Issues with SF-97

[road_toad666]

I bought this M880 utility truck from the Oklahoma Forestry Commission just south of OKC back at the end of February.

The GSA auction site said Salvage/parts use, and having attended many auctions through the years, I figured this is a sort of disclaimer to the buyer, so buyers wouldn't assume the vehicle(s) are functional, and they should be aware the vehicle may be only good for just that, -parts.

The item description said nothing about a salvage, non-road use title, it merely said an SF-97 form would be issued at my request to obtain a title.

The for came from Houston, TX within only 2 days, and I didn't even have to request it. Problem is, it came with a big, ugly "NOT TO BE TITLED FOR HIGHWAY USE" emblazoned across the top of it.

Being that the paperwork comes from Texas, this doesn't surprise me- as they would issue a dismantle only order on Grandma's car for having a bad wiper blade in that state.

I took the form to the DMV here in Arkansas with the hopes that it wouldn't be noticed, and that they would register it for me, and it almost worked- but she noticed at the last second.

There is literally nothing wrong with this truck at all- there is not a scratch on it, it has never been wrecked, and it runs like a new truck (in all definition, it IS still a new truck, mileage is only 35K) so it boggles my mind as to why they would declare it a "salvage" truck.

What does any of you guys think I should do with this situation? Surely many of you have been exactly in my shoes before- should I get ahold of the lady that issued the SF-97 form? (her name is Donna Rice if anyone has dealt with her before)

Should I just take it back to the DMV and see if a different clerk will push it through?

I am at a loss, any advice you guys have is greatly appreciated- I bought this truck for work, not as a yard ornament.

Thanks in advance, -Josh

 

[porkysplace]

Does your state do rebuilt or salvage titles ?

 

[road_toad666]

I am pretty sure they do, and I don't even care if they do issue me a salvage title, really- as this truck isn't going anywhere til I die or it dies- but it does no good to me if they won't let me plate it. It is just nonsense that any such thing was ever put on the paperwork to begin with- this truck is still new in a mechanical sense.

How funny you are in Saginaw- I used to have a bunch of friends I partied with there years ago- I grew up in Flint.

 

[wreckerman893]

What year is it?

In Alabama you can get a vehicle manufacturd before 1976 registered with a Bill of Sale only.

 

[porkysplace]

Youcould call Dan at detroit vintage cycle 586-777-6992 people have had good lubk with him creating clean micigan titles from the bill of sale . It will probley cost a couple hundred bucks . There website is ; WWW.DETVINCYC.TK

 

[davidkroberts]

me personally i would bring whatever papaerwork you had from the government sans the sf-97 and take it to the clerks office and register it normally from the government invoice as the bill of sale. I have never used a sf-97 to register anything in tennessee i always just use my invoice. It usually has a sale price, address of buyer and seller, ect..

 

[WarrenD]

If it was not disclosed in the GL ad that the sale would be "not for highway use" I'd be back in GL's face with it. Just know that the end result of that might be you'd have no truck, but might get your money back. Otherwise, one of the previous suggestions should suffice.

 

[KsM715]

Its was a GSA sale and it was disclosed as a scrap only sale.

 

[road_toad666]

The terms were misleading, as on the website is says "INTENDED for scrap or salvage purposes" instead of "for scrap or salvage ONLY."

The description said the SF-97 would be issued on request for getting the vehicle titled, it said nothing about the vehicle having a non-highway use destruction order on it.

The words used were intentionally misleading to drive up prices at sale is my point.

I finally got this resolved. After countless emails and phone calls that went unreturned to the office in Texas, I found a way around my problem.

I filed for abandoned vehicle through a bonded title agent. She ran an ad in the paper listing it as abandoned, and after 45 days with no reply, she filed for title and got me a clean one. It took 60 days and $140 to fix, but having paid $611 for the truck, I am not complaining.

 

[doghead]

Is there any penalty for intentional misrepresentation of information(providing false information), when claiming an abandoned vehicle?

 

[swbradley1]

Shhhh, maybe no one reads this site.

 

[doghead]

Like his State Attorney General?

 

[av8or]

I think he was very creative and give an A for effort. Nice truck way to good to let anyone scrap.

 

[3dAngus]

The listing of a perfectly good running non-wrecked vehicle is a senseless act, unless it was submerged in water and flooded. Then, it becomes arguable.

Good job of getting a title to a good running vehicle. It should have never had needed to have gone that far. Sounds like a CYA for the seller, unless, like stated earlier, it had some flood damage at one time and was repaired. In that case, a CYA would be a mandate. Glad it worked out for ya.

 

[NDT]

Call the forestry service and insist that GSA reissue the SF97 without the brand. I have had to do this several times. Remind them who the CUSTOMER is. Each time for me there was no problem. You will have to return the SF97 you have now.

 

[3dAngus]

NDT,
This thread is a year and a half old now.

He reported he solved the issue and now has a good title. All is well.

 

[rtk]

Doghead , you are in fact correct , It is a CRIME in our little state-o to use bogus paperwork to obtain a title , maybe he should have come here , a vehicle that old you can register with a bill of sale and it only gets a registration , HX plates , good to go . But he got it done that's all that counts . Nice truck , rare bird . Bob k

 

[dependable]

I see that this is an old thread. There was recently a GSA auction around here that had several vehicles listed this way. Most of them looked to be in good shape. Some desk jockey at GSA or listing agency just filled out the form that way. Was wondering if there was/is a remedy for this, as it is becoming more common. It did discourage my bidding, who wants another hassle. And those trucks did sell low.

 

[road_toad666]

Not that I am aware of, doghead. The bonded title agent I used is a little old white-haired elderly lady who uses her skills bonding titles to make a little extra cash on the side for the last 30 years. She is straight as an arrow, and knows the business inside and out. She runs the VIN through a national database, and can tell you within minutes whether or not she can produce paperwork for you. I have used her a couple times in the past with missing paperwork, and she is very straight-laced. She will tell you flat out that if the vehicle has a dismantle only order in the database, or if the last registered owner is an insurance company, then those are about the only times you are SOL on a title.

How I think this worked:

She was thorough in asking me the exact details of the transaction, I told her about the purchase, the form that was issued, and how DMV had refused to register it. She asked me if I had titled it anyway, in spite of them not allowing me to register it- and I told her no. As soon as the DMV started making a rash about not plating it, I promptly took all my paperwork and left. I would not allow them to take my SF-97 and push a title through for me, as surely they would have issued a dismantle only title.

This was the loophole. Because the government didn't push the VIn through the database, and just decommissioned the truck and auctioned it off with an SF-97, it was "open" to be claimed. Had I titled that day at the DMV, it would've been too late to ever plate the truck again, regardless of what efforts my bonding title agent made. My bonding agent suggested that I have her run an abandoned vehicle title on it, she had to run an ad in the local paper with the VIn of the truck and my address which it was "abandoned." Of couse after 45 days, nobody claims it, and she is legally allowed to issue a clear abandoned title on it. Then the title comes (already in your name in the mail) , you take it to the DMV, pay property tax on it, and show a proof of insurance, and bam- there's your plate.

 

[road_toad666]

RTK: Isn't EVERYTHING a crime in New York?! lmao.. One thing I love about AR (I am a Flint, MI refugee here) is the loose interpretation of most anything.

NDT: That was right on the mark with what I was thinking, typically when dealing with any government employee, after emailing and leaving messages on the phone with them repeatedly, if they have any ground to stand on whatsoever, they will let you know ALL about it. Total power trippers. In my case, they would not answer a single reply, one of roughly a dozen means of contact through every means I had, it told me someone screwed up and was playing CYA.

3DAngus: This truck shows hardly any signs of even being used. There isn't even a single dent or ding in the utility box, and the paint inside the box looks basically new. There is absolutely no signs of water ever being in the truck either, I know all the signs dealing with insurance auction cars on a very regular basis. Literally all I had to do to this truck is put a couple gallons of gas in, replace the missing battery, seat one tire back on the bead, and drove it out. It never missed a beat.

Is it true that this truck was a linesman's truck? That's what I have read through a few sources online.. I figured it was probably a lube and maintenance truck that rolled the lot at the bases servicing equipment, but no signs of that at all.

Also- whoever had this truck ordered for them had their nose up someone's hind-end that was high up- Dodge actually installed Air Conditioning in this one. Everything about the system obviously doesn't belong there- the vents are screwed in, all the relays are strapped up underneath the dash- totally a factory A/C system, but it looks to have been installed after the final assembly was already finished on the truck. Seemed pretty oddball to me.