Experienced car purchasers
#16
Rennlist Member
Very hard to drive civilized on some of those roads on the way back though!
#17
Rennlist Member
I did the reverse of you a while back, lived in NY and bought a car in CT. If it were me, I'd take a license plate from any other car I own and drive it back with that, just drive responsibly and make sure you have insured the car. In the rare case that you get pulled over for some reason as long as you have all the documentation that you just purchased the car and are driving it back home to register, the police will not have any problem with it. As mentioned above there is a grace period allowed, as long as you show proof that you're "on your way" to register it.
Last edited by Rhern213; 02-20-2023 at 03:38 PM.
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Graufuchs (02-20-2023)
#18
Rennlist Member
Man, amazing how forward thinking Wisconsin is. I flew to Tennessee last year, bought the car, drove to my hotel and did the title transfer online. Drove around the TN, NC mountains for 3 days in my fully legal and insured car. Drove home, put the title in the mail to the Wisc DMV and had a new title in my hand in less than a week. Ahhh, fly over country. I love it.
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SeanPatrick31 (02-20-2023)
#19
I bought my C4S from WA's craig's list. The seller was kind enough to take the car to Tacoma Porsche for PPI as per my request first. He paid for the PPI first with understanding that if it didn't pass, he'd stuck with the bill, but if it passes, I'd reimburse him for it.
PPI passed with flying color as it should for having just 14K miles. I then booked my flight to WA from CA, he came to pick me up at the airport, driving straight to B of A, bought the cashier's check to pay him, and drop him off at the nearest train stop.
I then drove straight to my insurance's office (AAA insurance in Tacoma) so they can inspect the car and issue me a proof of insurance. The old WA plate was on the car the whole time so I had insurance, and a WA license plate (peace of mind) on my drive home to CA. The next day, I was back at the AAA's office closest to my home to register the car. They took my registration fee, sales tax, and the old WA plate from the car before issuing new CA plates to me.
My Ebay purchase experience was a lot easier but riskier. I won an auction on Ebay for a BMW 318Ti, and wired the seller the $ right away. The seller drove the car to the transportation location for me, and 2 weeks later, I picked the car up here in CA. The car was awful, it was full of dog hair and barf inside, corroded hood, with bad catalytic converter, and looked dog tired. The steering wheel was 2 o'clock-crooked. The pictures and the description on Ebay was obviously heavily sugar-coated. I bit the bullet, had the body shop fix the corrosions, I replaced most of the suspension parts and cleaned the car. I've been daily driving it for 16 years now and just passed smog.
PPI passed with flying color as it should for having just 14K miles. I then booked my flight to WA from CA, he came to pick me up at the airport, driving straight to B of A, bought the cashier's check to pay him, and drop him off at the nearest train stop.
I then drove straight to my insurance's office (AAA insurance in Tacoma) so they can inspect the car and issue me a proof of insurance. The old WA plate was on the car the whole time so I had insurance, and a WA license plate (peace of mind) on my drive home to CA. The next day, I was back at the AAA's office closest to my home to register the car. They took my registration fee, sales tax, and the old WA plate from the car before issuing new CA plates to me.
My Ebay purchase experience was a lot easier but riskier. I won an auction on Ebay for a BMW 318Ti, and wired the seller the $ right away. The seller drove the car to the transportation location for me, and 2 weeks later, I picked the car up here in CA. The car was awful, it was full of dog hair and barf inside, corroded hood, with bad catalytic converter, and looked dog tired. The steering wheel was 2 o'clock-crooked. The pictures and the description on Ebay was obviously heavily sugar-coated. I bit the bullet, had the body shop fix the corrosions, I replaced most of the suspension parts and cleaned the car. I've been daily driving it for 16 years now and just passed smog.
Last edited by speedracerf4i; 02-20-2023 at 06:15 PM.