Wrong Number
WE BOUGHT A SAILBOAT and trailer in 2008 for our son for his 15th birthday. At the time, he was too young to own a boat, so I registered it in my name.
Fast forward 15 years, and we finally got around to transferring the title to our son. Transferring the boat was quick and easy. Transferring the trailer was not.
Cars, trucks boats and trailers all have unique vehicle identification numbers, or VINs. In this case, it’s a 17-digit number.
The first number of the VIN engraved on the trailer is a five. The seller sent in the title transfer paperwork, which included the VIN number and which I signed. Two weeks later, I got the title from the state. Everything was correct, except the VIN started with a four—something I didn’t notice at the time.
When we tried to transfer the title to our son 15 years later, we discovered the state had ownership records for the various VINs—but I wasn’t listed as the owner of any of them. Compounding the confusion, the state upgraded its computer system in 2008, and it’s now difficult to get information from that time.
Fortunately, I still had the original bill of sale, the original title transfer, and the title that I'd received from the state. The state asked me to produce:
A photo of the trailer’s VIN
A photo of the license plate
Photos of each side of the trailer, both a hard copy and a digital file
A statement of how I came to own a trailer with no previous transfer of title on record, with the statement also signed by the original seller
Fortunately, I'd purchased the boat on consignment from a well-known boat dealer that’s still in business. When I showed the boat dealership all of the photos and original paperwork, an employee had no problem signing the statement.
I took all of this information to the license center. After about an hour consulting with the department of motor vehicles, calling the seller and running a background check on me, the license center was able to give me clear title to the trailer. All told, I spent about six hours cleaning up the mess.
If I had to do all of this for a trailer, I can't imagine what an ordeal it would have been for an automobile. Needless to say, I'll be double checking the VIN on any future purchases.
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