lehtola

I'm trying to nail down the purchase of a car that is in NJ. I'm in NC and would need to drive the car back here. How in the heck can I do that? The owner wants to keep the tags in NJ. I was thinking I could "test" drive it back here and send him back his plates but he doesn't feel comfortable doing that. I can not find anything on the NJ DMV web site and the number is forever busy.

Perry 951

Temp tags are only issued after the purchase of a vehicle. I don't know what the problem would be with driving on his tags, unless you did something very stupid.

Type up an affidavit that has all the info on you and the seller, what your exact plan is for the drive, amount of deposit, and have 2 copies stamped by a notary public. This makes it a legal document, and gives you and the seller both some protection.

lehtola

I found the NJ DMV answer to my question but golly...this is going to be drawn out. I'm thinking I'm just going to give up on this one. I'm going to tell the guy if he wants to sell it he needs to figure out a way for me to buy it and get it down here. I don't see a problem with driving it down with his plate and sending them back to him. If I go through the NJ DMV and the seller, there is no way I can get it down over the week-end.

Tom R.

i see a problem with using a plate. in NY one cannot cancel the insurance without surrendering the plates. that means you are driving my car until you return the plates. that means if you decide to drive like an *** and seriously injure someone, i get sued. if you kill yourself in the car, your family sues me for letting an idiot like you drive my car.

my former roommates younger brother sued his mother and collected the full policy because she let his older brother drive the car (younger brother was the passenger) in what was a one car accident that killed the older brother.

as a homeowner with a lot more to loose than the sale of a crappy car I wouldn't let you drive my car without me in it, let alone across a few states.

try having the car shipped if you are so hot for the car, or take two trips, one with the NC plates in your hand.

lehtola

I'll just trailer it.

Tom R.

probably not much more to have it shipped. the trucks run from the NY/NJ area to fla regularly, maybe you can hitch a ride with one of those.

lehtola

$200 vs. $1,200.

Tom R.

they only charge about 700 from ny to fla

lehtola

Who is that charges that? I'd like to see what it would cost me because I'm midway from NYC to Miami.

Dave

NJ is the same as far as insurance is concerned, the only temps I've ever seen can only be issued by dealers. You could always do the tranaction by wire transfer/fedex and have your own plates when you come for it.

Tom R.

do a search, i posted a bunch of names a month or so back of fancy places that advertise in sports car market.

lehtola

Not sure how the transaction would work wiring/fedexing. I'd be afraid the guy would run off with my money. Any input?

Mark Parker

Dunno about NC, but in KY I wouldn't be able to get a plate until I've let the county sheriff actually do an inspection of the car (to check for proper VIN and such). So that would leave out one option. I hate it when the plate stays with the individual. Indiana's that way, but the boy I bought mine from had an "extra" plate from some previous vehicle, so I hung it on and drove home. It was only @ 20 miles. I think some of this should be standardized.

JDeitz951

I bought a 951 in SC last summer and drove it home to NJ. Here's how my deal worked.

I won the bid on Ebay and after talking to the owner and deciding he was a stand up guy, I sent a $500 cashiers check deposit, which he said I could have back if I didn't like it, no hard feelings. I called SCDMV and they said I could get temp tags (weekdays), but I didn't need them after all. I then called my insurance company and give htem the VIN and the anticipated purchase date, and they faxed me an endorsement for the car. I also called my bank's branch in SC and they said I could withdraw the balance from my account down there.

I flew down on Airtran to Savannah ($99) and the owner picked me up and brought me to his home in SC. The car was great and we drove over to my bank branch and got him his money (cash) and signed the papers. He thought I would be in line for hours a the DMV (same as NJ), but as long as I had paid for the insurance, he just cancelled his insurance but left his tags on the car until I got back to NJ, all legal and no risk to him.

The car was still legally insured (by me), still legally registered to him, but legally owned by me. No need to trust anyone except for me to mail the tags back. Which I did not do, ha-ha, that SUCKER! Not really, just kidding.

A car is a pretty expensive purchase. If you can't trust each other to be stand up guys, why even deal with each other.