There seems to be a tax scam with all kinds of vehicles here on ebay. I got hit with it on a camper that I bought here on ebay, and almost got hit again with with a boat that I was bidding on.

On the camper, I bought it here on ebay from a guy in Nebraska who had the title, except it was not in the seller's name. In fact, the camper had been transferred 4 times over 10 years on the same title without it being transferred into the new owner's name and the sales tax paid to the state. I bought it and took it to Wyoming, but could not get the title transferred until previous taxes were paid.

On the boat, I was bidding on a boat in South Carolina. The seller was in Georgia and was stating that South Carolina did not require titles. I called the state auditor's office in South Carolina and talked with her. She said that the state did not issue titles, but they still required them. The state also had a personal property tax which had to be paid each year on the boat. According to the auditor in South Carolina, the titles were actually issued by the Department of Natural Resources or the US Coast Guard. Boats owners with unpaid personal property taxes would find that they had a lein filed against them by the state in which the boat was registered in. (South Carolina in this case.) The lein would be filed with the boats haul number. New owners of these boats were required to pay this lein off before a new title could be issued to them in anywhere in the USA. With older boats, the taxes could amount to more then you are paying for the boat.

With boats, it seems that researching the haul numbers with the state auditor's office where it is located seems to be the safest route. They can also tell you if any other leins are filed against the boat, and who the current owner is.

Botom line:
1.) Make sure the seller has the title, and it is in their name.
2.) Get the haul number and check check it out with the local state auditor's office.