What is the best way to complete the sale of the GTM kit to me from a previous owner

[Daniel Dinverno]

I purchased the GTM kit from a fellow member of a local kit car club here in Michigan...

His name is Paul. Paul purchased the kit and had many health problems so the kit sat for a number of years. Paul passed away and his wife sold me the kit with a hand written bill of sale. She has recently ordered a duplicate Certificate of Origin from Factory Five because she had no idea where the original was. I know that the COO is made up similar to a title of a car where signatures and dates would be entered on the back.

My question is, do I need the COO? Could the bill of sale be sufficient? How should the bill of sale read? Should it read Sale of Kit Car as Parts?

All the corvette donor parts... engine etc.. where purchased by me on Ebay. The transaxle was also purchased by me from LA Dismantlers in California.

Anyone have experience with this?

[Daniel Dinverno]

I want to add that I initially was going to build the GTM back in 2006. I changed my mind and had sold all my parts to Paul. So all the donor parts were originally purchased by me.

With Paul being Ill, I and others from the club were going to help get the car finished and running to help them sell it. But Paul lived too far away to make it practical to travel there as often as it would take to complete the car. So I purchased the kit from them, and didn't purchase with the intentions of selling it. So I will plan on getting a Michigan title and plates.

[VD2021]

I would call Factory Five or at minimum post this on their forum.

[jhilb]

Bill of sale is fine for transaction between you and seller. COO is irrelevant for the sale transaction itself. Title the Bill of Sale what you and seller are comfortable with. At this point it's a bunch of parts.

You will need the COO to get registered. The only signature on a COO is that of FFR representative. It's not like a title where the prior and new owner sign the back. When you get the duplicate COO from FFR your golden.

You are probably gonna need the VIN/serial and receipt for each of the major parts. Basically the engine and gear box. In IL that's a for sure will need. I assume MI is similar.

[edwardb]

Did the title and registration on my Mk3 Roadster in Michigan last year. I too purchased the roadster from the original purchaser. Michigan is pretty relaxed about the whole process, but you need to have everything.

1. Safety inspection by a police officer. There is a form you can pick up at the Secretary of State office, or you can download from their website. It's a form that basically lists all the safety equipment (lights, horn, wipers, etc.) and the officer inspects the vehicle checking each of the boxes. He also checks the serial number of the title or MCO against the vehicle. In my case, he compared the serial number on the VIN plate to the serial number on the MCO. Call your local police station. They know the drill. The officer came to my house, and was generally friendly and helpful. Didn't hurt that he was very interested in my car and the build process.

2. Take the inspection form, MCO, bill of sale, and receipts for all major components (engine, trans, differential) to the Secretary of State office, and they will do the title application. I had pictures of everything and was very organized. This seemed to help. Make copies, because they will keep everything.

3. You will have to pay sales tax for the amount on the bill of sale and the major components assuming they were purchased out of state. Mine were. There was never any discussion about serial numbers on the engine, trans, etc. Don't think that's checked here.

You won't get a title without an MCO though, so you need to talk to Factory Five and hopefully they will issue you a duplicate. The Secretary of State office wasn't real picky about any of the paperwork, including the bill of sale from the prior owner. Just had to be there, and be clear to the intent, signed, etc. But again, I had everything organized and presented professionally. They treated me in kind. Good luck!

[Daniel Dinverno]

Ok then this is my understanding..

The COO does not get touched by the buyer or seller, just have it in my possession as part of my documents to register.

The description within the bill of sale should read like this:

Factory Five Racing GTM Kit Car, serial number F5R9999999MS, which is in nonfunctional condition as parts.

I have my paypal history for the donor parts purchased which describe what I purchased..
engine fuel tanks, wheels and otlher. etc..

I have the receipt for the transaxle from LA DisMantlers

Ed, the registration info that you gave is encouraging that titling the vehicle may not be too difficult.




Is my description of what is being purchased sufficient?

[edwardb]

Two comments: (1) What you're describing for the bill of sale is OK. Just make sure it has: Seller and buyer information (name, address, etc.), description of vehicle being sold, selling price of vehicle, and seller and buyer signatures and dates. (2) I went to the Secretary of State office right after I bought my Mk3 Roadster from the previous owner. Even though I didn't plan to title for a couple years (and it took that long) they went through the papers I had and explained what I needed, what might be missing, etc. I kept careful notes of that visit, and was useful when I went in for the real thing. Suggest you might do the same thing, so no surprises. The only wildcard is that laws do change. Hopefully not though.

[Daniel Dinverno]

Originally Posted by edwardb

Two comments: (1) What you're describing for the bill of sale is OK. Just make sure it has: Seller and buyer information (name, address, etc.), description of vehicle being sold, selling price of vehicle, and seller and buyer signatures and dates. (2) I went to the Secretary of State office right after I bought my Mk3 Roadster from the previous owner. Even though I didn't plan to title for a couple years (and it took that long) they went through the papers I had and explained what I needed, what might be missing, etc. I kept careful notes of that visit, and was useful when I went in for the real thing. Suggest you might do the same thing, so no surprises. The only wildcard is that laws do change. Hopefully not though.

I will have buyer and seller info, but I didn't think to list it as a vehicle being sold, just as kit car as parts.

Isn't that the way it should be described (FFR GTM kit car as parts)?

I am doing the assembly with all the parts to resgister and title as a vehicle when completed is my thinking. No?

[edwardb]

Originally Posted by Daniel Dinverno

I will have buyer and seller info, but I didn't think to list it as a vehicle being sold, just as kit car as parts.

Isn't that the way it should be described (FFR GTM kit car as parts)?

I am doing the assembly with all the parts to resgister and title as a vehicle when completed is my thinking. No?

I'm looking at the FFR Certificate of Origin for my new Mk4 Roadster... The COO (or often called MCO or Manufacturers Certificate of Origin) has "Vehicle Record" embossed in it from top to bottom. Words in the COO include "new vehicle described" and "such new vehicle" so it's clearly in the "vehicle" category as legally described. There are also words that say "This certificate represents the origin of the above automobile kit which includes the frame, body and accessories..."

So, it's described as both a vehicle and a kit. The main point I think is that the bill of sale references the same serial number that's showing on the COO. In addition to the value (so they get their sales tax) the serial number will be the main thing the SOS office will look for.

[Daniel Dinverno]

Ok,
I see what your saying. The seller asked me to put together an appropriate bill of sale . So I wanted to get it to read to where it doesn't get kicked back for any reason.

Thanks