What the heck is a "Brown Texas Vehicle Title"??
Owner claims the Brown Title cannot be registered??
Why whould one buy something that couldn't be registered? How would ownership change hands?
:confused:
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What the heck is a "Brown Texas Vehicle Title"??
Owner claims the Brown Title cannot be registered??
Why whould one buy something that couldn't be registered? How would ownership change hands?
:confused:
I'm guessing they actually have a "purple" title, or they are misinformed.
Current Texas title colors:
Blue - "original" title - the one you receive when you first purchase a vehicle, or make a significant change to the owner record such as adding/deleting a lienholder, or adding/removing a second owner.
Brown - certified duplicate - issued if/when the blue title is lost; has the same legal value as the blue original.
Purple - (it's actually kind of dark-pinkish) - salvage title, vehicle has not yet been declared "rebuilt." Voids the registration; vehicle can not legally be driven even with a temporary permit. You're stuck with towing or trailering it. And beware of a salvage title, from any state, that has an "export only" stamp on it. Even if you can successfully repair it, it will take a court order to allow it to be re-registered in Texas.
Orange - non-repairable title. Voids the registration. A salvage vehicle that may only be junked for scrap metal or used for parts.
Blue or brown titles may have a "rebuilt salvage" brand if the vehicle has successfully passed inspection after being repaired.
A "clear" title is one with no liens recorded. It can be any color. Folks sometimes use "clean" to indicate a title with no salvage or non-repairable brands. "Clean" can also refer to a vehicle being sold by the person(s) actually named on the title record. If the seller isn't named as the owner on the title, they need to be a licensed dealer, or the repossessing bank, or a properly appointed agent of the owner or lienholder (with documentation such as Letters Testamentary, Power of Attorney, or Affidavit of Repossession). Otherwise, the unlucky buyer will wind up having to go through a hearing or purchasing a title bond in order to get the record transferred to his/her name. And if there's more than one recorded owner on a Texas title, all must sign the title over or it isn't negotiable.
Brown is for registration only, i.e. ownership title remains held in another state. Ergo, brown titles can be used for registration, but not transfer of ownership.
(I found this out the hard way when I bought my NA over 11 years ago.)
I think that is only accurate in the case that a vehicle is titled in another state. A lost title will be replaced with a brown duplicate, and its legally the same as original if the vehicle was titled in Texas all along. Definitely something that needs to be clarified by the owner.
Do you really need a title for a Harley?
I would be carefull about buying a care with a "brown" title. There are people running around filing for lost titles and gettin the brown title. They then get a title loan on the origional. Then they sell the vehicle using the "brown" title and bail on the title loan.
The lean holder then claims the vehicle and you are out the car and the money you paid for it.
Texas used to have three different SALVAGE titles, one was brown, that one can no longer be registered. The grace period expired quite awhile back for that one.......The insurance companies used to issue the various salvage titles through the state. The car could be rebuilt, inspected by the DPS and retitled. The whole process changed about 5 or 6 years ago.
Assuming this guy has the brown title I am familiar with...........
Thanks everyone!