M758

Can't you do this...

Get VIN number...
Cal your insurance to tell them you are getting a new car and will be bringing it in state.
Get a Temp registration in your state for the car. All you need to VIN #

In Az we can get these on-line for $3 fee

Go to car location
Transfer Money / Sigend Title
Affix temp tags and drive home. If a cop pulls you over show the temp tag from your new state, signed title, proof of insurance on other cars (has policy number & your name on it). You should be good to go as nearly all insurance Co give you 1-2 days bring home a new car.

When you get back home take Title to DMV for new registration and plates.

FWIW No bill of sale is needed in Az for a private sale. They don't care or ask.

PorscheDoc

Actually there is a 30 day grace period with insurance for newly aquired vehicles, granted you already have insurance on a vehicle with your insurance company. That is, if you get the title, sign it, and drive it home, your insurance will cover you for a reasonable time. Some state patrol may hassel you for driving without a temp tag, even if you have the title in hand, so you may want to get one, they are usually 5 bucks or so. The exact length of grace period may vary from state to state.

Yabo

switch plates from a vehicle that you have registered and insured. You can drive the car home with that and the signed bill of sale (with date showing that it's within 3 days or something.

seb928s

Hmm what did you buy and what car do you have. If it's the same thing almost like 84 944 and an 86 944 then drive on those plates. If different just get temp tags for cheap and drive. Also you can drive on the old owners plates and mail them back. Your insurance is enough for the new car you have the grace period before you have to have it insured.

Dave

Laws vary from state to state, from what I've seen NJ is one of the biggest PITA in the nation. You can't get a temp in NJ unless you get it from a dealer, NJMVS will give you plates on the spot so there's no need for a temp. If you want to use plates from another car, do so at your own risk, I had a friend who lost his license for 6 months for driving home 4 blocks imediately after the purchase with plates that weren't registered to the car they were attached to. Insurance is a grey area, just a policy number is enough for a temp. plate (only available with purchase from a dealer) but you have 1 business day to get the vehicle listed on the policy. You will need an insurance card to get plates at NJMVS, along with a title and a bill of sale. NJ does have a blank bill of sale form on the back of the title but other states might not and a hand written bill of sale is enough to make the state happy as long as it includes the purchase price and signatures of the buyer and the seller as listed on the title.
Don't bother going to MVS without a title, a car without a title in NJ is called a "parts car" and there is NO way to get a new title.
Best bet is to make the deal, exchange the paperwork, deal with MVS and the ins co, and then go get the car. Sure a lot of people bend the rules, but IIRC you're young enough to be a good target for law enforcement, why push your luck?
BTW, insurance companies are usually happy with just the VIN, they know you can't get plates without getting insurance first. I just had to do this today (new DD over the weekend) and all they wanted was the make/model/year/VIN.

Granite 944

I don't know about putting plates from a different car on this, and then driving home on it........sounds very illegal to me.

Unless the seller wants to keep the existing plates that are on the car, leave em on. Call your insurance company, TELL them your buying another vehicle, and you need it insured long enough to get it home, and give them the VIN. Transfer title/registration when ya get home. Make sure ya have a signed and dated bill of sale on ya while coming home though, with your insurance companies contact number with you.

If he's keeping the plates, make the appointment with the seller, go to the local DMV with the seller, he signs title over, you give him money, fill out bill of sale, and then get temporary plates to get home on. Sounds good to me anyway! You could also send him a small deposit, or use an escrow company, if there is a time or delay problem.

v944god

Well looks like I might use the plates off my RX-7, and the owner might let me use the insurance for the day until I get back.

TheMAXX

What you are suggesting is called misuse of plates and can be very serious and very expensive. It’s not worth taking a chance on getting caught.

The laws vary a lot from state to state. Call up you department of motor vehicles and tell them that you are purchasing a car from (insert name of state here) and ask them how you need to do this.

Getting temporary plates from the sellers state sounds like the most logical suggestion. Call up the DMV in the sellers state and ask them how you go about getting a temporary reg. Your other choice is to tow it with all 4 wheels off the ground otherwise it must be registered.

v944god

Well, as long as I have the insurance, and title in hand I think I will be fine for 1 1/2 hours, dont you think?

x15jq

Na, i got my car on a friday. I had dealer plates, and the day i got it i got pulled over with the plates. They towed the turbo back to my house, i was only a mile away too. I was insured but not registered. A big waste of time in my book. If your gonna get the car, just wait and get plates legit. Its not worth the headache man, I had to go to court and everything.

Plus, if anything, i would be getting your own insurance, i wouldnt trust his policy with your plates, becasue that totally doesnt match up. no registration is alot less severe than no insurance in nj. No insurance in NJ is a 1 year manditory license suspension, no reg is ticketable or impound depending on the police officer. I got lucky and they towed it back to my house.

The best choice ur making is getting black, i wish i did not have red because of the attention it gets from teh authorities.

Macnut 944

Seems as if every state has different laws on this. Here in Indiana, there is a place on the reverse side of the title for both buyer and seller to print and sign their names, as well as a location for the selling price. Notarization is not required. You have 30 days to transfer your existing plate to the new vehicle. Temporary tags are only available from a dealer. Here, we simply contact the insurance co. with the VIN to inform them of the new purchase, they provide coverage under a "binder", or if you aren't keeping your old vehicle, you can transfer the insurance (you do have a grace period which covers you while the transfer of ownership is pending so you don't have to contact them immediately), you put the tags from your old vehicle onto the new (assuming you are transferring them). You must carry the old registration and signed title with you while driving the new vehicle until you go to the BMV and apply for a new title for the vehicle and transfer your tags. If the vehicle is from out of state, either the police have to inspect the vehicle VIN plate and title and verify matching numbers/no tampering, or if you drive the vehicle to the BMV, they can check it there. When I brought my 944 home from Ohio, I towed it on a dolly. We left the owners old plate on it (he didn't need it), and I had the signed title in my pocket. In most states, any towed vehicle (trailer, etc.) is covered by the towing vehicle's insurance. It might be best to make some calls to either the state police or the DMV in both your state and the state where the car is, to find out just what the laws are.

steve g

When you purchase the car - you and the private seller can simply create a hand written bill of sale that you both sign. All that document needs to say is that 'you' - the buyer - is buying suchandsuch car (describe the car and write down the VIN number) from 'him' - the seller - for $xxx dollars. I have always used the term - 'as - is' to describe the terms of the purchase in the bill of sale too. Both of you should sign 2 copies of the document so you both have proof of the transaction.
The title is an officially state issued document. The seller must sign and date the title that he currently has, showing that you have bought the vehicle from him. Some titles have a space for selling price of the vehicle. Sometimes people leave that blank when selling a car. The price on the title should be the same as the price on the bill of sale.
When you buy the car from the seller - he must give you the original state issued title document. Check the title document carefully and make sure that the VIN numbers match the car. From my experience - you will have to turn in the PA title to the NJ DMV in order to get a NJ title.
I do not know if NJ requires temporary registration if you are buying a car out of state - you would be wise to check with DMV.
Do not use the other guys plates since you have no registration in your name with those plates.
When I lived in NJ, a few years ago, when I bought a new car, my insurance agent simply needed a VIN number in order to give me a legal insurance coverage card.
You might also ask your agent what would be the implications of buying a car with a salvage title, if that is your plan, that I read from your other posting. If you are getting full collision coverage for full value - the insurance company may balk at reimbursing you if a serious accident actually occurred.
Other than that - good luck and remember there really are a lot of nice 944 Turbo cars out there - don't make a hasty emotional decision that you might regret someday - IMHO.

Dave

That's because it is illegal! At least it is in NJ.
Also, once his plates come off NJ won't consider his insurance valid, even if he were driving. With anyone but the PO driving you can expect to be charged with: Driving without insurance (mandatory suspension and 3 years of fines), ficticious plates (posible suspension and moderate fines), operating an unregistered vehicle (posible suspension and moderate fines), uninspected vehicle (small fine). You can expect the car to be impounded (99.9% chance), it will not be released until it is insured, titled, registered and you have plated, you will be charged a HUGE towing fee plus storage. It's just not worth it. like I said, I had a friend a few years back who did this, he lived in Clark NJ and tried driving home 4 blocks with plates from his other car, he ended up with 6 months of walking.

MachSchnell

There's NO reason you can't get insurance, even in NJ, without a title. Imagine if an insurance company actually maintained this policy - nobody who financed a car would be able to get insurance (because the finance company will insist on holding title 95% of th time), which is actually required to finance a car! Call your insurance co, get insurance binder faxed to a kinkos or something, call the state you're buying it from and see if THEY can provide a temp tag, and if none of that works, find out what the hell NJ is thinking only providing temp tags through dealers, and what the heck they suggest as a solution (state workers, I would't expect too much, but maybe they actually have an answer)