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Texas Bonded Title question

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tojo92

tojo92

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Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
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Location
Plano, TX
First Name
Staton
Last Name
Shed
Howdy,

I need some advice please. I recently purchased a bike from a good friend. We agreed on the price per pictures sent, met halfway, and loaded the bike up. Upon signing the transfer paperwork and title, I noticed the title was "bonded". My friend hadn't noticed it as it looks just like a regular clear blue title, but under notes, it indicated bonded title.
He had owned the bike for over two years and did not know it was bonded from when he purchased it from po.

Yes, I believe him; honest guy that I trust. He thought it may have been from when the bike was converted to street legal status (dual sport) by po.

So I ASSumed, the new title after transfer would be clear and unbonded as I believed the waiting period was two years.
I learned today that it was/is three years. At the title office I confirmed the bonded status can be removed after May of this year.

Here is my question:

What happens if someone shows up and claims the bike before then?

I ask because I know of an RD400 that was claimed after a restoration. I don't know the details other than the claimer was reasonable in working with the one in possession and all went well with both parties.

Google brought up an article that indicates the bond covers this risk by paying the person claiming the bike, but there is some language that makes me think they can claim the bike. Here is the article:

blog.suretysolutions.com

Buying A Car With A Bonded Title? Here’s What You Should Know

If you bought a car or other type of motor vehicle with a bonded title, you should be aware of a few important details.
blog.suretysolutions.com blog.suretysolutions.com

FWIW, the seller has agreed to take the bike back, although that's not ideal for either of us.

Does anyone know the actual risk I would be exposed to as far as having someone show up and claim the bike?

If you have actual first hand knowledge, I really would appreciate your insight.

Thanks.
Staton
 
I had a gentleman that went through something similar.

Gentleman bought a piece of property at auction. Auction included the land and all of it's contents. One of said contents was an early 60s Ford Thunderbird that had been stored in an old shed. Gentleman decided he wanted to fix the car up, so he tried to get a title for it with his auction paperwork. DMV said no dice, so the gentleman went the bonded title route. 2 and a half years later, the original owner of the car showed up, demanding the car back or else he was going to report the car as stolen. Gentleman provided his bonded title and the auction paperwork, proving his ownership of the car. The original owner provided a photocopy of an old Texas title as evidence of his ownership. At that point, I passed it off as there wasn't anything I could do anything about it since both seemed to be the lawful owner of the vehicle.

Now, I did speak with the gentleman about two months after everything had happened. He said the original owner had threatened to sue him in civil court for the car, but he had filed against the bond instead.

My only other advice would be to call the main TxDMV office in the morning and ask. Every time I have had to call them, they have been very reasonable and helpful for me.
 
Thank you. I was at the office today (Williamson County) and they were very helpful, but I didn't know exactly what to ask.

I'll call them in the morning.
 
Someone someplace maybe here mentioned that Vermont has an alternative to a bonded title. It appears they have a very simple title process that you can do without ever setting foot in the state. I think the simple version is once you have the Vermont title it is easy to transfer it into a valid Texas title.

I need to follow through on this, I have a 2014 Honda CRF250L with 200 miles on it. It was one my son purchased but the lost the paperwork before he transfered the title and the seller went through a divorce and is unwilling to help. That was over 3 years ago now. Anyway I have the bike now and need to do something, so I may try to dig into the Vermont thing. Just thought I would post in case someone has input?


Get a title with a Vermont Registration - Chin on the Tank – Motorcycle stuff in Philadelphia.

chin on the tank. Motorcycle stuff in philadelphia
www.chinonthetank.com www.chinonthetank.com
 
Thank you. I had a grey market VFR400R years ago that had a Vermont title (registration actually) that I easily converted to a Texas title after some work. It was odd, because it was listed as a much earlier year model than it was, but it worked and the guy that bought it from me had no trouble getting a California title.

In your case, I would think bonded would make the most sense.
 
kubotamiketx said:
Someone someplace maybe here mentioned that Vermont has an alternative to a bonded title. It appears they have a very simple title process that you can do without ever setting foot in the state. I think the simple version is once you have the Vermont title it is easy to transfer it into a valid Texas title.

I need to follow through on this, I have a 2014 Honda CRF250L with 200 miles on it. It was one my son purchased but the lost the paperwork before he transfered the title and the seller went through a divorce and is unwilling to help. That was over 3 years ago now. Anyway I have the bike now and need to do something, so I may try to dig into the Vermont thing. Just thought I would post in case someone has input?


Get a title with a Vermont Registration - Chin on the Tank – Motorcycle stuff in Philadelphia.

chin on the tank. Motorcycle stuff in philadelphia
www.chinonthetank.com www.chinonthetank.com
Click to expand...

I've done the Vermont route 3 times. First two times were easy since they were older than 15 years and smaller than 300ccs. Last time was older than 15 years but larger than 300cc. I think the issue would be is Vermont would need to issue a title for it since it is newer than 15 years. I don't know what paperwork you'd need for that.
 
I bought a "lost title" bike 12 years ago, got a bonded title, and was able to sell it a year later with no problem, still with the bonded title in place.

The bonded title actually acts as protection to both the buyer of an untitled bike, and to a potential theft victim. When you get a bonded title, you go to a bonding company who does a search using the VIN number and make/model of bike. If no problems are found, they'll charge you a fee and issue a bond. You then take the bond to the tax office where the bonded title itself is then issued.

If, somewhere in the future, your bike ends up on a theft list, the victimized owner doesn't get the bike back from you - it's now legally yours. What they get is a settlement from the bonding company for the assessed value of the bike. So in essence, the bonding company has gambled that this isn't going to happen, and assumes the risk in case if does.

You should be perfectly safe.

By the way, getting a bike bonded was a royal pain in the posterior and I'd never do it again.
 
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Thank you. Excellent information.

I called and spoke to the state today and was basically told exactly what you posted.

I went ahead and had the bike inspected and filed the paperwork to put it in my name. I'll have to go back in May, which is three years after the initial bonding was done. I'll have to pay a minimum amount and will get a clear, unbonded title back after that.

Thank you to all for the comments and input.
 
As I recall, here are the steps I had to go through:
  • Get the bike insured.
  • Get the bike inspected & greensheeted.
  • Go to a state DMV office where they charged me a $10 fee to look up the bike in a reference guide and assess a sales value.
  • Take all that paper to the bonding place, where they did a title search, charged me $100, and gave me a bond.
  • Take all the above to the Tarrant County Tax Office where they charged me the usual fees, set up the title, & handed me a shiny new license plate.
At that time (2009), the tax office didn't have the process in writing, and TXDMV.gov hadn't reached the we-have-the-answer-for-anything status they enjoy these days. So I had to keep looping back through the tax office. If I'd had the process in front of me, I could have walked through the whole thing in about half a day.

My advice for anybody doing this would be to locate an "official" process on TXDMV, then make a precautionary trip to your local tax office to be sure they're actually going to honor that process without throwing you any curves or extra steps. Then dedicate a weekday to get it done. But before you buy the bike, find a cop friend who'll check the VIN for you as a precaution.

Title bond companies are easy to find. Wherever there's a tax office, there'll be several nearby, right next door to the bail bondsmen and high-risk insurance agencies. Their fees are on a sliding scale based on the assessed value of the bike, and are at least slightly negotiable.
 
tojo92 said:
Thank you. Excellent information.

I called and spoke to the state today and was basically told exactly what you posted.

I went ahead and had the bike inspected and filed the paperwork to put it in my name. I'll have to go back in May, which is three years after the initial bonding was done. I'll have to pay a minimum amount and will get a clear, unbonded title back after that.

Thank you to all for the comments and input.
Click to expand...
I have been looking for my bike.Thanks for finding it Tojo.I'll be over to pick it up after it stops raining.
 
leeroy,

At your age, if you can find it, you can have it. I'd pay good money just to watch you kick start it...or try to kick start it.

Hugs,
Mongo

Happy Birthday you old fart
 
Here's NICB's free VIN check for theft and total loss records. It's a good first place to go check a prospective buy.

A few yrs ago I bought a bonded titled bike with some 6months left in the 3yr period. I got it registered and titled in my name no problem. I then waited 6 months, tried to get the Title status converted, and was told to wait a bit longer (30 days?) because the DMV's computer system hasn't yet updated the online record. I was in no hurry, so I waited till it was twice as long as I was told. Went back to DMV and got the Title status converted. Took a while both times at the DMV, because the clerk was not familiar with the process. I brought printouts from DMV's website and the bike's Title history to show her. She showed her supervisor, her supervisor made a phone call and finally confirmed the process.

It wasn't quite a PITN, but not exactly a walk in the park either. If the bike is a great deal and somewhat rare, I'd do it again.
 
it wasn't bad for me last year when I got a bonded title. cost me a total of $125 over the normal cost of title for xfer and fairly easy.
254620
 
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First thing you have to understand is that the bond isn't there to protect you but the state.
Have a friend in NM who had to go thru the whole bonded title mess for a 48 Chevy truck he was given. Not even inspecting the truck they (the state) determined that it was worth over $7K. No appeal just pay the fee.
 
Zonie said:
First thing you have to understand is that the bond isn't there to protect you but the state.
Have a friend in NM who had to go thru the whole bonded title mess for a 48 Chevy truck he was given. Not even inspecting the truck they (the state) determined that it was worth over $7K. No appeal just pay the fee.
Click to expand...
sounds right. i believe the bond was $6k for mine
 
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