Issues with Title

If you haven't already sent a deposit I would walk away from the deal. What the owner did with the registration is illegal. I'd hate to see this blow up in your face when you go to re-register in your state.

RUN!!

Completely illegal...

There is no such thing as a VIN plate for VW bugs. The chassis numbers are stamped into the tunnel.

I agree with Terry; walk away from this deal. Even if you have $4000 in down payment, for example, that's  a much better "loss" than a $20K car you can't register and drive. 

Bobby, look no further, use this site as your "buyers representative".  We are all here to grow this hobby.

Pls advise as to how you move forward.

Art

@Bobby D where are you in Ohio?  

What others here have said is correct. There is no VIN Plate on a VW. The VIN is stamped into the chassis on the back of the tunnel a little behind the hand brake. If he has added a VIN Plate from any car to his Beck Speedster it is illegal. A Beck would have been registered as a Special Construction vehicle and would be titled as such.

Hopefully you haven't wired any money. If you did, get it back. If he says he won't give it back tell him you'll call the authorities (police) in his state and report what he has done to illegally attach a VIN to his vehicle. Then see how fast he sends you back your deposit.

There are several Speedsters for sale on the SOC website that should meet your needs.

Thank you all for the replies.  I am suspicious by nature for I have not sent any money to the guy.  He has sent pictures and is fine with the inspection.  So I can walk easily from the deal, which I think I will.  I found one my wife like better anyway and it titled as a Beck.

Definitely run! "Welcome to the madness" is meant to have things break and then fix, and break again and then fix, repeat 3 times. It is NOT having a legal problem trying to register and drive it, because if you don't drive it, it can't possibly break, so it defeats the meaning of "welcome to the madness".

understand??? ��

I think the seller knew my back out was coming.  When I emailed him of my decisions, he replied with "that's  fine". I made them jump through a lot of hoops today.

There are many, many ways to tell a Beck from other manufacturers.  Pictures would have made it clear, but you've done the right thing.

Your instincts were right on!   You stumbled upon one of 3 things:

1) They guy is just ignorant, and is trying to sell something he inadvertently ruined by breaking the law.

2) It actually is a VW pan, and the state attached a VIN plate in addition to the stamped VIN.  This actually happens, but if this is the case, it most likely is NOT a Beck that you would want.

3) It's a full blown scam.

Beck ID all you need is a photo of the footwear area it is different (larger) than other speedsters

Although the VW Chassis # is stamped into the tunnel - later cars (69? up) also had a riveted plate in driver side of windshield area and another larger aluminum one riveted up front under the spare wheel.  A knowledgeable  DMV inspector would most like lt want to see the tunnel on.

WOLFGANG posted:

A knowledgeable  DMV inspector would most like lt want to see the tunnel on.

Greg,

You made a funny. "A knowledgeable DMV inspector". I'm still chuckling. 

A knowledgeable  DMV inspector would most like lt want to see the tunnel on................

Are you like serious?    

Any DMV inspector that has any recollection / knowledge of a Beetle is way retired or pushing up daisies .

You guys are funny!

"Issues with Title" caught my eye, as I had to deal with Georgia Dept of Revenue; they kept telling me I had a "junk" car...because it was assembled from parts... (what else do you make a kit car from). Mine was a Beck also.

It took me 3 months and 2 weeks to get my title.  Be VERY wary when purchasing these little jewels.  Check your state requirements for registration.

Best of Luck.

Walking into a DMV to get a title and tags w/o doing your homework in most cases, is just looking for a difficult time. It makes sense to locate someone in your state with a like vehicle that has previously gone down that road.....Saves time and headaches.  

I told myself I'd not do it. Really I did.

I didn't do it last night, but I'm going to do it anyhow...

You guys wringing your hands about the improper title... you're aware that rolling around in a substantially altered, rebodied car using your VW title is "improper", right? I know everybody's doing it. I know nobody's ever been impounded, fined, or even ticketed (that we know of). But speedsters, dune-buggies, VW trikes, and the like, are the very definition of "special construction" (as defined by every vehicle code in every state in the union). The inconvenient truth is, unless you've got a "special construction" title (or it's SEMA equivalent), you're "improper".

This car's title is probably more improper, which is kind've like being more pregnant. At the base, something is either proper or it isn't. If I didn't live in a SEMA state, I'd probably risk just rolling a VW title (and not devaluing the car by making it a 20XX "special construction" vehicle, subject to 20XX emissions testing if it ever got sold to a guy in a state where that is done) but that doesn't make it the right way to do it. If a guy lives in a SEMA state and doesn't register and title one of these cars the right way, I'm not sure what else there is to say.

We all decide which laws are important to us. I run a front plate, because I don't think it messes up the lines of the car and I'd rather not get pulled over so Officer Friendly can ogle the car and wag his finger at me. However, I don't drive the speed limit. In each case, I know what the law says, and I decide if it's worth the risk.

I'd probably be OK with a VW title in a pan-based car, because I could always make an argument (which I know is wrong) why the "special construction" title isn't needed. I probably wouldn't be OK with this one because it crosses the line into fraud... or not, depending on your perspective. I'm sure the guy who did it was just fed up, and looking for a way to drive his car. He sold it to a guy in CA , who just ran with it. I'm sure it could get sold 5 more times and still be just fine

... until it isn't. I suppose I speed because it's worth the risk of a fine to me. I suppose guys who roll around on VW titles do so because it seems harmless enough. I'm sure the seller here is just trying to move a car he's driven this way for some time. Is it a bridge to far? Probably.

Either way, the deal's been undone. What would be ironic to me is if the original poster ended up with a pan-based car with a VW title (like the majority of us here).