Question: We have an old beater car that we’ve kept for the beach, but we don’t go out much anymore and none of our grandkids want it. We haven’t driven it in a while. I want to get rid of it, but I can’t find the title. What are our options?
answer: You will need to replace the title and then consider disposal options depending on whether you have kept the current registration or have officially placed the vehicle in storage. Here is the key information, from the Honolulu Customer Service Department:
>> Replace title: Apply for a duplicate title at a satellite town hall for $10. On the form (808ne.ws/tdup), you will include the vehicle’s make, license plate number, vehicle identification number, registered owner, lien holder, if any, and other information.
“If the alleged registered owner can provide any documentation that he or she is the owner of the vehicle, then a satellite council could issue a duplicate title as an exception to the procedures. Acceptable documentation includes any old registration that proves that he or she is the owner ; sales contract from the dealer; disbursed loan agreement from the lien holder (if the owner took out a loan to purchase the vehicle); insurance card or policy indicating who was the owner of the vehicle’s last registration. Some owners keep these documents for many years. For vehicles that were last registered before 1997, the city’s Division of Motor Vehicles, Licenses and Permits must conduct a physical search of the last registration. If this division cannot find the records, the last resort for the alleged owner of record will be to obtain a court order directing the city and Honolulu County to issue a duplicate title,” said Harold Nedd, spokesperson for Customer Service, in a recent post. email, in response to a similar question from another reader.
In another reader’s experience, it could take about a month to issue a duplicate of an old vehicle; in this case, it was a 1970s motorcycle that was last registered around 1990. Along with the form, this reader took a license plate and VIN trace to the satellite town hall ·lit and finally obtained a duplicate degree. Be sure to ask at the time you submit your request how long the process should take, and follow up if you don’t hear back.
>> Disposition: After the title is replaced, what you do with the vehicle may depend on whether you owe registration fees. You can leave your car around town without paying a fee if you have a full title (no lien holder), even if you haven’t paid annual registration fees when you’re not driving the car, Nedd said. “If a lien holder is shown on the title, the holder should sign “Section B” of the title or submit a lien satisfaction letter. If the lien is not paid, then the registered owner cannot deface the vehicle, primarily because it won’t have the certificate of title, which is required for any junk,” he said. To use the city’s trash program, follow the instructions at 808ne.ws/3tPQlBj.
However, if you didn’t keep the registration current and now want to legalize the car to sell it, for example, you’ll have to pay overdue registration fees unless you notified the city at the time you were storing the vehicle on private property, which includes the delivery of license plates. “If the vehicle was placed in official storage with the City and County of Honolulu, no late fees are payable. If no official storage has been made, then all late fees ‘backwards can be charged,’ said Nedd. Read details about this process at 808ne.ws/3jYqqFp.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email helpline@staradvertiser.com.
