Mass Title requirements

[cob427sc]

Although I have built and registered numerous cars in Massachusetts, this is a new challenge for me. I purchased an incomplete FFR 818 that has a Certificate of Origin issued to the original buyer. The form has blocks on the back to transfer ownership but only by a licensed auto dealer. How do I get the Certificate of Origin in a form acceptable to the RMV once I'm ready for registration? Thanks for any help.

[michael everson]

From what I was told, the State police dont care. Just have a bill of sale from the original owner. Might not hurt to have it notarized too. I will be going through this next week.
Mike

[cob427sc]

Thanks Mike. Let me know how you make out.

[Tooth]

I don't even have my kit yet, and I'm stressing out over this. I already started searching fb market place for a "crusher car".

[sam_sturdy]

I’ve already been sent home from the RMV twice this week because nobody would attempt to figure out how to give me a receipt to pay for my VIN inspection. Apparently they said they only allow mail in checks from now on according to the supervisor? I started looking for a crusher as soon as I placed the order and finally found one after 5 months.

[mrprgrmr]

It's time for me to stop procrastinating about this process. Has anyone determined how we currently pay for the VIN inspection and get a receipt in MA? COVID seems to have caused some adjustments to the process - I've been going around in circles on the RMV web site and haven't figured it out.

[cob427sc]

I did my 33HR last year. Went to the RMV in Yarmouth and told them what form I needed, paid the fee and walked out. No big deal. Problem came when I went back to register the car as nobody could figure out how to load a replica/assigned VIN number into the computer. After 90 minutes and their placing a bunch of calls to Boston, they titled the car as a true Model 40 1933 Ford!

[Hojo]

I detailed how I got my vin # in the thread below yours. They weren’t doing in person payments and the web site had no place to pay for a kit that wasn’t a replica. I found a number to call and got a kind state employee who confirmed that there was no way for me to pay for a non-replica kit. You can’t make an appointment with the salvage yards without paying first. She gave me her address, I sent a check made out to the State and she made me the appointment for a month later. I detailed the addresses of the salvage yards in my thread. They issue the vin#.

[michael everson]

Cobra 427. Just went through the State police inspection this morning. They never said a word about the COO not being in my name. I just had a bill of sale from the original owner along with the COO.
Mike

[TheHelixx]

I totally forgot to add to this thread..

I went through last Friday 4/22 with absolutely no issue in Bridgewater. Trooper Kevin there was awesome, friendly and helpful. Now for the DMV this Friday.

[michael everson]

I have a Friday app at the registry as well. How did you make your appointment? The web site is very frustrating. There hasn't been an appointment available all month. None next month either. I went down there today and they made one for me.
Mike

[cob427sc]

Thanks for the update Mike.

[TheHelixx]

I have a Friday app at the registry as well. How did you make your appointment? The web site is very frustrating. There hasn't been an appointment available all month. None next month either. I went down there today and they made one for me.
Mike

As soon as I got home from Bridgewater I went online and got one at Taunton. They had Friday only, nothing M-Thurs. It seems they only book a week out. They had maybe a half dozen slots available, 9:10a being the earliest so I grabbed that. Fall River had Wed-Fri available last week but I have never had much luck at that one so I could wait a few days.

[cob427sc]

I don't know how old you guys are but the Yarmouth RMV has special time slots for over 60 people, no appointment required. I think it's Thursday mornings 8-9am.

[mrprgrmr]

Hojo's instructions and other tips here were very helpful. I managed to get a VIN, registration, plates, and inspection for the 818. It took 5 attempts to get an acceptable Registration and Title Application (RTA) from the insurance co, 4 trips to the RMV, 2 trips to the state police salvage, and 2 trips to the service station for inspection. A couple things from my experience...

The Brockton RMV would not see anyone without an appointment. Other locations may be different. All online RMV appointments are usually booked up; if you just leave it on the booking page and refresh or go back in and check frequently, appointments occasionally open up. The RMV staff confirmed this was really the only way to get an open appointment.

To pay for and get the receipt for the state police VIN inspection, I was instructed to make an appointment online to "register a vehicle". When I got there, I just told them I was really there to pay for the "Application for Replacement VIN" and get a receipt. That worked, then I called the number and left a message a couple times until they called me back and made the inspection appointment. The first appointment available was about 5 weeks later.

State police were very helpful. They did ask me to take the car off the trailer to prove it would run and drive. One thing that caused me some paperwork trouble was that I selected "specially constructed" as the vehicle type and make. The trooper crossed that off and wrote "Factory Five 818S" as the make and checked the Replica box. OK by me, but the RMV wouldn't accept it with corrections, so I redid the paperwork, got a matching RTA from the insurance company and took it back to the state police for a new stamp. I'd suggest just leaving the make blank and letting the officer tell you what they want in that field; then, if needed, get your insurance company to make up a new RTA to match. The trooper also stamped my certificate of origin, and put the VIN sticker on the car; they kept a copy of most of my receipts and paperwork. For receipts, I took the donor paper work, invoice for the kit, and printed receipts for everything that cost more than $100.

Once that paperwork was straightened out, I was back at the RMV. It took them a while to figure everything out, but they were very nice and stuck with it. They gave me a set of plates and registration certificate, with a promise to send the title in a month or so. I offered them any receipts they needed but they were just interested in the Certificate of Origin and the invoice for the kit, showing that I had paid state taxes. In the end, it is registered as a make "FFRI", model "Roadster", model # "818S". I almost suggested they register it as a 2002 Toyota MR2 Spyder replica - I suspect that would work at least as easily.

For inspection, the first service station I took it to said they didn't know how to do a kit car and suggested another shop. At the second shop, they put it into the system as a kit car; it passed safety inspection but failed emissions because a couple sensors weren't ready. I guess you have to get the Subaru over 50mph or so a couple times for all the sensors to show up a "ready". Once I got all the sensors to show as ready, I took it back for a recheck and it passed. Being a 2002 drivetrain, it should qualify for an exemption at a MAC station if needed - with a functional OBDII system it seems to be unnecessary.

[cob427sc]

Great news! I'm about to begin the process on my 818 and will probably use the Yarmouth RMV and the Bridgewater SP inspection station.