Giving a vehicle to a friend. What's the process? (purchase, sell, towing)

[stridernyc]

I'm considering giving a friend of mines a car that I don't use. The car has completely been paid off for years and works good. He needs a vehicle and I was thinking of giving him this one. What would be the process I would need to go through to give it to him? I know different states do it differently. I live in NY.

[crestliner]

Originally Posted by stridernyc

I'm considering giving a friend of mines a car that I don't use. The car has completely been paid off for years and works good. He needs a vehicle and I was thinking of giving him this one. What would be the process I would need to go through to give it to him? I know different states do it differently. I live in NY.

You are just transferring ownership. The name on the title is the owner so you sign it over to him (read the title and fill in the blanks) have it notarized at your local bank and then he goes to the DMV office and gives them the title ,his ID and pays his registration fee and they mail him his new title..It is easy but will take several hours..

[PullMyFinger]

Originally Posted by stridernyc

I'm considering giving a friend of mines a car that I don't use. The car has completely been paid off for years and works good. He needs a vehicle and I was thinking of giving him this one. What would be the process I would need to go through to give it to him? I know different states do it differently. I live in NY.

I live in Minnesota. If I was giving a car to someone I would sell it to him for like $200 (on paper) because you have to pay sales tax on the sale. If I gave it to him for free he would have to claim the value of the car on his taxes as income.

Meet him at the license bureau with your ID's and the title and transfer it there and pay the fees.

[wit-nit]

Gifting a Vehicle in NY
Gifting a vehicle doesn’t mean you can just sign the title over and not pay any more taxes on it. You may still have to pay taxes on the current market value of the vehicle.

In either case, you must:

Fill out the odometer and damage statement on the back of the title. Don’t do this part until you’re ready to get the keys; scratching out information renders this certificate invalid. Get a bill of sale to prove ownership. The giver must indicate that the purchase price is $0 and that this is a gift. Fill out a sales tax form. This form also has a formula for figuring out the fees. Take these forms in to a DMV office. Fill out a Application for Title form. Pay the $50 fee.

New York Title Transfers - DMV Titling & Registration Information Online at DMV.org: The DMV Made Simple

[tickyul]

Whatever you do......MAKE SURE that you send in the change of ownership form. This will clear you if the new owner gets tickets or any other trouble and does not change the title over.

I had a vehicle break down in the middle of nowhere. Got towed to a shop/junkyard ran by tweakers. I signed the vehicle over...it was not running.....did not turn in the change of ownership form. About a year later, collections called wanting about 1600 bucks for a towing/storage charge......the tweakers got the heap running and went joyriding.....left the wreck on the side of the road.....another company towed it away. I eventually settled for 400 bucks....lesson learned.