I am always on the hunt for ways to make my deceased dad's old 220d a bit nicer. I have a friend with a similar w114, but his interior is awesome. I would like to buy the car for its interior and tranny, but honestly not much else. His ca registration is overdue and he owes $300 in overdue fees. Does anyone know if there is a legal way to buy the car but not pay his late reg fees? If I buy it, I would remove the parts I want and try to scrap the rest. So I never really want to drive the car. Is anyone familiar with declaring a vehicle unrepairable? I just feel there must be a way to take ownership without ever wanting the car to be road legal again? Any thoughts?

And one final complication... they don't even have a title. Just a signed letter saying they are the new owner. Would a salvage yard ever accept a stripped chassis without a proper title? I don't want to take "ownership" of the car if the will be no way to get rid of the leftovers. This is all in Calif, but I would appreciate anyone's advice or experiences. Thanks.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

If they had the title it wouldn't be a big deal, you just need to have the pink slip in hand the sell it to picknpull, but without a title it's kind of sketchy. If the car is registered in their name they can get a duplicate tithe for pretty cheap, and wouldn't need to pay any of the late registration fees since its just an application for a replacement pink slip

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1982 300D Turbodiesel, daily driver. Mods so far: Fram 8038 paper filter, 4 brake light mod, Gen II w126 (front) rotors/calipers, boost turned up to 12lbs, non-egr manifolds, water/methanol injection, 4-speed manual
1980 300SD Turbodiesel, project car, nearly ready to hit the street

1974 240D, New paint

In other parts of the world cars get abandoned all the time. It would be a shame if a car with a nice interior ended up on your property. You'd have no other option but to contact the authorities and get them to remove it or get them to allow you to dispose of it at your expense if you get my drift...

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Alternatively buy the interior from your friend making a contribution to his outstanding fees.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I'm not sure how it works in California. In Nevada, if you're a property owner, and a car gets abandoned on your property, you can wait five days (minimum), and then call a junkyard to come get it. They won't pay you for it, but they will make it go away and then take care of the paperwork. I think you see where this is going.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

in NC, registration fees/taxes are only paid to get plates in the name of the person owing the fees. if the owner sells the vehicle, the fees are never paid, and the new owner does not owe them.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Have him sign the title. Don't fill out anything else. Pay cash for it. DON'T register it in the state or you will have to pay his fines. Keep it on private property. Sell it and the title to a junk yard when you are done.

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1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
Monark Nozzle Install Video - http://tinyurl.com/ptd2tge

^^^ Owner doesn't have a title...

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W211 B-PILLAR TRIM PANEL REPLACEMENT
My Continental Tire Experience

By Land:
2005 E320 CDI (Unnamed as of yet)
2011 Toyota Tundra DC limited 4x4 "Big Red"
1965 euro import VW Beetle "Mojo"
By Sea:
22' Grady White Seafarer "SeaSun Pass"

On other forums, I've seen people jump through hoops for CA titles. My understanding is that CA essentially charges a property tax on cars with a forced collection tied to plates.

I would take parts I want & sell the carcass to someone in another state. There is no law that says you can't sell it to someone in TN. It becomes a moot point if noone here tries to register it. We only apply for a title when we want plates to be able to drive it legally. I have 3 junkers on the property in the country. Edit: I forgot about the 4th in my driveway in town. No one cares - legally or otherwise.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

I'm in CA and have done all of this:

Option#1
First off, a bill of sale only is fine. You can transfer title without pink. Missing pinks happen all the time. You fill out a REG256 form. You can transfer title only, but you will pay back fees. Then transfer/sell to PNP. PNP only wants relatively complete cars.

Option#2
Generally, would need a "junk slip" from DMV to take to a scrapper. To get junk slip, you will need to pay back fees. Then transfer to scrapper.
BTW, to take to a scrapper, you would need to drain all fluids, etc.

Option#3
I own commercial properties, so I learned how to do this: put a lien on it for parking fees. You will get title by default after the previus owner gets notified. I have done this. Takes some time to get through it. Need to pay a 3rd party to process the lien. Relatively cheap. Less than ~$100.

Option#4
Pull all the parts and push into the street. Then call the city. Since there was no transfer, it is not your problem- or theirs. The tow company that has the city contract will then tow it and lien the car /last owner for tow/storage fees. No penalty to previous owner other then he loses title of the car if not paid.

Option#5
If you know someone with a commercial property, see if you can "leave it" there onsite. They can then have it towed as an abandoned car and then it gets liened, etc. Sometimes, the tow company might charge for the abandoned tow off private property. ~$200.

Hope this helps...

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1982 240D auto 152k
1984 380SL 113k
2015 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins
Previous:
1985 300DT
1984 190D 5sp Euro

Don't ever buy a car with out a title or signed title in california.....don't even touch the car!

If it was stolen, removed from a property with out the permission....charges can be filed against you for receiving stolen property...

You know how I know? Because my cars were towed off my property with out my signature on the titles nor my written permission...and guess what I found one....and yep I am going to probably file charges against the shop who illegally tried to part it out on craigslist...

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Thanks for your opinion... but this is practically a junk car, not a $10k purchase.

OP knows the owner. Otherwise, most people are dilligent.
As for your issues, there is probably more to the story.

The OP asked for practical advice for his situation in Calif... presumably, from someone who has been though it.

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1982 240D auto 152k
1984 380SL 113k
2015 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins
Previous:
1985 300DT
1984 190D 5sp Euro

Hey, thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. It definitely is a slightly awkward situation. I am going to ruminate on all this a bit and decide best how to proceed. I think 390pi pretty much summarized all my options, so thanks for putting that together. The car has sat parked for a year or more, so I don't think any creditor is going to come beating down my door to get it back. Clearly there is some risk involved with doing any sort of non-normal car purchase, but that is why the max price I am willing to pay is pretty low. If I get the car, I will post pics in a few days.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

non op and inter family transfer might help

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Take out what you want then tow it to a parking lot and leave it.

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85 Merc 300D - Unwinding 31 years of wear
86 VW TD
Mahindra Diesel
Iseki Diesel

In 2007 I didn't own a diesel.