections of any kind.

Ive only purchased one out of state vehicle and it was from a state that didn't title the old stuff anymore. I believe it was just registration (?) papers. I didn't have to have it inspected. The state just issued a new title to me.

Im getting ready to swap a cab on to a chassis that the numbers dont match. I have the paperwork for the cab only. If I ever decide to sell it wont be a problem here in the state, elsewhere, maybe?

Just curious if this is even something you think about when you are piecing together a truck ... Down the road if I decide to sell kind of thoughts.

[Rickysnickers]

I live in CA, so you can imagine the laws here . With that said, all vehicles here still require titles. We don't have any inspections per se. I have purchased out of state non-CA motorcycles. Those required inspection since they were low mileage.

CA requires an inspection of the vehicle has less than 7500 miles on it. They want to ensure that the vehicle is smog compliant. This doesn't apply to '75 and older though.

[Blue GMC]

Kansas will check on out of state purchases to make sure vins match. They will reissue vins to new numbers thus giving you a new shiny 2018 truck. Talking with the inspection officer they will not check frame locations on trucks from 70 and older as their book says GM did not stamp the frame.

[100%Chevy]

Title laws vary a lot from state to state!
In Mississippi,it's pretty easy to get a title.
In Louisiana,bringing one in from out of state is a hell of a problem!I sold my P-30 van to guy and he had a very hard time getting the title transfered.I had to send in extra info on the truck and verify that he bought it from me,even though he got my clear Ms. title with it.
In Texas as far back as 1975,they took my 57 Chevy and checked the vin against the vin stamped on the frame and run the vin to check for stolen!57 Chevies were a dime a dozen back then!
Mike.

[volksworld]

its been a while but when i brought my truck downhere (north carolina) i was able to register it and get plates immediately...then i had a certain period of time to have a trooper show up and check the numbers before they would issue me a title...he opened the door, looked at the vin tag and commented "this is an easy one"...and signed off on it....had another friend that bought a fairlane....when they came to look at it they noticed the vin tag was on with regular pop rivits...they went to another spot on the car and found a vin that didnt match the tag...he had to buy some sort of 3 yr surety bond but was still able to register it....

[landarts]

If you have a truck that does not have a title, Vermont is the best place to get a title or should I say registration so you can get a title. Vermont does not issue titles to any vehicle that is 15 years old or older, also does not matter that you are not a resident. You have to fill out a 2 page printed form from their DMV website and pay 6% of the NADA low book value and a registration fee. Does not matter if you do not live in that state. It takes about 2 weeks and you get a brand new registration and Vermont plate. Take that to your local DMV and tell them you want to register and title it in your state. Do the paper work, pay the fee and in return you now have a 100% legal registered and titled vehicle.

[Grumpy old man]

I bought this cab last year with a good Tn title , Walked in to DMV with just the title and 5 minutes later walked out with new tags and registration, New title came in the mail 2 weeks later it was like $60.00

I have never had anyone check anything but the vin tag on any car/truck or motorcycle /boat

[S_Gibson]

Bought my truck about a month ago. In NC you just need the title signed and notarized by the seller and buyer. You also need proof of insurance to get tags and new title.

Just walk into the DMV, pay for the tags and highway use tax and walk out with the tags. There is no requirement for any type of safety or emissions inspection.

My yearly property tax is a massive $6 Insurance is about $110 a year and $36 a year for tags. For about $12 bucks a month I can keep this truck legal in NC.

[special-K]

It depends on whether you want regular registration or historic. In Maryland historic registration couldn't be easier. They never see the vehicle because there is no inspection required, just an insurance policy and title. If it's from a state with no titles you need the registration from that state and Maryland will issue a title.

For regular registration it's the same for all years, one safety inspection at time of new ownership is required. So add to the list above an inspection certificate. The vehicle is only required to have the safety equipment that was required when new. Once you get all that done, no matter how long you own the vehicle, you can change to historic and back again at will.

As far as frame VIN vs body VIN, no problem from my experience. I have only ever seen the VIN-plate checked against the title and that's it. When pulled over by the law they might check the VIN-plate, but I have never had that done. If reg card matched tag you are good... unless the vehicle is obviously not what the registration card says

[Greasey Harley]

Idaho requires the VIN on the cab and the frame to match.
In this county they WILL check!
If the numbers don't match, and you don't have proof of ownership for both the cab and the frame, they will (or at least, can) impound the vehicle.

[87Skier]

Oregon here.

If you have in-state title, no vehicle checks. Just walk in and out with title.

Out of state vehicle, they will walk out and check the easiest VIN to check. Probably the plate near driver door.

[hotwls13]

What a great thread. Very interesting hearing how it works in different states. I especially like the info about Vermont (Thanks Landarts). That may be useful in the future.

I'm in California so they pretty much just want lots of $$. My truck is currently Non-Op so I'm curious whether they will want to inspect the vehicle when I try to get it fully registered. ??

[4carbcorvair]

Maine, title for anything 1995 and newer. No title on a vehicle sold in the state doesn't effect resale value. However, trying to another state that requires a title, can. Can usually get a title by filling out a title application and paying required fees.

[ho70]

Manitoba (Canada)
need title and safety to get registered

[95 S_Trucker]

In pa, you need a title to get registration/plates. To transfer a title, the bin needs verified. With regular plates, you need yearly inspection and emissions(only if 75 and newer). If you get classic plates, you still need inspection but no emissions. With antique plates, no inspection is required.

[hotwls13]

This thread reminded me of this craigslist ad I saw the other day. Not sure if it's legal or not. Seemed like it wouldn't be but I don't know.

https://bakersfield.craigslist.org/p...611378508.html

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by hotwls13

What a great thread. Very interesting hearing how it works in different states. I especially like the info about Vermont (Thanks Landarts). That may be useful in the future.

I'm in California so they pretty much just want lots of $$. My truck is currently Non-Op so I'm curious whether they will want to inspect the vehicle when I try to get it fully registered. ??

It should not matter. The DMV never asked after I put one of my cars back on the road after a period of non-op.

Originally Posted by hotwls13

This thread reminded me of this craigslist ad I saw the other day. Not sure if it's legal or not. Seemed like it wouldn't be but I don't know.

https://bakersfield.craigslist.org/p...611378508.html

That ain't legal. Sure, people do it, and then when something bad happens, they're in a real spot.

[Overdriven]

Originally Posted by hotwls13

This thread reminded me of this craigslist ad I saw the other day. Not sure if it's legal or not. Seemed like it wouldn't be but I don't know.

https://bakersfield.craigslist.org/p...611378508.html

People used to do this with muscle cars that had high or desirable options with bodies that were trashed. Just sell the vin and trim tags with title so someone else could transfer it to their plain Jane and build it as if it were the real thing. A side effect was that those with race only cars with no vin (cough stolen) could now title their cars. That craigslist ad sounds like the person is trying to provide a way around fees and get stolen vehicles back on the road. Shady stuff.

Here in NY 1972 and older gets transferable registration, 1973 and up gets titled. Everything gets yearly safety inspection, newer than 25 years old gets emissions in NY metro area, upstate just gets safety. These yearly inspections are by independent repair shops.

Never had to do any sort of inspections with dmv or police for any vehicles even those from out of state. I’ve changed registration class from truck to SUV and back to truck just by changing which box I checked on the DMV registration form and nobody raised an eyebrow. Did this because NY used to issue only commercial plates to pickups and to use parkways you need passenger plates and a cap/topper on a truck. Now you can get passenger plates on any pickup as long as you certify it’s not used for work.

The thing I wonder about is our yearly inspection system for ODB2 equipped vehicles. It scans the ODB2 system for faults (that’s the extent of the emissions check unless your shop sucks and does a thorough visual inspection) and it supposedly at least checks the VIN. So if you change the ecu (for an engine swap or otherwise) it needs to be programmed with your vin or it could fail the yearly inspection. I’ve asked the dmv about putting a LS in my 2006 Toyota Tacoma and can’t get a straight answer about making it legal. Would hate to do the swap, have the LS ecu programmed with the Toyota vin and have the inspection computer fail it.

[71gmcC15]

In SD its super simple. If you have a tite you can licens it. No proof of insurance or inspection of any kind. Not shure about out of state cars tho. Never mesed with out of state. Just go to the court house treser, not dmv and pay for registation , taxes and a new plate and you are good to go.

[davischevy]

If you have a title, proof of insurance, and proof of tax assessment, you can go to the Revenue Department and get license.

You can get license on vehicles over twenty years old with a BOS plus the other stuff.

You can ask for a state issued VIN if you want one.

[mongocanfly]

At 25 yrs old all you need in Ala is a bill of sale and insurance....no inspection.....easy peasy

[LockDoc]

-
Iowa- no problem with an in or out of state vehicle with a title. No inspections, no checking numbers, no insurance, and if the vehicle has not been licensed for three years or more no back fees.....

Pickup registration & plates are $55 per year.

LockDoc

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by hotwls13

What a great thread. Very interesting hearing how it works in different states. I especially like the info about Vermont (Thanks Landarts). That may be useful in the future.

I'm in California so they pretty much just want lots of $$. My truck is currently Non-Op so I'm curious whether they will want to inspect the vehicle when I try to get it fully registered. ??

No, it should not need an inspection with a Non-op regs.

[special-K]

I know a guy here in MD who swapped a 350 into a Toyota 4wd. When it came time for emissions test it flunked. He got rid of it, couldn't register it.

[franken]

Oddly in TX I had a red highbeam lamp. Fail. Blue was ok.