Craigslist special in NM

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Lazyokie
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Craigslist special in NM

Post by Lazyokie »

Hey everybody, I'm new to the trecel world. I just adopted an 85 wagon 4wd, but I found this;
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/cto/4895014222.html
And figured I'd share in case any of you were interested.
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by dlb »

welcome to the forum, lazyokie.

a timing belt and missing title are both easy fixes. well worth the $600.
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irowiki
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by irowiki »

That one is slightly fishy. Doesn't list where he's from, he lost the title and the car isn't even registered in his name!

I would not count on being able to register it. For all we know the car was stolen!
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Mattel
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by Mattel »

In albuquerque and don't have a title? better call Saul!

So glad we don't have titles in Australia. Why doesn't your DMV have the owner of the car on say 'a computer' with 'access to a network of other computers' that has your name, address, VIN number, engine number? How annoying that a car should be broken up for parts for a missing piece of paper.
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
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marlinh
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by marlinh »

Another person who thinks these cars have a 22R engine in it. If the car was registered in his name and indeed stolen it should be easy to replace the documents.
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irowiki
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by irowiki »

Mattel wrote:In albuquerque and don't have a title? better call Saul!

So glad we don't have titles in Australia. Why doesn't your DMV have the owner of the car on say 'a computer' with 'access to a network of other computers' that has your name, address, VIN number, engine number? How annoying that a car should be broken up for parts for a missing piece of paper.

Oh, they DO have it on computers, and talk between states. The title crap is all about the (tax) money.
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Lazyokie
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My tercel:: 85 Tercel SR5 wagon 4wd

Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by Lazyokie »

dlb wrote:welcome to the forum, lazyokie.

a timing belt and missing title are both easy fixes. well worth the $600.
Thanks, and I agree. I hope it goes into more capable hands than the current owner.
keith
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by keith »

Do we have any members in the Albuquerque area. It should be forwarded to the local law enforcement.
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irowiki
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by irowiki »

I'm in Farmington, he's posting to the ABQ Craigslist (three hours south of me, and Taos is like three hours to the north of ABQ and three hours to the east of me. NM is quite large!
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Petros
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by Petros »

Welcome to the forum Laxyokie,

That looks like a great buy! and all states have a process to replace a lost title, the guy is just too lazy to do it. It does not mean you can never register it, it just has to be verified that it is not stolen, and the VIN has not been altered, etc. I have done it several times in several states, not an issue.

Save this car from becoming a parts car! I have bought similar cars, abandon by their owners, by bringing the parts and my tool kit and fixing it to drive home. (I also bring my sleeping bag!). Makes for fun road trip adventures too. The real problem with buying a non-running car is you can not test drive it before you pay for it, you might also find it needs a clutch, brakes, wheel bearing, CV axles, etc only AFTER you buy it, fix it and than get it on the road. Much of these things you can inspect for, but not always. I bought one Tercel sight unseen for only $160 (he even had it towed to my house!), and it "only" needed a replacement rear diff. once I got it home I found two of the four wheel bearings completely shot, it needed all the brakes and master replaced (it sat for 4 years), the inside was full of mold and rotting carpet/upulstry, 9 vacuum leaks, and a host of other problems. The car was still a reasonable buy, just not as good as I thought. So buy carefully non-runners, inspect tires, brakes, suspension, check CV axles for free play/torn boots, and so fourth.

Certainly this car is worth rescuing from the crusher, but I would offer the guy $400 after I gave it a good inspection.

Good luck!
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irowiki
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by irowiki »

Peter, if the car wasn't from NM in the first place you'd have a hell of a time trying to register it in new mexico without a title, they are picky little tards here in that regard.

Likewise, if it is from another state it might be hard unless you can get the title from said state remotely over the phone/mail.

I'll text him anyway and see what's up.
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87 Corolla FX16, 105k
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95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
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irowiki
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by irowiki »

Update from the seller and us texting back and forth:

So the "CL seller" bought the car from someone in Oregon, never transferred the title to his name, title got stolen, drove 5,000 miles in the meantime, ended up in New Mexico. NM MVD will not do anything.

From what I can tell, the original owner of the car has to apply for the replacement title in OR, not the "CL seller". The "CL Seller" conveniently does not remember who he bought the car from and has no contact info. For all intends and purposes, the original owner of the car... still owns this car.

There are somewhat complicated procedures to register an "Abandoned" car in NM... but it requires you to put the car up for public auction before you can register it yourself which means someone else could make off like a bandit with the car you just spend a whole lot of effort and money to buy.
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Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
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Mad_Marx
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by Mad_Marx »

Not sure it could get any sketchier than that. Why would anyone break into a car and steal the title, leaving the car?

Would the seller provide the VIN? Might help if the car has been registered as a stolen vehicle.
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irowiki
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by irowiki »

He even claims he has the police report for the stolen title which I think is out of this world, as he would have probably had the car impounded or gotten a huge ticket from the cops unless he was under a transit permit at that time...

Will see if he'll send us the VIN.
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Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
Vienna
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Re: Craigslist special in NM

Post by Vienna »

I was the one contacting him, I managed to butter him out of the state origin but when I mentioned we may be available this weekend to see it if he was available and hadn't sold it he never replied. I assume either he realized he said too much about it all or he is waiting to see if I contact him this weekend when we may be in the ABQ area. Is there any way to check with Oregon about stolen cars of a certain make/model/year? I would assume they would have some kind of database if it was indeed listed as stolen.

The current seller told me he filed a police report about the stolen title and had a bill of sale in hand but the title itself was gone. Not sure what to make of that since the cops basically said "okay you have a car not registered to you in your possession from 4000mi away" and went on their way...
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