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Well to test-drive it or take it to a mechanic you need to figure out the other stuff first. (Whether he's a dealer and has a tag, etc.) Also, does he have insurance on the car? Who's insurance is covering it when you would be test driving it and getting it checked out? How did he transport it back to MA if he is not a dealer and isn't registering it there?
I just found out that he has a friend that is a dealer. His friend has temporary tags to use when I take it to be inspected. That answers many of my questions. I'll call my insurance company to ask about insuring it for the test drive, and drive back to NC.
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Originally Posted by iamweasel
Just seems like an awful lot of trouble to me for a car. There are thousands of used cars in our area where you don't have to deal with this stuff. This better be a special car......
I know. It's a personality flaw really. The car is special to me as it is the exact make, model, color combo, transmission, etc that I was looking for.
The proper way to do this is to obtain a temporary transport tag from the state in which you purchase the vehicle. You should never take a plate off another vehicle--this will get you a ticket and a hefty fine if you're pulled over.
Yes. I called the NC DMV and they said that aside from towing it back, I need to get a temporary tag from MA. I called the MA DMV this morning and their phone queue is over an hour long.
EDIT: Just heard back from the MA DMV. They do not issue temporary transport tags. I have to either put it on a car transporter and ship it down, or break the law and hope I don't get caught.
OK. So maybe buying this car in MA is more trouble than it's worth.
I finally heard back from my neighbor's car dealer friend. He said that I can take the plate off of my current car and attach it to the new car. If I do not get stopped by the authorities, I just put the plate back when I get home. No harm no foul. If I do get stopped, I explain that I am in the process of getting the plates transferred (I have 20 days to do this) and when I get home I keep the old plate on the new car and get a new plate for the old car. The car dealer friend says that he has done this before.
I finally heard back from my neighbor's car dealer friend. He said that I can take the plate off of my current car and attach it to the new car. If I do not get stopped by the authorities, I just put the plate back when I get home. No harm no foul. If I do get stopped, I explain that I am in the process of getting the plates transferred (I have 20 days to do this) and when I get home I keep the old plate on the new car and get a new plate for the old car. The car dealer friend says that he has done this before.
You're taking the chance that you're not going to get pulled over in some weird little town anywhere between MA and NC. When you spend the night in the local pokey and you're the girlfriend of someone named 'Bubba', you can tell him that your car dealer friend has done this before
You're taking the chance that you're not going to get pulled over in some weird little town anywhere between MA and NC. When you spend the night in the local pokey and you're the girlfriend of someone named 'Bubba', you can tell him that your car dealer friend has done this before
So are you saying that this NC DMV web page is wrong, or that my neighbor's car dealer friend is misinterpreting it?
So are you saying that this NC DMV web page is wrong, or that my neighbor's car dealer friend is misinterpreting it?
The web page you're referencing is addressing a situation where you are transferring a tag between vehicles you already own. Note that the requirements include 1) the vehicle must have a current inspection, and 2) the title of the vehicle must match your name. Neither of these is true if you are transporting a car you just purchased from someone else.
The web page you're referencing is addressing a situation where you are transferring a tag between vehicles you already own. Note that the requirements include 1) the vehicle must have a current inspection, and 2) the title of the vehicle must match your name. Neither of these is true if you are transporting a car you just purchased from someone else.
The registration is in NC and the registration was just renewed in Sept of 2013, so that means the inspection must be current, right?
When they say that the title of the vehicle must be in my name, won't it be in my name because I just completed the sale of the vehicle and my name is listed on the back of the title? Or does my name have to be on the front of the title? I was not sure how to interpret that part.
The registration is in NC and the registration was just renewed in Sept of 2013, so that means the inspection must be current, right?
When they say that the title of the vehicle must be in my name, won't it be in my name because I just completed the sale of the vehicle and my name is listed on the back of the title? Or does my name have to be on the front of the title? I was not sure how to interpret that part.
Okay, it sounds like the inspection is good so you've met that part. But no, the title isn't in your name just because your name is listed on it; you have to submit the appropriate documents to the DMV to have the title legally transferred to you. You don't have legal title until that process is done. And further, the web page you cited applies only if you are in the process of disposing of the car from which you took the license plate. Bottom line--you can't simply take a plate off of one car and use it on one you just purchased from someone without risk of getting a ticket/fine.
Well, then I don't see any way to do this besides the strictly legal and expensive way (ship it from MA to NC on a flatbed truck) because I can't find anything about temporary tags on either the MA or NC DMV websites. . . . . . or. . . .the illegal but seemingly common way (slapping a plate from another car you currently own on the new car) which I seem to find suggested over and over again during my Google searches regarding this question. This should not be so difficult.
Update. I called the DMV on Monday and they said that I would have to get the signed and notarized title, bring it to the DMV, and they could give me a new plate. When I explained that that the seller is in MA and will not send me the title until I pay for the car, and I would not pay for the car without seeing it or getting the title, we were stuck.
Until she said. . . . Shhh. We don't like to advertise this, but you can take a plate off one of your exiting cars, put it on the purchased car, and use that to drive home.
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The car is special to me as it is the exact make, model, color combo, transmission, etc that I was looking for.
