Buying out of state...

kis86 · #1 05-06-2007, 08:33 AM

I wasn't sure where to put this, but...

I'm buying a car that was recently auctioned off in another state. It has no plates on it. I will be picking it up aprx. 5 hours form home, and I need to get it back. I was going to trailer it, but the trailer won't work out and so my next option is to drive it.

My question is, I can get insurance, but what do I need to do about plates? I can't pick up plates since the car is not yet in my name. It will be as soon as we sign the title, but even then I'm still not in my state. I'm picking the car up in MN, and I live ont he border in Fargo ND. ...can't just go register it. Any ideas?

Right now I'm leaning toward sticking the plates from my svx onto this one, and being careful

I need to pick it up on Tuesday, so applying for temp registration etc is out I think.

LetItSnow · #2 05-06-2007, 08:37 AM

IIRC, temporary plates (where available) can be had for a minimal charge, and don't take that long to process. Check out ND's DMV webpage for information about your situation.

JaySVX · #3 05-06-2007, 08:54 AM

I've had to do that a couple times. I just put other plates on and am careful about it. 5hr is a long drive, but chances are you'll be fine. I bought a car in jersey, and live in pennsylvania, about a 3hr drive from there to home, and i got picked up in PA. Had PA plates on it, with NJ inspection, and the ONLY reason i got caught, about 2 miles from my house, is because they were doing random inspection checking, cop sat in the center of the road and 2 on the side. Plus i had to sit at a red light right in front of him for about 3 minutes, so he was just staring at me. When i got pulled over they gave me a hard time, and gave me a warning, said you have 10 days to get it registered and bring us proof. I did that easy enough and no problem.

thumper_svx · #4 05-06-2007, 10:21 AM

I bought my SVX in New Jersey and drove it to Missouri... two-days worth of driving (give or take). Now, I'll be honest; I did the stupid thing and used my plates from another vehicle I already owned to drive it home and was REAL careful not to get caught.

If I were to do it again? I'd go up to the DMV and get temporary tags to drive it home. It's just the safe route if you get caught. If you're lucky and get caught you could probably talk your way out of it ("No, officer... I swear that's the car I used to own... I traded it for this one. Your records must be messed up."), but I wouldn't risk it again especially such a long way from home.

HTH

odepaj · #5 05-06-2007, 11:19 AM

I just bought my Pearly from MN, just go to a court house in MN and tell them you need a temp tag because you just purchased a car with no plate/tags, it was $9.50 for one.

Dustin

shelfy · #6 05-06-2007, 11:46 AM

having just gone through this, my state (colorado) would not issue me a temp tag and said i need to get one from the state from where i purchased the vehicle (texas). the trusting seller ended up leaving their plates on the car for me and i had no problems driving it home 900 miles, but i was on my best behaviour.

budbaer · #7 05-06-2007, 12:18 PM

Be careful driving a car that isn't registered. If you get caught you will have your car confiscated and it will cost a lot to get it back, you will also be walking from that point.

If you have insurance on another car, take your proof of insurance with you. This will cover you for the drive home and will allow the DMV of another state issue you a tempoary plate. Some states like WV do not issue temporary plates from the DMV, only a dealer can issue one, so call ahead and know what you are dealing with.

Once again, I can't stress to you enough, the headaches that can come from driving a car that isn't registered. The impound fees alone will be about $200 plus there will be fines and other costs. Do it right and enjoy your first road trip in your car instead of spending most of your drive looking in your rearview mirror.

GOT2HAVESVX · #8 05-06-2007, 02:21 PM

I cant give you any advice, (I think theres a pic of both of my SVX's with the same plates on them on here!.)

thumper_svx · #9 05-06-2007, 02:22 PM

Actually, in relation to that it probably wouldn't hurt to get the VIN up front of the car then get it added to your insurance. If you get up there and decide you don't want the car, you can cancel with no harm, no foul (except maybe a day or two of insurance you'll be paying extra).

I agree though, don't do what I did. If I were to do it all again I'd make sure I did it all legal and above board.

Of course, it was a little trickier in my position; (a) I flew up on a Saturday to New Jersey to get my car and (b) I had to be at work on Monday. Temp tags would've been impossible in that compressed timeframe... I had to pretty much give the car the once over, finalize the deal and hit the road in about two hours... have you tried the DMV on a Saturday?

Seriously though... learn from my experience. I stressed the whole way home about being pulled over. It turned an enjoyable cross-country drive with a friend into a long and worrisome experience. Do the right thing; get the temp tags!

ensteele · #10 05-06-2007, 03:29 PM

I have done this a couple of times. I got a temporary tag from my state (WA) and you put a date on it when you get there. It is good for 3 days and is like you have a plate on it. I also givel my insurance agent the VIN and they write a proof of insurance for it as a new car and will cancel it when I get home if I am not going to insure it for awhile. That way you are legal and will not have to worry about getting stopped. Stuff happens and you don't want your car impounded and/or be in some small jail cell with Bubba for a week.

Bailey · #11 05-07-2007, 07:46 PM

I know it can also be bad to have the incorrect plates on the car if you are pulled over. I opted to go with no plates and proof of insurance when we picked up my car in Illinois. A family member learned this the hard way, paid hundreds of dollars in fines for using incorrect plates briefly on a car when she got pulled over and they ran the plates. I figured if I got stopped I could present the bill of sale and insurance card.

I didn't know this but my insurance agent said I am automatically covered for 30 days on any car I purchase, but I had him add it with the vin # to my policy before we drove over to look at it anyway.

shelfy · #12 05-08-2007, 09:39 AM

i just got to work from finally registering blackie in my name. i thought it'd be a hassle since texas titles don't have a place to list purchase price of vehicles. all i had to do was fill out another form and they collected my money, gave me stickers for my transfered plates and printed me a new colorado title. i'm finally legal.

ensteele · #13 05-08-2007, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey

I know it can also be bad to have the incorrect plates on the car if you are pulled over. I opted to go with no plates and proof of insurance when we picked up my car in Illinois. A family member learned this the hard way, paid hundreds of dollars in fines for using incorrect plates briefly on a car when she got pulled over and they ran the plates. I figured if I got stopped I could present the bill of sale and insurance card.

I didn't know this but my insurance agent said I am automatically covered for 30 days on any car I purchase, but I had him add it with the vin # to my policy before we drove over to look at it anyway.

My insurance company will cover any car I buy for 30 days until I get it insured officially. I usually give them the VIN just to make sure they know about it and they will print out proof of purchase for me. I would rather be pulled over for no plate than have the wrong one on a car. The fines would be much less.

SVeXy96 · #14 05-08-2007, 12:31 PM

Call both DMVs and see what they say about it. I bought my first SVX in jersey and drove to TN I had a temp tag, but it was a 2-6" piece of paper I kept in the glovebox and didn't get pulled over the whole way home even with nothing (not even a dealership tag) on the back of the car. Same thing driving my other SVX from Nevada to SoCal

kis86 · #15 05-09-2007, 07:47 AM

Well, I got the car home...in one piece even. I called ym insurance co and got temp cards printed out, then called the dmv in MN and ND. They said I would need to get a temp permit from Missouri since that was where the car was titled.

I just drove with my new title and bill of sale sitting on the seat. The lady at the dmv said I'd be fine as long as the trooper wasn't having a bad day if I did get picked up with no plates. Good tip on not using my existing plates...better to be caught with none than get caught being sneaky! lol

The car itself ran fine...the transmission even shifted all the way up fine

speedometer doesn't work, but that's at least an inexpensive fix...just the cabel needs replacement I'm guessing.

As far as the tranny shifting fine now goes...I'm going to post on the q&a section to see why that might happen. Thank you all!