so for you guys who have bought a truck out of state and drove it home, what did you do about the registration, insurance, and license plate? I know some states the plate stays with the vehicle, but others, like florida, the plate stays with the owner and you transfer it to the new vehicle.

 

Talk to your DMV, should be able to get temp plates valid for 30 days or whatever. Best to have plates installed of some kind, and bill of sale with you, temp. registration.

 

Dmv will give you temp plates and make sure you have the BOS and signed title. Of course you don't HAVE to have the temp plates. The owner might leave them for you or he might not. You can risk driving home without plates but it's not advised. Either have his plates or a temp plate

 

My insurance company gives me something like 10 days to report ownership and I am covered under existing policies during that time. I always called and spoke with my agent before driving home though just to be sure.

AZ had 3 day tags for getting them home and licensed, also could apply for a 30 day permit if needed. Best to check with your local DMV and/or website for your state.

 

Signed title in the pocket, bill of sale and proof of insurance. I guess you could go thru all the DMV stuff to get a temp tag and give them more money.

I would run NO tag, before I run someones elses tag.

In Missouri the tag stays with the old owner and the new owner gets a new one when you registered it, and the DMV gets even more money. Sales tax...

 

Having the plates installed keeps it under the radar of the constables.


See if you can work out a deal to mail them back to the PO.

 

that was my thought especially if the plates are the current registered plates. What screams pull me over more; properly registered plates on a truck or NO plates anywhere on the truck?

Edited* thought I was in another thread lol

 

Guess I am lucky I do not live in Cali, I would be in all sorts of trouble with the "constables". lol

Along with emissions checks, 30 round clips in my AR and a deer rifle on the back rack.

 

I also hear that hanging out on ford truck forums is know by the state of California to cause cancer.....................

 

Yeah I made that joke about California and cancer once.... No one got it lol had to explain it and then people were like "oh! Now that I think about it basically everything does have a warning label like that" :facepalm: lol

 

just got off the phone with the local dmv. they said they do not give any kind of temp plates to transport a vehicle home, that I need to go to the closest dmv and register it or trailer it home. guess i'll have to hope whatever I buy has a current plate and the owner will let me use it and mail it back.

 

What a PITA......In Idaho, all you need is the bill of sale........I think you have 10 days to get it registered, but can drive it up until then as long as the bill of sale is in the vehicle. Once you hit the Idaho state line, it doesn't matter where the vehicle came from. Not sure about other states........

 

I bought my 79' F150 back after selling him 3 years ago to help pay for a move to North Carolina.
Coming into NC from another state, any vehicle that is 35 years old or older has to have a License/Theft Inspection done
North Carolina sent a DOT Inspector to the house and took photo's of the truck, inside and out. Then he really had a blast since we did a cab swap 6 or so years back. So, none of the VIN's matched. But luckily the VIN on the frame is correct.
I had to get a new VIN through the state, the inspector took pictures of the different VIN's that are on the cab, drivers door, and frame (Non matched)
Then after we got the new VIN from the state he had to come back out, put the new decals on, and take pictures of them installed.
Then..........Two different appraisals had to be done (at a cost of about $300). Then after the appraisals, I had to use an insurance company to get am Indemnity Body for the title (since I have different VIN numbers). The bond is for 1.5 times the Higher Appraisal value. Then after that is finished, the paperwork can be turned into the license office, and hopefully get a title......

Unk Bob

 

I'm glad I live in Ca. Lest this becomes hijacked, I too, think like you. Paperwork in hand and the auto can make the trip? Let's roll!!

 

Typically the "temp" tag comes from the state you are buying it FROM, not the state you are driving it to. A lot of states refer to it as an "in-transit" tag or an "out of state" tag. Typically these are good for 30 days or less. I'd contact a notary or DMV in the state you are going to pick it up from and ask them about it. Then you drive with that state's tag (usually just paper for a 30 day tag) on the vehicle until you get it back to FL and once in FL then you register it with them and probably will owe sales tax. Yes you'll pay some sort of fee more than once, but there's not any risk then.

The better option to me would be trailering it home if possible.

I wouldn't drive with someone else's tag on the vehicle if possible, and if you do I wouldn't go showing a bill of sale to anyone who may pull you over. If you have their tag on the vehicle but show that you completed the purchase for the vehicle, you are basically admitting that you are fraudulently using the tag to a vehicle which it no longer belongs to. You'll end up getting the plate seized and the vehicle towed plus depending on the state possibly arrested or at least facing steep fines. In PA, that'd be a $500 fine max just for using the wrong plate, but you wouldn't be arrested. Add fees to the $500 plus the cost of towing, plus the cost and time of getting everything arranged correctly, your classic purchase cost just went way up.