How/when/why renew vehicle title?

You apparently don't know what a title is. A title is not renewed yearly. A title is the "deed" to the vehicle and is used to transfer ownership. Registration (license plate and/or decal) is what is renewed annually.

When you get the title, you take it to the DMV and they'll issue a registration and license plates if everything is in order with the title. If you've borrowed money to buy the car, the title then goes to the lender until you've paid it back. The registration is what you renew each year, the title is permanent until the car is junked. The current owner should--must--sign over his title to you; it's your ownership deed for the car, and without it, you don't own the car. If he can't provide the title and sign it over to you, don't buy the car.

you renew the registration every year not the title. You only get one title from the dmv, after that you pay a renewal fee which usually comes in the mail for license plate tags so you can drive the car. finding a one owner car is great, if he still has the original title from 69 that would be great!! it would be nice to try to keep it intact, it may be worth some money in the future, what some people do is keep the original 69 title and go to the dmv with the owner, apply for lost title and transfer the car at the dmv, they will then issue a new title with a new number to you, which will get mailed. a original 69 title has collector value only after this, but could be worth a hundred bucks to hard core collectors now. and a lot more twenty years from now. if this mustang is in good condition you have a rare peice of history and it is not often you fine a one owner 69 hope this helps, good luck