moving across country with 4 month expired registration...should I worry? (rental, best)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Some people in this thread sound like jerks. Just ignore them. Is the car worth more than about $3000? If so, pay someone to keep it for you and drive it to your new state when it gets registered. If not, just give it away, or sell it to a sucker. Or maybe trade it in on a legal car. Maybe one with more room for your stuff, if you're moving. Or postpone your move till the car is registered. You can't be sure if, after you get the document needed to get it registered, there might be some other obstacle to registration.
Or if you want to gamble, take your bill of sale with you and tell each cop that you're going to register it in your state when you arrive there. They might think you're trying to not waste registration fees and that you're very poor or something and they might let you off if they have the right attitude. But if the bill of sale is old, that story won't sound honest.
If you get pulled over with an expired registration you stand a high chance of getting your car impounded- especially if the car is in bad shape and considered unsafe to drive.
I've driven across country with expired plates and no insurance.
I did not own the car. Family member.
Really dumb. But I was quite young.
But that was decades ago.
Last year I was driving along a highway in New Mexico. Nice clear sunny day. Upper plains, flatish area.
Way behind me I see a white car coming.
This fancy looking white car with no markings pulls up behind me. I am doing less then speed limit.
For about a minute this fancy car is behind me. Then it slowly passed me. As it did I noticed an open laptop on passenger seat.
About a mile ahead of me were three other cars safely spaced between each.
This white car pulled up right behind the first car after me. Spent about a minute behind that car and then passed and went behind the middle car ahead of me. About a minute later - the hidden blue/red lights go on. Car pulled over.
So you go figure what was going on.
Sell your car in question or pay to have it transported.
On another note.
I sold a good running but dumpy looking car for $400.00 to some kid.
He came paid cash and just drove away. No plates. No insurance.
About 3 days later I get a telephone call from the police department of the town that kid lived in.
The car was parked in a W*lmart parking lot where the kid worked. No plates.
I had a Bill of Sale and provided name of buyer to police officer. OK was the response from the police officer. Who knows what happened to the buyer of car or the car.
Ever hear of tag readers on cop cars/pole mounts? They're all over the place. Your plate will get pinged and that'll be that.
Times have changed.
Yes the era of big brother is here, with the help of technology. It wont be long until every car that is speeding or goes through a light will be ticketed by satellite or digital technology. Right now cameras can catch you at fixed locations, but how long until speeding vehicles are tracked by satelites?? Who needs an actual cop when you have this kind of tech ability. I don't think any of this is good but in reality we can all see it will be reality one day. Technology will turn this into a nation people with terrible driving records. This is a great reason to watch your state government and force them to restrict speed/red light cameras and roadblocks now. This is what is needed to set the precedent for limits to their ability to hunt and fine drivers. Otherwise all drivers who drift over by a mile or two per hour or miss a speed zone sign will end up fined everytime it happens. Imagine the potential for government and insurance company abuse of this kind of system. The OP should do what he needs to do in order to get the car legal, governments of any kind do not like to be short changed out of revenue. The punishment for avoiding things like registration are draconian in most states because it involves their revenue stream. The system is almost impossible to beat in todays technological environment.
On another note.
I sold a good running but dumpy looking car for $400.00 to some kid.
He came paid cash and just drove away. No plates. No insurance.
About 3 days later I get a telephone call from the police department of the town that kid lived in.
The car was parked in a W*lmart parking lot where the kid worked. No plates.
I had a Bill of Sale and provided name of buyer to police officer. OK was the response from the police officer. Who knows what happened to the buyer of car or the car.
LOL, I bought my first car when I was 15, a $50 special. I didn't even have a license. I just swiped a plate from somewhere and drove it, no registration, no insurance...but that was 40 years ago. Since then there have been other times when I have driven UR/UI for various reasons...and got cited a few times.
The more you drive, the more likely it becomes that some sharp-eyed cop is going to spot a problem. Driving unregistered across the country is asking for trouble. Is it worth the risk? That's the question the OP has to answer for himself. Some people get off on the thrill of taking a chance like that...but as others have mentioned, the car could get impounded- that could mean a $500 bill to start, and per day storage charges ($100/day? or more?). The car doesn't leave impound on its own wheels until it's registered and the storage charges add up- I lost a car once when the storage charges were higher than what the car was worth (in this case, it was not impounded for a violation, but because it had been vandalized after a breakdown). The other option for getting it out of impound without registering it (assuming the cops are satisfied with proof of ownership) would be to rent a truck and a car trailer***.
Having a certain amount of experience in this area, if I were the OP I would just go ahead and rent the truck and trailer right from the start, and completely avoid the potential for hassle.
***(A trailer, not a dolly that leaves two of the car's wheels on the ground- I'm not 100% certain about *all* states, but the laws of *some* states require that the vehicle be registered if *any* of the wheels are in contact with the roadway.)
I have plates. I just have expired registration, which stickers arent on plates in that particular state, the registration sticker is on the corner of the windshield. So it is harder to see and notice it is expired (cop would have to see it from in front of car)
Well, having plates will get you past a lot of places, as long as you don't attract attention to yourself.
I've seen people driving with plates expired a couple or three months, here, where the sticker on the tag is obvious. One car has a Sept 14 sticker on his plate and it was March of 15. It all depends on what the cops are looking for at any given time.
So, having at least some documentation on the sale will help you talk your way out of having the car impounded will help. But, you're still taking a big chance. Good luck.
situation: registration expired in may. I don't have a title since the state it was registered in apparently required me to do a special inspection before I get a title in that state. the best they can do is send me a "salvage vehicle certificate" which I can use to eventually register car in state I'm moving to. I currently live in a state where I can't get a registration or a temporary registration without a title.
so therefore I have no chance of getting a registration, temporary or otherwise, until a few weeks from now in new state.
my registration tags are on front windshield instead of license plate so harder to spot. and I won't be driving in state it is registered in.
what's the worst that can reasonably happen? I like my chances of not getting stopped at all assuming I don't speed, except for the Midwest states where I have been pulled over for drug tests before ( with bs reasons like hugging the center lane).
is the worst a ticket?
I can't guess what the legalities are, but does your state offer any temporary permits? In Arizona I was able to get 3 day and 30 day permits that would make the car legal to drive. They were meant to allow you to drive the car around to get that special inspection you need.
Last year my father bought a corvette in nevada. Nevada gave him a sheet a paper that is to be put on the the passenger side dashboard. He drove that car from vegas to pennsylvania with no physical plate on it and wasn't pulled over. If he was stopped the temporary nevada permit would have taken the place of his registration, he had the physical title with him and he was insured. I thought for sure he was going to be stopped a lot, but not once. No stickers on the windshield, no license plate, in a red corvette, not stopped.
I've made a lot of cross country trips. I've been pulled over for silly things just to have my papers and motives checked out. "looked like you were going a little fast there" (my cruise was set at the speed limit). "you have a license plate light out". (I didn't). Police are trained to find a reason to stop and look for criminal activity. An unregistered car is a great reason.
I don't think it's a chance I would take, but if I was broke and moving for a better opportunity I would probably risk it. set the cruise at exactly the speed limit, make sure the car is clean and not attention grabbing, scrape any tint, stickers etc. keep the phone in the glove box and hope for the best.
If you do get pulled over, turn the interior lights on, keep your hands on the wheel and roll down all the windows if they are power. You better become Mr. Charming and hope you can convince the officer that you are not a criminal, the car is really yours and that you are really desperate for a new start. Don't BS him, you already know you are wrong and that will just aggravate him into teaching you a lesson. (Been there! )
If you aren't broke, rent a one way truck and car trailer to tow the car. It'll be way cheaper than buying your way out of trouble in the middle of nowhere. Might only be a couple hundred dollars one way. You can get quotes online and find discount codes too.
I wonder if states even share registration information with each other. I'm pretty sure they don't all share so plate readers don't know if you are legal.
Remember that registration is merely a tax you pay to the resident state to allow you to use their roads. Once you are out of state, the cops don't care as much but if you are pulled over they have more reason to look further.
I saw a viper in Los Angeles sporting old style New York plates(ny switched over to new plates 3 years ago). There was no window stickers and it looked like the guy was just going about his regular day. I'd say you'll get to Utah with no tickets as long as you don't drive like an *ss.
I wonder if states even share registration information with each other. I'm pretty sure they don't all share so plate readers don't know if you are legal.
Remember that registration is merely a tax you pay to the resident state to allow you to use their roads. Once you are out of state, the cops don't care as much but if you are pulled over they have more reason to look further.
I saw a viper in Los Angeles sporting old style New York plates(ny switched over to new plates 3 years ago). There was no window stickers and it looked like the guy was just going about his regular day. I'd say you'll get to Utah with no tickets as long as you don't drive like an *ss.
Any state can fine you for any expired registration regardless of state. We will see
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
