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Jeff, I can not speak for Broadway Title Company, as I do not know them or
have any association with them. However, I can speak with some authority on
the title and sales laws in the State of Alabama (USA) under which Broadway
Title Company is probably operating.
The State of Alabama did not have a title law until 1975; therefore any (ANY)
vehicle produced and sold before Jan 1, 1975 does NOT have an Alabama title,
nor will it ever (in Alabama) have a title. These autos/trucks/vehicles are
transfered and sold based upon a bill of sale and a tag receipt (if
available). In addition to this, Alabama does not have an "Inspection" law
to this date. ANY citizen of the state of Alabama may take a bill of sale
from any other individual (or business) from any state, for a vehicle made
prior to 1975, to their local courthouse and buy a tag for that vehicle
(running or not - whole or not). They simply show the bill of sale, dated
within 5 days of the purchase of the tag (or there is a small fine), and pay
for the tag. The courthouse folks will also issue a notorized letter from
the State of Alabama that says (paraphrased) that Alabama didn't have a title
law at the time this vehicle was original sold, and asking other states to
accept the Tag Receipt as proof of ownership and title. This cost a whole
$1.00 more. Alabama also has a "Vintage Vehicle" tag which is for vehicles
that are 30 years old, still in basically "original" condition (no big V-8,
customized hot rods), and not driven as a "daily driver". These tags are
only $10 and are "lifetime" tags - no renewal required.
I have a total of 17 military vehicles, some of which will never run again,
but I have ALWAYS made a habit of buying a vintage tag for it as soon as I
get it. This is based on the paranoid fear that someday the state or local
government may come up with a plan to make you sell or destroy any
"unlicensed" vehicles, as apparently is common in other states.
The short version of this is that ANY citizen of Alabama can get a $10 tag
and a notorized letter, and pay the taxes for under $20 - for a pre-1975
vehicle. The vehicle does not need to be "in" the state, nor running, nor
even whole. You need a simple "bill of sale" from John Doe in Anytown,
Montana for a 1973 Chevrolet GPW, serial number 15, and you're in business.
I will admit that they do hesitate over the 4 and 5 digit VIN numbers of some
of my vehicles, but since they were made prior to the VIN system, they go
through easily.
Good Luck, I hope that this is of some help to you. I will be glad to help
you if you wish.
Tom Campbell - Birmingham, Alabama
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jun 01 2000 - 22:37:11 PDT