Buying and insuring the truck…
I found the truck through Craig’s list. I really like the fact that Craig’s list is easy to use and free. I don’t like that it is full of scam artists and resellers. I consider buying a used vehicle a dangerous thing to do regardless of who you buy them from. Dealers are professional con artists, and private individuals are, well you never know. In this case it was a private individual business owner whose business was hurting due to the current recession. I probably made the deal too quickly and without pressing him hard enough on the price. I’ve come to accept that negotiating is not one of my strengths.
One major snag is that he didn’t have clear title. The bank was in physical possession of the piece of paper, though oddly enough they had never registered as such with the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). I wrote him a check and took possession of the vehicle. He filled out the release of liability on line (I helped him do it) and sent it in. What followed was a long uncomfortable wait for the title. I couldn’t quite figure the sellers angle for ripping me off, since I had the truck and he had also released his liability with the DMV. I also couldn’t get the truck insured without the title and didn’t feel comfortable starting to work on it.
The previous owner had let the registration lapse so he was accumulating penalties, which were now my problem. I did go to the DMV and at least start the registration process and pay the fees and the penalties, $1600 plus another $500 plus when the registration came due a few months later. That is how I discovered that the previous owners bank had no legal claim on the vehicle. Now I had a temporary registration but no insurance.
Meanwhile a month goes by and I still didn’t have the title. At this point I am telling the previous owner that we need to fill out the forms, and get them notarized, to get a replacement title. I figure, to heck with the bank, they have no legal claim on the vehicle (according to the DMV) anyway. So the previous owner calls the bank one last time and finds the whole thing is being held up because his check to them is literally 2 cents short. He gives them the 2 cents and I get my title 2 days later. Or at least that’s the official story. Could it be the previous owner didn’t actually pay off the loan until I got in his face? I will never know, but the truck and title are now all mine.
I started the process of getting insurance but that turned into a hassle as well. My insurance agent seemed to have no idea how to handle a commercial vehicle that was owned by a private individual. It seems most insurance companies didn’t want to touch it and those that did insisted that I at least pretend to be a business. Mind you, at this point I was just insuring a truck, not an RV.
I eventually did get $1,200 worth of insurance through Commerce West, a company that I had never heard of. The forms say I am an individual using the truck for computer consulting as a service technician. That last part is nonsense but they won’t accept the truth. My agent insists that it’s fine, but I worry that they will use this “lie” to deny any claim I might need to make. For the moment I can live with the situation, since I almost never drive the truck while I am converting it. Eventually I have got to find a better, and hopefully cheaper solution. By then, the truck will be undeniably an RV, though that only promises to complicate the situation.
To be continued…
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