I'm planning on trading my car with a guy who has an S2000 in New Jersey. I'd be driving all the way from North Carolina in my car, trading, and driving back in the S2000.

Assuming my inspection goes well, and also nothing coming up during a mechanical inspection, what will I need to make sure the trade goes smoothly?

I'm not an expert in buying/selling cars but I'd imagine we would sign the cars over at a notary office and then I call my insurance company and have the car added before the drive home. I'm not sure how it works trading cars out of state so if anyone has any experience doing this it would be greatly appreciated.

 

I dont think you'd have any problems, really. In most cases I don't even think you'd need a notary (specific state rules apply).
Im assuming its a straight trade with no cash involved?

If so, and you both own the cars outright, you'd just sign over the titles to each other and that's all you'd need.
You could probably print out a generic Bill of Sale form from your DMV for each of you to fill out (cost paid by the car traded)

Most insurance will cover you for a few days after buying a car automatically, but it only takes a few minutes to get it taken care of so that part may as well be done right away.

 

Yes it would be a straight trade. No cash involved.

I'm more concerned about driving the car back to my home state essentially unregistered. I think I could get away without paying NJ sales tax and drive it back to NC and go to the dmv and pay it all there. My only concern is can I drive the car without a plate and in the event I get stopped just show them the bill of sale and explain my situation?


I'd like to work all this out before hand to ensure it doesn't get impounded or something crazy. And if there's a legitimate process for temporarily registering the car to drive it across state lines I'd gladly do that too.

 

Make 2 phone calls----

One to the North Carolina Bureau of Motor Vehicles and explain what you're doing and ask them if they offer a temporary tag or if it's OK to just put the tags from the car you're trading onto the S2000 for the drive home.

The second one to the NJ Dept of Motor Vehicles and explain what you're doing----see whether they offer temp tags for this purpose.

In my experience, the DMVs are actually very helpful in situations like these--they'll tell you what you can and can't do. Then if you decide to do something they tell you you "can't do", at least you know it and can drive under the speed limit all the way home (very hard to do in an S20000!) to minimize the chances you'll be stopped.

Welcome to S2k!

Lots of great info here---look thru the "FAQs" at the top of this section and it'll give you lots of good stuff to know

 

Verify that his/her title is legit. It's pretty easy these days to create a counterfeit title.

 

My research into making out-of-state purchases indicates that you have to either stop in the local DMV, signed titled in hand, to get a temp tag, or you have to take the previous owners tags (and registration) with you and promise to mail them back. There's no other legal way. Make double sure your travel plans work around the DMV's hours of operation.

http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Vehicle/T...gistration.htm

 

I live in NC. When I checked with the NC DMV last year they indicated that they do not issue temporary plates to bring cars in from other states. NC DMV further stated that I would have to get the temp. plates from the state that I was purchasing the car in.

Another vote for getting a bill of sale [trade] to indicate the transaction. Better to have extra paperwork than not enough.

As Mr.Slowly indicated, critically important to ensure the NJ DMV will be open for you to execute the necessary paperwork.

If I may, what are you trading and what are the year and mileage of the S2K you are getting?

Just my .02. GLWT!

 

Yaupon, nothing is set in stone yet and I'm still trying to find one in my state first.

The one I'm looking at in NJ is a 2004 with 130k miles. He says its mechanically sound other than a CEL for an 02 sensor.

In his ad he stated he's selling his s2k to buy a sedan so I offered him my 2011 Civic with 72k miles that is very clean and he said he was interested.

That's the point we're at now is I have to decide if I want to drive all the way to NJ to see the car and so he can see mine and have them inspected and want not.

 

Have him drive the S to you and he can go back to NJ with the Civic.
Levi

 

Unfortunately I think he's only willing to trade if I come to him. I don't mind making the drive but I want to avoid having to rent one of those u-haul car towing things or getting a friend with a truck and trailer to help me get the car back to NC.

Ideally I'd drive up in the morning, check out be car, drive it, have a pre-purchase inspection and then sign the stuff over and drive straight home. I'd probably bring a friend anyway just because 16 hours of driving + dealing with paperwork it would be nice to have someone help me drive back. Commuting from NC to NJ isn't the issue. I'm more worried about underlying issues that I or the pre purchase inspection guy might not catch and I don't want to feel pressured into making a deal because I'm 8 hours from home.

I'll call the NC and NJ DMV and see if it's possible to get a temporary tag for driving it back.