Im buying a car out of state and am wondering what Ill do for a license plate. Do I take the plates off my current car and drive with the title of the new car on my way back? Any prior experiences/input would be great. Thanks

 

must have:
-get insurance
-signed off title & bill of sale

why not temp tags, usually low cost. call the state you are buying this car in to find office hrs and locations.

 

the previous owner actually left his plates on when i bought it, and i drove back on those. probably not a good idea in hindsight. it was funny, i got pulled over as i entered IL at a checkpoint, and sat there for the longest time cuz they thought i had stolen the car. good thing i had paperwork and no previous crime record...

if i'm not mistaken, you should be able to get these in your home state, even if you haven't purchased the car yet. just let the DMV know of your situation. might wanna look online first.

 

Are you buying from a dealer or the average joe? If you're buying from a dealer out of state you will have to pay taxes to both states. I bought mine in Florida and drove it to Georgia with the dealers paper tags and a hand written temp registration (good for 30 days). Call your insurance company to double check but State Farm will cover you with $500 deductibles and 100/300/100 coverages for 5 days after you bought it.

When paying taxes I paid 4% to Florida for their sales tax and then another 3% to Georgia to cover the remainder since Georgia is 7% where I am.

PS dealers make it really easy because they have the power to help out a good deal since they want to sell the car. Most people selling through autotrader, etc. just want to sell the car and don't care how much work you have to put out as long as they don't have to.

 

This all depends on the states involved. In my state, for instance, the plates stay with the car. In some other states, the plates stay with the owner and he puts them on a new car.

I suggest you check with the Department Of Licensing for the state you plan to eventually license it with. Ask them what to do.

 

drive back really fast lol

 

I'm not sure about this, as I bought my car in SC and paid no taxes on it. I drove it to NC with no plates (called the ins car and got coverage before I left the lot though) and registered it in NC when I got home - a couple weeks later when the dealer finally sent the final paperwork to me. I don't see how you can be taxed in two states for one purchase - it sounds like you are owed some money.

 

Im buying it from an online site, an average joe, whatever you wish to call the person.
The state is Virginia. I was thinking of taking the plates off my current car and driving home with those. Any comments?

 

Carefully.

Beware driving cars with a temp tag but no insurance. Why risk it?

 

Thanks for the input what are your recommendations?