Buying a car without a title, but how do I get one?

Hey everyone,

So I'm looking at buying a pretty nice daily driver from Georgia, but the buyer has no title, just a bill of sale. The titled owner was put into a nursing home some years ago with dementia, and his house was sold at an estate sale, Dart was in the barn. The house buyer sold the car to a friend, who is now selling it years later. There's no feasible way to track down the original owner, if he's even still alive.

How in the world do I get a title in my name from just a bill of sale? South Carolina DMV says it's impossible, that even salvage yards carry actual titles, so I can't even register it as salvage.

Thoughts? If I can't do it, then obviously I won't buy the car, because what I really want is the body, not the mechanical bits.

Edited After Getting Good Replies:

Okay, so the Vermont option seems to be the best (if not ONLY) legal way to go, though it may be sort of an end-run. That said, is there anyone that can verify PERSONALLY that the state of South Carolina will title a vehicle based on a Vermont registration of ownership?



Thanks!