What should I do...and what are my options legally.

[4x4nutz]

What really smells fishy here is, if this truck sold a year ago on GP, why does it have a bonded title? Those cost $600. Why didn't the dealer just process the GP paperwork? Unless of couse he never had any because???

When you buy from GP, you are given the option to pay for just the bill of sale, or pay an extra $150.00 for the title. The GP title has "For Off Road Use Only" on it so this way you can take your bill of sale to a bonding company and have them give you an exempt title. I think once your stuck with a FORUO title, it's super hard to ever get a road title here in Texas. He had to have at least the bill of sale to get a Tx road title.

 

[ryanruck]

When you buy from GP, you are given the option to pay for just the bill of sale, or pay an extra $150.00 for the title. The GP title has "For Off Road Use Only" on it so this way you can take your bill of sale to a bonding company and have them give you an exempt title. I think once your stuck with a FORUO title, it's super hard to ever get a road title here in Texas. He had to have at least the bill of sale to get a Tx road title.

Actually, Texas is one of the easiest states to get a standard title in. I personally know 3 people who have gone through the process with zero issues. 1 got historical/antique plates, the other 2 got an inspection and standard plates.

 

[4x4nutz]

Actually, Texas is one of the easiest states to get a standard title in. I personally know 3 people who have gone through the process with zero issues. 1 got historical/antique plates, the other 2 got an inspection and standard plates.

I think you'd have to show up here in Texas at The DMV with a title stamped with Off Road Use Only to understand.

 

[mkcoen]

I think you'd have to show up here in Texas at The DMV with a title stamped with Off Road Use Only to understand.

I'm in TX and I know several people (including a couple of members here) who simply took the SF97 to the tax office and walked out titled and registered for on road use. And yes they were GP vehicles with the same paperwork everyone else gets. Of course they took a gamble with how things would work out.

 

[springbok]

Wait, if it was really a 1998 it would have been an M998-A1 I believe, they started production in 1994.
The A1 appeared in 1994 with revised front seats, grille and rifle mounts and was essentially developed from the M1097 HHV. These vehicles took on the designation of M998A1

 

[ryanruck]

I'm in TX and I know several people (including a couple of members here) who simply took the SF97 to the tax office and walked out titled and registered for on road use. And yes they were GP vehicles with the same paperwork everyone else gets. Of course they took a gamble that they were able to get a road registration but they did.

Yep, same with the three folks in Texas I know. All went in with the off road branded paperwork and didn't have any problem, one is a member here. Sounds like 4x4nutz was just unlucky enough to run into a DMV worker who didn't know how to do their job.

 

[4x4nutz]

I'm in TX and I know several people (including a couple of members here) who simply took the SF97 to the tax office and walked out titled and registered for on road use. And yes they were GP vehicles with the same paperwork everyone else gets. Of course they took a gamble that they were able to get a road registration but they did.

Just speaking from my own experience last November when I went to get a title at The Medina County tax office in Castroville, Tx. Had to go to Bandera County to get a title.

 

[Gunzy]

I keep hearing "Date of Manufacture" here. I have never seen that on any of my MVs. Mine all showed a "Date of Delivery" which was used as "Model Year." Grant it I don't have any HMMWVs. I have an Oshkosh M985 and they have the 17 digit vins like civilian vehicles. It was built in 1987 and when it went back to Oshkosh in 2001 for a "0 Reset/Recap" program Oshkosh re-vinned it as a 2001 (10th digit is 1 and was and H before). There are multiple data plates on the drivers door and one shows the original delivery date in 1987, one shows the Oshkosh O/H date and warranty in 2001, and one shows the RSMS O/H date in 2009. Fortunately the truck is title as a 1987 but I do have to point out to insurance and others that the 10 digit is an O/H year, not a manufacture year.

 

[tobyS]

I think all of the M35A3's were made by re-constructing the older deuce's. None kept the old title.

You don't really have much of a legal suit. Once the price of an attorney is figured into the deal, it's a sure loser. Since there is no clear cut fraud, you will waste your money.

My daughter bought a used car and I am on the title. The dealer had a big sign "free warranty" on the window and he repeatedly told us he had driven the car for a month and had absolutely no issues. It had a "check engine" light come on the day after she picked it up and within a month, the head gasket was blown, engine stopped. The dealer claimed no responsibility but on the receipt he put a note, after she signed the receipt which said "May Need Thermostat". He did not answer her questioning after adding the note, but continued on with the sale. He used what was first called a "warranty" to create a "warranty of merchantability" but used the "service contract" to deny any liability at all. The service contract provider rejected the claim stating only one check engine light had been set and it was "misfire"...which they determined was a "pre-existing condition".

His note on the receipt is proof that some overheating issue was known by him and the fact that he did not disclose it, but instead changed the document after she signed, is considered forgery (fraud). We have a case because he lied to us and we have proof that he had had issues...but intentionally passed the lemon to us as retail customers. We are suing pro se under Indiana Lemon Law, solely because the dealer gave us proof that he had some overheating issue when he forged a note onto the completed receipt to make it appear we were told of the overheating. He hung himself.

You have no proof he intentionally titled it wrong... that he was intentionally misleading.

Ask him for a couple of hundred $$$, applying to his sense of fair play and go lick your wounded ego with some friends.

 

[Jakob1944]

Wait, if it was really a 1998 it would have been an M998-A1 I believe, they started production in 1994.
The A1 appeared in 1994 with revised front seats, grille and rifle mounts and was essentially developed from the M1097 HHV. These vehicles took on the designation of M998A1

To the best of my knowledge
Real quick way to ID the difference is to raise the hood and look at the Master Cyl cover....pix is my M998a1

 

[Flyingvan911]

I appreciate your desire to find the truth and bust the guy if he's a crook but don't forget, he can't escape karma. You have a nice road legal HMMWV. I'd enjoy it and let karma do its work.

 

[TOBASH]

Forgive my ignorance NDT... What is a "Bonded Title"

Best,

T

[EDIT - quick Google search yielded an answer... lost title or never had a title type issues]

 

[BLK HMMWV]

It's another loop hole

 

[OPFORMI]

I know both the dealer and exact HMMWV you bought, since the yard you bought it from is less than 5 miles from my house and I pass it everyday. I have also known the Dealer in question for over 20 years and his integrity is above reproach, so your attempt at slander is ludicrous. I have purchased close to half million dollars worth of heavy construction equipment (his main business) over the past 2 decades and never has he treated myself or one of the numerous other construction companies in our area with anything other than professionalism.

I also know for a FACT, that the title you have in hand is not bonded. It was obtained using a DLA ISSUED SF-97 from GP w/ the obnoxious FORUO stamp on it. This dealer did his due diligence by contacting a local state trooper that lives in our area and asking the right questions. He then proceeded to contact the local titling authority to find out exactly what, if anything, he could do to have his vehicles titled IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE LAW. I know this to be fact because I assisted him in several of the steps. He performed the required modifications as instructed and ultimately brought the original FORUO item up to state safety standards to be considered eligible for a clear title, authorized for on road use.

As a retired US ARMY Senior NCO, I will have to concur with my SS brothers and say that I have witnessed personally data plate swaps, the same serial number on two different trucks in the same motorpool, and everything in between. Heck, I have personally stamped a data plate during change of command inventories because the incoming commander wanted the books to match!! The only thing you can do is get something, in writing, from the manufacturer that states unequivocally that the the truck you have is NOT the year model on the title and then prove that this dealer knowingly and with intent to defraud sold you this truck with the wrong year. Other than that enjoy the ride and don't screw it up for the rest of us!!

 

[tomelroy]

What is the serial number? That is an easy way to figure the original manufacture date. But even if it was originally made in 89, it could have easily been re stamped 1998 during a rebuild. When buying a humvee always look at the vin to figure the original manufacture date, not the date on the data tag. The M998A1 was only made for about a year mainly 1994 and some in 1995. The value of a humvee is usually based on condition (not year) and demand of the buyer... Lets see some more pics of the interior!

 

[wheelspinner]

I have titled several vehicles, and I ALWAYS keep a copy of all paperwork I turn in. It would be interesting to see if the original paperwork that was turned in (its somewhere either at the DMV or who ever processed the bonded title) put 1998 or if there was a simple human error. If its on that paperwork, and there is no date on the data plate nor an MWO reset, it would be interesting to understand where the date came from. Personally, I think that way too big a deal is being made by this, as these are NOT titled until they leave the government's hands. By that and the way a typical vehicle is handled, these should be titled as the date of release. My Van truck VIN has it as a 90, but it is TITLED as a 91 because that's when the incomplete vehicle was released by the upfitter for sale (motor home). Its a constant battle because the 17 digit VIN does not match the titled DOM. It just is what it is.

 

[springbok]

I will say it again, three things you can never trust with a MV, Data Plate, Odometer and fuel gauge.
Mine is stamped 89 with a 4 digit VIN.
Bottom line, Who Cares. How do you know that the vin number was what was originally on the truck?
When I called the place that did the reset on mine in 04 they said that they would get in say 20 HUMVEEs to reset, one step was to repaint, part of that process was to remove things like the data plate.
When putting them back together they would just grab the data plate on the top of the pile and put that on.
Move on and be happy to have one that is road legal.