Its simple
Go to any registry agent or lawyer which has Personal Property Registrty search capabilities. Search the item both by current owner name (verify by registration or previous bill of sale) and serial number (make, model, year and serial number, verified by actual inspection of the serial number). If nothing comes up you are good to go. If anything comes up which specifically lists that item as security, then it must be discharged before you have title clear of the prior registered claim. In some cases an item could be just a failure to discharge something that was previously paid out, but do not listen to any stories from the seller. Either verify that it is in fact being discharged, or arrange to pay it out and get it discharged using the purchase money. And just because an item that does turn up on search is under a different debtor name does not mean it will not have priority over your ownership interest if it has not been paid out. The current owner may have failed to do lien searches when they bought it, and the previous seller may not yet have paid it out - the bank or other lender may still be looking for it! It is quite amazing how often some people "forget" that they still owe on the financing for which it was pledged as security, give a (false) clear title warranted bill of sale, and then also "forget" to pay out the claim from the sale proceeds.
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