Certificate of Destruction title
 

Has anyone tryied registering a car with a certificate of destruction title in MN? I am looking at a car that is a good deal but the title is bad. I saw the accident pics and the car really wasn't all that bad. It looked like it flew over a curb and didn't hit anything else. Looking around on the internet, I discovered that many states won't allow those cars to be driven on the road again. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with one of these cars or knows what they think of them in MN. Some states require you to have it inspected and then it is ok, but others won't. The car I am looking at was completely repaired and doesn't have any evidence of damage. I am not sure why someone would have put the time and money into fixing it if they couldn't even get it registered.

I will probably try to call the DMV, but if someone has gotten one registered here in MN, it would be nice to know if it was a hassle or if it was easy to do.

Thanks

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

I'm pretty sure that MN doesn't allow cars with a certificate of destruction title to be registered.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

I was kind of thinking that also, but I wonder if it would be possible to have it be a street legal kit car? Someone wasted a lot of time and money on it and it would be a waste if it had to be junked. I have seen a few similar situations on the internet of people buying these cars before researching but haven't been able to come out with an outcome from any of the cases.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

I don't see why you couldn't justmake the car road worthy again and get it inspected by the DMV. But it could be all for nothing in the end anyway. I'd call the DMV to get specifics. The MN DMV site is no help, or I couldn't find anything on it.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

There are a few hoops to jump through, but nothing major. You go in and get tabs and plates like normal, then they will send you a letter telling you the vehicle has to be inspected to get the title in your name, you have one year. You take the vehicle in to get it inspected, pass the inspection, turn in the paper work and they will pass the title through.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

Haha vin swap

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

I was thinking that, but if you got caught = felony.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

seems like to much trouble to me..

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

I had my car totaled but just kept on driving it, its been two years too. But I dont know if they ever changed my title status or not.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

I contacted the DMV earlier today and they said it cannot be registered or considered road worthy in MN. An inspection cant deem it road worthy either. I even asked if it would be possible to consider it a kit car and they said that wouldn't work either. The only way I can see around it would be to buy a car with a salvalge title and transfer parts over. I tried to get the DMV guy to tell me what is considered the "heart of the car" or what the title is on and he could not give me an answer. Real estate titles are for the land and I was hoping he would give me a list of parts that would be needed from a titled car to consider it that car.

What would be holding someone back from buying a frame and a salvage title from a junk yard and saying they swapped the parts over aside from the risk of getting caught?

The car is a good enough deal that it is worth looking into a little bit. I wish I could get a real answer of what would be needed from a salvage car to still consider it that car.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

What state are you transfering in from? I think the person you talked to at the DMV was a moron, it happens a lot. I talked to 3 different people and got 3 different answers. Finally I just went down there and tried to get tabs, they gave me plates and tabs and everything seemed fine. Then I got the letter stating I had to get an inspection before I could get the title or any more tabs. A certificate of destruction should be the same thing as a salvage title, just from a state that doesn't allow cars to be rebuilt (like Florida). I just did this, so my info is recent. Mine was a salvage title from Maryland.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

I will have to try and talk to them again then. I called the MN DMV this morning and car has a Florida COD title. I was surprised it was issued that title after looking at the damage. The guy at the DMV told me the car couldn't be road worthy even after passing an inspection since the title considers the car unbuildable. Did the car you had registered have a COD title? I know I would be ok if it had a salvage title. The guy at the DMV told me the only way to get the car registered would be to have title changed to a salvage title or to buy another car and swap the parts over.

The question I would have liked him to answer would have been what would need to be transfered over from a salvage title car for me to be able to say the COD car is a different car. I am sure if I looked hard enough, I would be able to find a junk yard with a salvage titled car that could sell me the title and a few misc parts for a reasonable price.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

Not sure if it is clear above, but I haven't bought the car yet. It is a good enough deal to look into though.

Re: Certificate of Destruction title
 

I did a little research and it looks like a certificate of destruction is the same thing as a salvage title. Mine was a salvage title since maryland lets you rebuild cars (mine was a theft recovery and the only thing wrong is the carpet needs to be replaced). I am pretty sure you will be fine.