[Chaplin]

All of the title service companies claim that the service they provide is legal. However, as has been noted, title washing is illegal. Thus, I think there is (or should be) a distinction between title washing and legitamately using one of these services to obtain a title.

For example, exactly what is title washing? Is it getting a new title and changing the VIN for an existing vehicle (possibly stolen) so that it can be re-sold? If so, this would be clearly illegal and not, what I susepct most cobra owners are doing. However, is creating a title for a car that did not previously exist and therefore never had a title also considered title washing? How can you "wash" a title on a car that never had a title in the first instance? They are fundamentally different issues. If you use a title service to obtain a title for a vehicle that never had a title for the purpose of avoiding paying what in some circumstances could be significant sales tax, then that is fraud and also illegal, but again that is a fundamentally different issue than simply obtaining a title.

Does anyone know the legal definition of "title washing" whether in CA or elsewhere?