Buying a scooter without Title.

[scooterfan]

Hi folks, I am interested in buying a Grandvista 250 as a 2nd scooter but the Grandvista has no title. The seller is in Kansas and I am in Iowa.
Would it be possible and worth the effort to try gettting a new title for the scooter ?
I  would obviosly be able to get information from DOT but I do not have time to visit them during the week.
Thanks, I will appreciate any information.

[rjs987]

I'm in Iowa also.
When I bought my Burgman 650 in 2018 the Iowa DOT made up a new title for it. They found a problem with the old one. I bought that scooter in MN and I guess up there the VIN can be shared with more than one kind of power sports vehicle even though the official VIN is stamped on the scooter and should have been unique. The DOT at home told me they kept finding that the VIN belonging to a quad-trak ATV and not my Burgman. What they needed to fix the problem was a letter from the Dealer who sold it to me on THEIR letterhead with the signature of the sales manager and the details about the scooter including the VIN on record at the dealership, date of sale, etc. Also I provided the paperwork given to me for the sale. No extra charges were paid on my part. The effort by me was not all that much. Just to contact the dealership for this letter and have them send this letter by fax or mail directly to the DOT office where I would be registering the scooter. I was able to get this done while I waited right there in the DOT office in a matter of 15-20 minutes so not a really big deal for me and once they had the letter from the dealer I had a new title and registration within another 10 minutes. I may as well not have brought in an old title.

Ask the Iowa DOT office what they would need from where you bought it in Kansas. You'll have to decide if it's worth it or not. But a 250 scooter definitely needs a title/registration in Iowa.

[Iahawk]

Hey, Scooterfan, good to hear from you, again! I'm no help with the title question (seems lot of older scoots seem to have lost titles? calling the DOT, as RJS said).. how has the transition from South Africa to the US and Iowa gone? I think it's been a few years, now?

[NorWeWa]

Check on-line.    https://iowadot.gov/

[CROSSBOLT]

How bad does the seller want to sell it? Let HIM do the sweat dance with the "lost title."

[scooterfan]

Hey, Scooterfan, good to hear from you, again! I'm no help with the title question (seems lot of older scoots seem to have lost titles? calling the DOT, as RJS said).. how has the transition from South Africa to the US and Iowa gone? I think it's been a few years, now?

Hi Iahawk, the transition went very well. We have settled without hassles and we simply love Iowa and it's people.We've arrived 22 months ago.
We are planning a 3 week visit to South Africa at the end of this year just to visit our children and grandchildren. It will be the the fist time that we will be going back just for a visit since our arrival.

The Agility I gave to my granddaughter in South Africa has never been used since we've left. My son in law was suppose to do a 400 mile trip to haul the scooter home but so far he just could not find time to get hold of the scooter. So the scooter is still at my son's house in Durban. When we visit my son I will try to get the scooter going again. It will be so good to take my son's two dautghters for rides again. We've had such fun and joy on the 'lil Agility in the past, it's just unbeleavable to have the opportunity to make more memories again.

As far as the Grandvista goes - thanks to everyone for the advice. At the beginning the seller seemed to be very keen to sell - but I guess I've asked too many questions. While we were still communicating the seller suddenly just labled the scooter as "sold" and that was the end of communication from his side. I think maybe he realized it might be better for him not to sell.

Anyway, I am not desperate to buy another scooter. I am still on the Silverwing and really enjoys it. The Grandvista just looked like a big bargain without papers and a little starting problem.So I could not resist the temptation to get hold of it. Who knows, I might be able to get hold of a possible bargain in future again.

[rjs987]

Just noticed that you are in Ankeny. My son lives in Ankeny with his family. I live in West Des Moines and get up there to help with transporting his kids around. Maybe we'll see each other around. I sometimes ride up that way on my AK 550, but usually in the car since it's more often to help with the grandkids.

[scooterfan]

Just noticed that you are in Ankeny. My son lives in Ankeny with his family. I live in West Des Moines and get up there to help with transporting his kids around. Maybe we'll see each other around. I sometimes ride up that way on my AK 550, but usually in the car since it's more often to help with the grandkids.

It will be nice to meet somewhere in future. My wife used to join rides but due to back problems she can’t join any longer. I am at work during the week and by times I work on Saturdays as well. I like spending some time with my wife on Sundays but we should be able to meet during some Saturdays or Sundays when my wife meets her croche friends in west Des Moines.

[wymple]

Iowa will grant you a temporary  title after checking to see if it's listed as stolen. If there are no claims on it after 3 years it will be changed to a regular title. Still, I would not bite on something 2 states way unless it was incredibly cheap.