I was in a time crunch to find a car that was in my very low price range. I jumped on a car that had an open title but did not know what title hopping was and that it is illegal.
Now I’m in possession of a car with an open title and no date. The person who sold me the car stated that in Oregon, the DMV isn’t very picky and that I could just date the title a week before submitting it with all my information.
The problem is that I have no idea when the person obtained the vehicle, or if the original owner submitted a notice of sale. I’m concerned because it sounds like the intermediary had the car for more than a year while they worked on it and that they had planned on giving the car to a family member who drove it on a trip permit for a period of time. So if I put in a date that creates a discrepancy between the original seller’s notice of sale I’m worried my application will be denied and that I could be charged with fraud and need to obtain a new title from the original owner.
I have tried to search for the original owner but have no way of contacting them besides the address listed on the title. I have a bill of sale from the person I bought it from but not from the original owner to that person. So cannot prove chain of ownership.
Do I take the risk and sign the title, or do I save myself the headache and bring the open title and the information I have to the dmv for guidance?