Modern Vespa

"I lost the title and its been non oped for over ten years so no back fees and not in the dmv system. You'll get a bill of sale and dmv transfer paper work"

is that code for "you'll never be able to register this scooter here in CA"?

A scooter bought with only a bill of sale in California from someone with a California drivers license and then registered by someone living is California is relatively painless. If any of the above is out of state then it becomes a huge pain.

If all the above holds then the process is:
0. if you can try and include the VSB1T (or whatever) in the VIN number. This reduces the odds of the DMV telling you that the vehicle is a ChrisCraft boat.
1. go to DMV with bill of sale, application for title, statement of facts stating that it has not been moved on or over any roadway... They will take your money, give you a temp registration, and refer you to the CHP for VIN verification.
2. Make an appointment with the CHP and take the bike in for VIN inspection. Make it easy on them by having the numbers clean and visible.
3. Go back to DMV and get your plate and stickers.

That's how it should go but sometimes the person you are dealing with does not like something and it becomes a bit of a pain.

If it was ever registered in CA, and it's not been in the system for years, then the registration costs are basically a crapshoot. Might be $1-200, or might be more than you paid for the bike itself.

why is this? is it based on the time since reg?

Yup. Back reg fees.

the the seller's claim of registered as non op avoiding these back fees is untrue?

Regarding back fees:

IF it's more than 25 years old
AND it's owned by "a collector"
THEN you are exempt from back fees as long as it's not been moved on or over a road.

see:
https://modernvespa.com/forum/post1310404#1310404
https://modernvespa.com/forum/post769170#769170

The DMV will not know this, you will have to show them and have all the paperwork in order and still ask nicely.

For the seller's claim to mean anything, they would need to provide paperwork. Paperwork that would mean that the state does have a record of it, going against his other claim that it's off the records.

Most likely the seller is banking on it being off the record and therefore there is no need to have filed a non-opp. This is common, but it's not a sure thing till the DMV looks it up.

Thanks guys!

I know someone who was making this gamble. Ended up with over $600 in reg fees on a barn find of $400.

Ooops. Heh. Still a good find.

Had this happen in Arizona.

Bought a motorcycle,,,, then years later when I could not find the title, I find someone in Tennessee claims the bike had been stolen over a decade earlier.
They were willing to release title for 10X the value of the bike.

The engine lives on a ranch somewhere now, pumping water.

Whenever I see ads like this, I wonder why the current owner just didn't get the "lost" title replaced before putting the vehicle up for sale.

I recently registered my scoot in Maine, and was surprised to hear that it did not need to be titled. Because it is less than 300cc, ME does not title motorcycles. The girl said, "I guess they can't be bothered." I'll keep my old Florida title just to have record of where it was last titled, and to keep a clean paper trail as best I can. At this point I don't expect to ever register it in another state, but one never knows. If there's a next owner, he may.

If you're a member of AAA you can do 2 & 3 above at one of their offices, avoiding the delay with a CHP appointment. I was able to register an out of state ebay purchase solely through AAA with no issues (but the numbers on the bike and paperwork matched OK)

Avoiding having to step into a DMV office is one of the main reasons I have a AAA membership! However when I went to register my new trailer at AAA they said I had to go to DMV to have the VIN certified because they couldn't do that at AAA. Maybe that's just for trailers? Or just in CA?

-Dan

Same reason the guy selling it on craigslist didn't buy the "$20 dollar part" the shop told him over the phone it needs to run.