Picked up a 2015 Tao Tao zummer 50 for cheap, No title.

[chris23413]

Hello all! I picked up a 2015 tao tao zummer off of someone for cheap. Issue being is that it didn't have a title, person I got it from told me the guy who sold it to him didn't have a title either. I've been trying to backtrack to the original owner but came up empty. I did contact my local MVA branch to see what the process would be to obtain one and they basically told me I'd need to take it to circuit court and file a "writ of mandamus" to order the MVA to issue me a new title. I looked up the VIN, came back clean, history report shows that the last registration with the MVA was in Maryland (My state) back in 2017 at an odometer reading of 15 Miles. At this point I'm kind of stuck. Might be a stretch, but figured I would ask if anyone had any experience registering a moped with just a bill of sale, or if anyone here ever owned a zummer that was last registered in MD? Last 4 of VIN are 1689. Any suggestions would be helpful! I would like to try and get hold of the original owner if at all possible, but I know that it's unlikely to happen.

[90GTVert]

MD MVA has been a stickler for me and not budged on anything. I once had to go to a Honda dealership to get my TaoTao titled because the local MVA said they wouldn't do it, even though they are supposed to. The main branch later told me that they should have done it... after I paid the paperwork fees to the Honda powersports dealer for them to do it. That was a brand new scoot with all required paperwork that should have been a non-issue anywhere. You can consider contacting the main branch in Glen Burnie and see if anyone has better advice. I don't expect it will change anything, but an email or phone call won't take that long.


The only way that I know of to do it without a title is if you have the manufacturer's certificate of origin, but that was most likely submitted on the first registration and no longer valid since the vehicle has been titled previously.


Some people use out of state services to help, but that's not always cheap. Example :
49ccscoot.proboards.com/thread/14878/experience-using-motorecyclenow-obtain-title


Maybe you could find out how difficult the court process is to force a title. If it's the sort of thing that you can show up for and represent yourself with a high success rate it may be worth it. If you have to have a lawyer, there are substantial filing fees or success rates are low; then I don't know that it's worth it.

www.peoples-law.org/mandamus-correcting-public-recordcourt-ordered-vehicle-titling


If whatever you wind up considering seems too expensive, maybe it's best to resell it and get one with a title if you think you won't lose on a resale. Some people use them to get around campgrounds or as pitbikes at the track and don't care about titles so if you got a really good deal then maybe you could even flip it for a small profit.

[buster7591]

Check with law enforcement, see if its reported stolen. You may not want to have possession of it.

[monsterunderyourbed]

Come on down to Virginia and get yourself a reconstructed title after paperwork and inspection of roadworthiness. I just got two Pedal Pubs from Finland reconstructed vehicle titles and "For Hire" license plates about 33 days after filling out paperwork with DMV.