Currently i am looking into buying a bike registered in california.
Now here's the catch:
It's registered to a foreigner who no longer lives in the U.S. with his then address in the U.S.
I am not U.S. citizen, i neither have or will hve any visa with a permanent address in the U.S.

Is there any way to transfer the title to my name (e.g. by means of using notary services in an U.S. consulate abroad?

Which country is the bike in because that can make a huge difference

Each state in the USA has its own rules.
In some states, even US citizens resident in that state have to be there in person to arrange the transfer.
Some states require a roadworthy or smog inspection on any sale
Most states require some sort of nominal residential or postal address.
Some states take a couple of weeks to issue a title.
Changing licensing from a current state to a new one adds complications.
Current title with release signed by current owner will have to be returned to the US and lodged.
Insurance is mandatory in some states.

We own two US vehicles via a Montana Limited Liability Company which has a few advantages, one of which is that if you are using an agent, the whole process can be done via email. Trouble is it cost to set it up. One of the vehicles was Californis plated and my LLC agent had no problems transferring the title and sending me the plates.

A temporary way around all of this - and an essential step in getting the vehicle across the first border with the current title and TIP can sometimes be done by the current owner arranging for a PODER to be drawn up in your favour, but this will do nothing to assist transfer of the title. However it is required anyway because it is very difficult to swap ownership to the satisfaction of the authorities, so current ownership has to remain until the vehicle is out of the country and new ownership established before entering the next country. Not always easy to carry out. The current owner has to arrange the PODER and it needs your name and passport on it. Cost me about 700 peso.

If the current TIP has expired or lost, I'd suggest giving the bike a miss. If the current owner has left the country then ditto.

Some people take over the vehicle with just a PODER and apparently you will be able to cross most borders without problems BUT when you want to sell the vehicle, unless the prospective owner is particularly gullible, you won't be able to issue a PODER and you can't transfer title either.

Obviously the current owner hasn't given you the used car salesman's promise of "she'll be right mate. Just trust me" so you need to do your research thoroughly

__________________
Tony
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Hello tony,
Thanks for your advice.
The bike is registered in california. I am aware of the necessity of an insurance if the change is to be done.
The bike is in urugay, the TIP is still valid, the owner is not in the country, but my means of a legal representative the TIP can be transfered. So, no problem with the TIP.

Remains the problem with changing the certificate title in california frpm foreigner to foreigner. That is the core problem i could not resolve yet. I browsed articles here in the forum and googled on the issue, but with no success...

Yes, Uruguay seems to be very accommodating as far as transferring TIPs so as you said, you should be OK. I've heard of people buying vehicles with TIPs way out of date and they have managed OK.

On a recent post someone said that buying a bike in California would be no problem, but I think he was a Californian anyway so may not have been aware of the problems for foreigners. Usually a local is not the best source of information when it relates to non-locals. And he was referring to a foreigner who would be in the state at the time of purchase.

Might be worth also asking the question on Central and South America - Expedition Portal and also on Panamericana-Forum which seems to be pretty active as far as vehicle selling and buying goes.

__________________
Tony
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