In CT, what do I do if the seller made a mistake and crossed out the odometer info on the title? How do I reg?

Question

Hi, I live in CT and bought a car from someone living in RI a few months ago. I hadn't gotten it registered yet though. When I went to register it, I realized that the previous owner had crossed off the odometer amount and initialed next to the mistake and wrote in the right amount. ...So when I took the title to the DMV, they wouldnt take it. They said something about contacting the orig. seller and having them get a new title. ...Which is really not a possibility. I have NO IDEA how to find this person again as I bought the car from a newspaper ad and cant even remember what town it was in! I remember emailing the person so I could try to contact them via email I suppose to get a signature or something...but I would REALLY prefer to not have to do that if possible.

Can I/How do I go about getting the car registered with this title situation?? Is there some way I can do it with the bill of sale? Is there such thing as a temporary title or something? I still have the original title with the mistake on it...is there a way to validate that title or is it really completely void now??

What all do you need (other than insurance) to register a car anyway? The title, the bill of sale, the insurance card, and (in CT) proof that your town taxes are paid....anything I am missing?

Thanks a lot for any info/advice!

Answer 1

You have to go back to the state where the title was issued, R I you said, and get them to issue a new one.in your name. Then take that one to CT and transfer it . I don't see any other alternative.

Answer 2

In most states (i.e., any state that I've ever seen a title for,  but I can't speak for all 50) making any kind of cross out on a title invalidates the title.  Two options that I see would be to get a notarized affidavit, signed by the seller, that states that they made an error in the odometer statement, and what the correct mileage is.  Your DMV/tax office might have a form for this, or they may not accept it at all.  Option two is to find the seller (don't you have his name on a Bill of Sale or something?) and ask them to go to the DMV/tax office with you to have a duplicate title issued and sign it over to you.  This seems to be what CT wants you to do anyway.  If it was originally a RI title, you would have to go to RI to take care of it.  Best of luck to you! :-)

Answer 3

CT is F*cked up...ask to see a manager at DMV  what differnce does it make...just say odometer broke...and they put that on title...thats what i did in Virginia with my 1969 chevelle with 13,000 miles on it LOL