Hi, I live in Hawaii on the island of Kauai. A couple weeks ago I bought a used car from a private party on the island of Oahu and made an appointment to have the car shipped over to Kauai about two weeks from now. Today I went into my local DMV to have the title transferred to my name only to find that the car has a lien on it from the state tax department. If I cannot get a hold of the seller to take care of getting the lien released, what then? Am I stuck with paying his tax burden if I want the sale to complete? He walked with $5000 cash which I borrowed from a friend based upon an insurance claim on my existing car which was totaled by my insurance company in a recent flood when it rained 9 inches in 3 hours here. I have to surrender that car soon and they will pay me so I can pay that loan back but then I have no car here on Kauai and one car of dubious ownership over on Oahu parked at a friend's house. I was planning on going over and taking it to the barge but without the paperwork in my name I doubt if they will accept it for transit. Does the car belong to the tax department no? Am I in possession of stolen property? If I could bring it over here while trying to figure out what to do would I be breaking the law? When a state puts a tax lien on property of a person who is in arrears do they send a registered letter notifying them of the lien? It could be that the seller was unaware of the lien but if the usual protocol is to advise with certification and he sold the car to me anyway, is that a crime? Have you ever heard of a tax authority releasing the lean by mercy rather than payment? I'm a 74 year old disabled Vietnam veteran on a fixed income and don't have much resources to draw upon. Is this just a case of caveat emptor and it was up to me to make sure the title was clear before buying it? The title did not show any lien holder as a second signee needed. I sure hope you have some answers or pointers for me. I don't think I will get much sleep tonight. thanks, David quantumleader@gmail.com