sslow

Hello all,
I am wondering whether it is possible to keep my current license plate with European delivery (I am in the US).
I am hoping to do a European delivery in next June (from mid to late June), and the dealer told me that I probably need to trade in my current car by mid-May. The dealer also told me that if I want to keep my current license plate, I should not cancel my insurance, and when the new car arrives, call insurance to replace the old car in my insurance policy.
First, my concern is that once I trade in my old car, this car can be registered by others, and the VIN number could be associated with other license plate / insurance policy. Could this trigger any issue? Second, to make thing more complicated, my current license plate needs to be renewed in each September, and typically I received a mail from DMV to remind me in early August. If I do European delivery in June, the dealer told me that the car will likely arrive by mid to late August. Could this timeline mess up anything?
Any previous experience is appreciated!
Thanks!

AlexCeres

This varies greatly by state. In CA, you’d keep your own vanity plates.

Sebvelez

I just did European Delivery and am waiting for my car to arrive stateside. I ended up keeping my old license plate. About a month before delivery I finalized all my paperwork, traded my car, and paid for the new car. I also changed my insurance for the new car which while not in the US had a vin already. My dealer made me sign some paperwork which would allow them to start the registration/license plate transfer about a month after delivery. So it is possible I just don’t know more specifics as the dealer took care of everything and seemed to know what they were doing with the European Delivery.

bah212

In NY when you cancel your insurance the dmv will send you a notice to turn in your plates. You can bring them to the DMV office with a request to hold them at the local office for up to a few months while you await delivery of your new car. I just did this with a prof org plate that I did not want to reapply for.

kayjh

Where I live you cancel insurance when you have the money from the sale and have the option to keep your inactive plates indefinitely. They are activated again when I register a different car if I choose to use them