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I am city-folk...don't have a buddy with a trailer.
I would just take the plate off my daughter's car but she'll be out of town tomorrow....
This could net you a ticket for "fictitious plates", which is a healthy fine and a "crime". Don't do it. Having no plates is generally just a ticket, and generally dismissed once you prove you registered it.
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Originally Posted by gunslinger256
just drive it. make sure you have insurance and bill of sale.
25 miles is just across town
the license plate does nothing other than say you've paid your taxes.
Yes, this really. It's a short drive. Take your chances. 99% of cops (assuming you have the bad luck to get stopped in the first place) will let you go if you explain you just bought the thing.
I mean, really, when was the last time you were stopped? I drove a car for 3 years with no plates once. Nobody batted an eye.
OP pick up the vehicle, take the paperwork with you that shows you just bought the vehicle, drive it to the MVD asap. If you should get stopped show the officer the paperwork from a pvt party sale and tell him/her that you're on your way to get it registered, if it's not a weekend. The officer probably will give you a warning, or at worst maybe a citation to get it registered within so many days. I wouldn't sweat it, though different states do have different rules/regulations/laws so use your best judgment.
Those of us from states where plates just stay with the car for life are somewhere between baffled and amused by this problem...
The idea that a vehicle license number belongs to the owner/driver is... pretty weird, frankly.
OK, fine, we here in Montana are pretty weird.
Frankly, the idea that a license plate belongs to the vehicle instead of the registered owner seems pretty weird to us. How can a vehicle "own" anything? What a strange concept!
The private party purchase is no problem. The seller removes his plates, the buyer then has 40 days to drive with the signed title and/or Bill Of Sale until he gets the title transferred and buys (or transfers) plates. Very simple.
Dealer sales are even simpler. There are no plates on the vehicle. The dealer prints a temporary paper license plate and puts it on the vehicle. The dealer sends the paperwork to the DMV office at the county courthouse. The DMV office notifies the buyer that the paperwork is there, and he can make an appointment to complete the paperwork for title transfer and pay the fees to get or transfer the plates. Again, very simple (but time consuming).
Those of us from states where plates just stay with the car for life are somewhere between baffled and amused by this problem...
The idea that a vehicle license number belongs to the owner/driver is... pretty weird, frankly.
When you think about it, though, it makes sense. Say driver 1 commits a moving violation, or several. Then he sells the car to driver 2. Wouldn't it be possible for Driver 2 to be mistaken for driver 1 and confuse the issue of guilt and responsibility?
On the scene of a crime or accident, it is far more important that law enforcement know who is driving the car, rather than being able to identify the car itself.
In NC they seem to be pretty intent on new plates for every new car. I tried to keep my old one last time I got a different car and they sent me a new one anyway.
OP pick up the vehicle, take the paperwork with you that shows you just bought the vehicle, drive it to the MVD asap. If you should get stopped show the officer the paperwork from a pvt party sale and tell him/her that you're on your way to get it registered, if it's not a weekend. The officer probably will give you a warning, or at worst maybe a citation to get it registered within so many days. I wouldn't sweat it, though different states do have different rules/regulations/laws so use your best judgment.
My seller is convinced that we have to have the title signed over AT the DMV so they can witness/notarize it. Since the DMV was convenient for both of us, I decided not to argue with him. If they won't notarize it, we can go across the street to the UPS store.
I have other chores to do at the Dmv as well...Daughter's registration is expired and can't be renewed online, I'm moving and need a change of address and/or possibly a new license, I can't seem to cancel the registration on my totaled car via the website, and now I can't find the title on the totaled car either. I'll probably be there all day!
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