paddlefoot64

Hmm, MA enforcement of title requirement could be construed to interfere with interstate commerce?

doclouie

Texas absolutely does have paper titles. I have lots of them for my cars and bikes.

heavysixer22

Holy crap 850tgul MA is NUTS

i couldn’t believe that temp plates aren’t allowed, so I checked out the MA DMV website:

...if you have a MA driver’s license and have a temporary plate, then that is not legal. It would be equivalent to you driving without any plate at all. Your vehicle could be impounded as a result.

Wow, that’s some BS bureaucracy!

Then later on the page they kinda dare you to try it:

Using temporary plates for car purchases by MA residents is certainly more convenient, but extremely risky.

Anyway, tough spot to be in. Explains why “title in hand” is noted on some car listings.

paddlefoot64

So using MA logic, are you allowed to occupy newly purchased house prior to recording of deed?

Khloesdad

This right here. But let me chime in. I remember way way back when you bought a car here you got a 30 paper tag. Its now a 90 day tag so yes, it may take up to 90 days. Certainly not beyond 90 days. Then you should worry. Most dealer/consigners will wait till they have multiple cars worth of title work before sending someone to the courthouse to do all the transfers. Most Courthouses have a section in the Auto tax dept strictly for dealers. Hope this helps.

TheTorch

I believe the answer is no you cannot -- pretty sure I had to wait until my lawyer called to say it was recorded.

"At closing, after all the papers have been signed and all the fees have been paid, the lender's attorney will record the Deed and Mortgage and any other title-related documents at the Registry of Deeds to finalize the closing. After the sale is "on record" the buyer can get the keys to their new home"

The temp automobile plate ban is probably another "keep the business in the state" deal.

VT Blue

Damn, that is crazy crap with MA. I stand corrected @850tgul. It's restraint of trade for consumers, IMO, though clearly the state's own dealer lobby has done a great job of keeping sales in-state...

Sorry to hear.

Bob

TheTorch

Oh Vermont has some gems too: like charging non-residents (who don't use schools, which are typically the 80-90% of town budgets) a higher property tax rate than residents, and mandatory 2.5% state tax withholding on property sales by non-residents, and a transfer tax of 1.45% on any transfer or property.

ThomasCarreraGTS

Wow, MA sucks. As for paper titles in Texas, yes Texas issues paper titles, but only if the car is bought cash or after a lien is paid off. Until then, the state maintains the title. Lots of states do this. So I’m guessing the dealer either floor planned the car or just took it on trade from a seller who had a lien. If you told me what dealer it is, I could share my insights on their credibility. But it seems like MA wants to punish you for buying out of state, because anyone else can certainly drive a car on a Texas, or other state temp tag, in MA with no problem. Sorry your government is so screwed up.

PV997

Or you could drive it and enjoy the car and not worry about it. You get pulled over you explain the situation to the cop and show him your documentation, more than likely he let you go and that's then end of it. I'm no expert on MA law but even if he's a jerk and does give you a citation I doubt it's a moving violation but a fix-it ticket.

Edit: After doing some googling I take back what I said above. There is an temp plate exception for non-residents but MA residents are screwed. Some dealers in other states say they won't even issue a temp plate for a sale to MA due to this law.

TheTorch

Having lived in both places for 20+ years (MA) and 10+ years (CA) , as we say here in California, "Yeah, no."

In MA, if you get pulled over (and if you drive an out of state tag for 8 weeks you will get pulled over) the cop WILL NOTjust let you go. That car is getting impounded, fines up the wazoo for storage for as long as they have it, possibly charged with driving an unregistered car.

PV997

Yeah, that's why I updated my comment before your post as I dug into it and realized I was wrong (I know that's pretty unusual around here). No need for snark particularly since I fixed my comment right away.

TheTorch

our posts crossed in the wires. It's a terrible rule. California makes a lot of this so much easier -- plates go with the car, automatic insurance, didn't even need temp plates until last year. I couldn't believe my first P-car purchase in CA -- was just looking and a few hours later they had my trade-in, paperwork done, followed me home to get the old title and a personal paper check, and boom I went home with a new car. So easy.

VT Blue

@TheTorch, don't even get me going about our "view" tax.

There's a reason this is called the "People's Republic of VT." We're looking at getting out...love the state, but it's not making any sense to stay.

Bob

850tgul

*UPDATE* Spoke to the dealer again and got some clarification on the title situation which has me feeling much more optimistic.

The vehicle is not on consignment, they own the car. More specifically, their bank owns the car as they utilize "floor plan" financing as ThomasCarreraGTS mentioned.

Under this financing model, they do not hold any physical titles at the dealership, the bank holds them as collateral against their line of credit. Looked it up, seems completely legit and completely common.

I was told there will still be a delay (2-3 weeks) for them to acquire the title but the wait is only between them and their bank, not them and the Texas RMV.

My initial fear was that the car was on consignment or they were still waiting for the title to come in from the previous owner and that is not the case.

I am moving forward with the PPI scheduled for tomorrow. Fingers crossed!