Last May I paid off my car. This was good.  I've been saving money like crazy ever since, in prep for the day I'll need to buy another car.  That day is not quite here yet.  A few weeks after I had paid the final amount I got a letter from my credit union saying basically, that they had no interest in the car, etc etc.  For whatever reason I filed the letter away and went on with life.

Three weeks ago I though that, since the car is heading towards 100,000 miles and yet still runs and looks good, I'd start to get myself pumped up to get another car.  One of the things I knew I had to have in order was the title.  Can't sell a car in PA without a title.  So I looked through my stuff and realized that I didn't have the title.  I remembered the letter I had gotten last year though.

I dug it up, and read it.  It had a phone number on it.  I called, and talked to a person at my credit union, telling her that I, you know, never got the actual title.  She told me that there was a note on my file that the previous Title Clerk had sent me a letter and that this was all the proof I needed.  It seems that the credit union I had belonged to had never receieved the title from the DMV, and then that credit union merged with the present incarnation.  I took this as the gospel truth.  I hung up.

I went the DMV website and found a nice little checklist of what one must do to buy or trade or sell a car.  The steps are basically:

1.  I buy car.
2.  Dealer fills out paperwork, I pay $22.50, paperwork gets sent to DMV.
3.  I get various items from DMV, and if there is a loan on the car, the bank gets the title.
4.  There is no 4.

So I got a loan, I got a car, and say 3 months go by and the bank does not get the title from the DMV.  It doesn't seem logical to me, that the credit union just ignores this and never follows up with the DMV. 

Not logical because without the title, they have no claim on the car, and thus if I were to not pay my loan they'd not be able to repossess.

Now the credit union lady says that I can take that letter to any 'tag' place and get my title.  And she'd be correct, I am sure the letter is valid and useable.  My problem is a) I already paid my $22.50 upfront 3 years ago b) A tag place will charge $22.50 + whatever else they want.  c) I could do it myself but I have to get the form notarized, twice, once for my signature, and once for the credit union's info.

This is a hassle that the credit union should be dealing with, not me.  I didn't lose the title.  I paid my loan off.

Some other pieces of info coworkers brought up.  Who's name is on the title?  Where is the actual title?

Of course I share a bit of the blame here, I should have gotten this straightened out last year, but whether it was last year or now, they still should have my title.