Any way to get a title??
Good advice, talk to the local DMV. Can't hurt to take the info into a licensing place and ask, either. Worked well for me.
That would be good advice if you could find anyone who actually knew anything. Dealing with the MO DMV is absolutely the most frustrating thing I've ever dealt with in my life. Just about the time someone learns a little about the system, their contract expires and they get someone new in there. Dealing with Jeff City (DMV hq) is just as frustrating. You will get a different answer each time you talk to someone else. Check out the DMV website on titling an abandoned vehicle. That section is 42 PAGES long! One of the things you have to do is send a letter to the previous owner stating you are going to apply for an abandoned vehicle title. They then have 30 days to reply and let you know if they have any interest in the vehicle. That's all fine except the DMV won't tell you who the last registered owner is! Privacy laws, you know. Good luck finding a cooperative law enforcement officer to help you out. Most of them act like they are too busy to be bothered with it or act like you are some kind of criminal for having an old car without a title. Also they may decide you should get a salvage title instead of a clear one so you have the headache of streightening that out, too.
Anyway, enough of the rant. As said, the easiest way would probably be to let a towing company keep it on their lot for 30 days or whatever the time limit is and then apply for a title, that is if you can find one that will help you out. I don't know of too many that will mess with it.
A bonded title might be the best bet. I have seen a MO bonded title before but haven't been able to find anyone who can actually tell me the process for getting one.
I know of one guy who goes to court and gets titles but it's too costly to just do one. I think it's a mechanic's lein type of deal.
Anyway, good luck. If you find a fairly easy way to get it done, please let me know. I know of a few cars that should be fixed if they had titles. I hate to see any car junked just because someone didn't care about it years ago and didn't keep up with the paperwork.
BTW, if you could find an old insurance card, or better yet, and old pink slip or license renewal in the car, your job just got a lot easier. If you have the previous owners name you can just apply for a lost title. The title app has to have their name notarized but you can have it mailed to your address if you want.
Dallas