Ok,

I know, not really 911 technical stuff, but I really need help.

I live in Ohio and just bought a car in Mass.

I need to get temp tags to bring the car home. No idea how to get them. I assume that I need them from Mass. (like I have when I bought cars from dealers out of state)

But, I can not get a hold of the Massachusetts dmv. They will not answer thier phone.

I do not think I can get them from Ohio without title in hand. I am going to check though.

Anyone have any experience with Mass or what I need to do.

Thanks

Ed

 

I read on their DMV website that the state of Massachussetts does not issue temporary plates (how the hell are out of staters supposed to buy a car there)?

If you have plates from back home that you are planning on using, have someone overnight them to you and put them on the car.

If that isn't the case you might try obtaining a temp from your home state.

Wow what a total PITA. Good luck.

 

Temp plates usually come from the resident's home state. In TX, you can get temp plates to bring a car into the state.

Or, the seller can leave the metal plates on the car. Do MA residents keep their plates or are the plates assigned to the car (like TX)?

 

Unless you can get a temp plate(can't do it in Jersey).

Get it insured (with proof)and bring a set of your plates and registration to put on the new baby. You'll have the title with you for the trip home right? Then drive very conservatively. I have done it from NY and Pa. to Jersey.

I wouldn't let someone else use my plates these days because of ticket cameras and automated toll collection.

 

I believe you should be getting them from the state you will register the vehicle. Most will require that you register the vehicle,pay applicable taxes, and show proff of insurance.. most states require a vehicle safety insp, but in most cases that's why people are getting the temp tag.

Anyway, at least you're not in Washington DC.

The Nation's Capital is also the Capital of ClusterFuch with regard to vehicle registration, parking ticket resolution and anything else related to DMV or MVA services.. They absolutely suck while having the attitude that they are doing you a favor.

Good luck!

 

We bought a 2001 Twin Turbo in St. Louis in a deal that was facilitated through a dealer, but was a private seller transaction (confusing I know). I attempted to get temp tags from the dealer, but since they weren't actually involved in the transaction and didn't have title to the car, couldn't give me one. The GM recommended we just drive the car home sans plates,and if we got stopped show the Bill of Sale and proof of insurance to the officer and hope he was in a good mood. One of the ladies in the business office was married to a State Trooper so she called him and asked him what the risk was. He said unless we were really above the speed limit or driving recklessly he might stop us to see what was up, but if we had valid paperwork he'd let us go because he wouldn't want to get involved in all the paperwork for something that's obviously a beauracratic snafu. Sure enough, we drove from St. Louis, MO to Orlando, FL and never got a second glance from any LEO. YMMV

 

Not Massachusetts, but a recent example of an out-of-state sale:

I'm in NC and I just sold a motorcycle to a guy from Indiana.
After I scanned the title to him so he'd have the correct VIN, he procured insurance against the motorcycle, then he got a temp plate from Indiana.

He flew to NC, attached his Indiana temp plate to the bike and rode it home.

 

The last time I bought an out of state car, I just drove it home and re-registered it once the car was safe in my garage. I can't imagine your own home state not allowing you to drive the car home....really?

 

Insure the car in your name, that's a must. Just ask the owner to let your drive the car home on his plates and FedEx the plates back to him upon arrival.... If he's not cool with that, get a trailer or as others have suggested drive it home carefully.

 

It's really a question of showing proper registration in case the driver of a newly-purchased car is stopped for some reason by police. Showing proof of insurance is also a must as has been pointed out.

Most states issue a temporary non-resident plate/registration to out-of-state buyers for a nominal fee so that the buyer can legally drive the car home. Massachussets is a silly excpetion.

In this case where the buyer has already traveled to Mass and obtained the car and the title, anything other than a temp tag is not totally legal (except if the buyer was able to pre-arrange a plate or temp from his home state). Attaching plates from a different car might prevent an arrest for having no plates at all, but those plates are not really registered to the vehicle they're on, so the officer can choose to be a ***** if he wants to be.

I am in the car business and have some experience with this issue. If it were me I'd probably take a chance on a gray-area solution in this case and drive home very carefully. At least having the title and a bill of sale in my possession would be helpful if a situation arose.

 

I always let the purchaser use my tags to get home. about 75% of the time, they send them to me once home. I drove a 1976 911 Turbo from Maine to Ohio with no tags but I had a bill of sale and title laying in the passenger seat.

Congrats on the new car!