Buying a used car in Massachusetts
- Thread starter 71Newp
- Start date
65sporty
Old Man with a Hat
It depends on the state your buying it in. The father in law had to register the sporty in MD when he bought it, and then register it when he got it back home here in MI.
75LandYacht
Yank Tank
Mmm. If the seller would be willing to let you drive the car home on his plates, then you could mail them back to him when you get home, I've done that before.. I would also speak to your DMV to see if they'll issue you temp plates for transporting, but think you'd had to have purchased the car already and have insurance on it as well.
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
Every selling state is different, every buying state is different.
I recently purchased a truck in Washington State where the sellers keep the plates (it was a dealer so no holding on to the plates) and I was going to California where you have to have an application in process, fees paid and smog check done to even get a temp. The dealer put a 3 day temp on the truck and gave me a blank to fill out as I wanted (I didn't use it). Needless to say after 3 days I was still in Oregon and wasn't able to get the registration completed in the three days. I just pulled the temp and ran with no plates, it still took me about 6 weeks to get a temp from California and another couple to get the plates.
Alan
I recently purchased a truck in Washington State where the sellers keep the plates (it was a dealer so no holding on to the plates) and I was going to California where you have to have an application in process, fees paid and smog check done to even get a temp. The dealer put a 3 day temp on the truck and gave me a blank to fill out as I wanted (I didn't use it). Needless to say after 3 days I was still in Oregon and wasn't able to get the registration completed in the three days. I just pulled the temp and ran with no plates, it still took me about 6 weeks to get a temp from California and another couple to get the plates.
Alan
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commando1
Old Man with a Hat
The answer I gave above is accurate - I have purchased 2 automobiles from out of state in the last 12 months .....get proof of insurance coverage - then pay a small fee for a transport plate.... It couldn't be any more simple!
Thanks to all for your replies, I greatly appreciate all the helpful people on this site. Yes, some replies were more to the point than others, but reading the replies here was A LOT more interesting (and quicker!!) than the hold "Muzack" from the MA state DMV!!!!. Thanks to both C1 and Move n up. The web sites were helpful, and Move n up's reply told exactly where to go to get the answer I needed, ( took less than 20 minutes - round trip!)
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