Q about buying out of state and insurance

[TheYeti]

Hey everyone,

I have never bought a car before through a private party. Everything that ive purchased before has been through a dealer. I think Ive finally found a car out of state and hopefully will pick in up in 2 weeks.

My Q is, when buying a car through a private party, do all I need is the title?

Also, in regards to insurance, since the car isnt registered in Arizona, what do I do about insurance until I can get it to emissions testing and register the car in ARizona? Although I will have the title, the car wont be registered with the MVD here till MOnday (will hopefully be picking up the car on a Saturday)

 

[testorossa1989]

I will explain how it works, then explain your issue. I have a habbit of jumping around when i write large responses so just stick with me.

Traditionally over state transactions are through dealers and they issue a dealer plate aka dealer tags. They are good for 30 days. Each state is different. NY (my state) in this case does it differently. We get a 30day dealer plate from.. lets say Texas. This means your car is honored and good for 30 days in any state with just the inspection in the window from texas. When you go to the DMV to register it, they will expect the sales tax fee and will issue plates and a 10 day emission inspection sticker. You have 10 days to get inspected with your current states plates on your car. Every state is different.

(Your issue, the correct way) - Your issue is, since its private.. How will you get a dealer tag. You need to contact the local DMV in that state and see if they issue a temp plate for private sales. As far as insurance goes, you go to your current agent or company you have and say "Im buying a new car, I would like to build an INSURANCE BINDER on this vehicle". They will ask a series of questions, VIN, ect. You need to tell them when you want the effective date started. This means, you will have insurance on the car at 2pm friday of next week. Personally, i bought my car in VA and made my effective date 1am, the next day (Yes you can do it in the morning). If you are surely buying this car, call your agent and tell them you want the effective date the day before you go. Only problem is, if someone goes to see it while your traveling and crashes it god forbid, well thats on your name lol. Your big thing is getting a temperary tag. As for the title.. this is funny. Dealers usually want the title of the car in their state. This means, if its arizona they want a title of the car in the arizonas certificate. For private sale, i dont think this is such a concern but it might seem a little sketchy when you go to pick it up because if your financing the bank wants a copy of the title and if its in NJ and the cars in texas and your in arizona, your DMV is going to ask questions. Finally, when you register the car you hand them the title and they will send it to you through the mail 6 weeks later. This is where i think they will transfer the title over to your states certificate if its from somewhere else.


(Your solution, the half@ss way) NOW!!! this can all be bypassed IF you put insurance on the car, the seller hands you the ACTUAL TITLE, and you bring it to your DMV and register it before you actually pick it up. Your basically doing the process backwards. Its not illegal, just sketchy since your insuring a car, registering it, before you even see it. This is likely your easiest way to do it though.

 

[testorossa1989]

Any last minute questions/concerns? PM me and i will get back to you within 30min

 

[TheYeti]

Ok, I think I got it. I was originally thinking I would purchase the car, the seller would give me the title, contact the insurance company and let them know, drive the car back to az, get emissions testing, then register with DMV. Fortunately, I won't be financing so I can avoid that.

 

[testorossa1989]

Ok, I think I got it. I was originally thinking I would purchase the car, the seller would give me the title, contact the insurance company and let them know, drive the car back to az, get emissions testing, then register with DMV. Fortunately, I won't be financing so I can avoid that.

Correct me if im wrong. Your plan is to basically remove him from the insurance, insure it in your name and drive it home with his plates, regy, and then bring it to your dmv. Correct? If thats your plan, it might work. You should call your insurance agent and ask first. It might be an issue being its in another state and your declared residence is in arizona

 

[RDJ]

Ok, I think I got it. I was originally thinking I would purchase the car, the seller would give me the title, contact the insurance company and let them know, drive the car back to az, get emissions testing, then register with DMV. Fortunately, I won't be financing so I can avoid that.

what you say is EXACTLY how you do it.

1. If the seller has clear title to the car (no liens) then you go to him pay for the car,

2. have him fill out the back of the tiltle signing it over to you.

3. Have him fill out a bill of sale (you can get this from the internet if you need a format) make sure the VIN number of the car is on it.

4. Call your insurance agent, tell them you have purchased a vehicle give them the VIN number and whatever else they ask for. once you do that your insurance will cover you for like 30 days. ask them to fax you proof of insurance so you have it with you

5. with the title, bill of sale, and proof of insurance you should be good to drive it back to arizona. To be safe check with the DMV in the state where the car is registered and see if they issue temporary plates for out of state purchases and line it up before you go.

with two weeks you have plenty of time to get everything in order with little problem

 

[TheYeti]

Cool. Thanks all. Took me awhile to read your post RDJ. I kept getting distracted by ur avatar

 

[COBRA_ESQ]

what you say is EXACTLY how you do it.

1. If the seller has clear title to the car (no liens) then you go to him pay for the car,

2. have him fill out the back of the tiltle signing it over to you.

3. Have him fill out a bill of sale (you can get this from the internet if you need a format) make sure the VIN number of the car is on it.

4. Call your insurance agent, tell them you have purchased a vehicle give them the VIN number and whatever else they ask for. once you do that your insurance will cover you for like 30 days. ask them to fax you proof of insurance so you have it with you

5. with the title, bill of sale, and proof of insurance you should be good to drive it back to arizona. To be safe check with the DMV in the state where the car is registered and see if they issue temporary plates for out of state purchases and line it up before you go.

with two weeks you have plenty of time to get everything in order with little problem

Been their done that

I agree with all but number 5. You need plates to drive it.

The sell will/should not let you drive it home on his plates. I provided the VIN to my insurance company before I bought the car to get coverage. I too am in New York and they will not issue temporary tags in this situation, but the sellers state would. I met the seller at his house and drove together in the car to the DMV in his state (Connecticut). They issued a temporary registration to me, we swapped his plates for my temporary plates and I drove him home. If the seller's state did not issue temporary plates I would have been SOL and would have had to have the car shipped, or return to NY with the title but no car to register it in NY and then return to the seller with my NY plates.

Check both your state and the sellers state's DMV. Hopefully one will issue temp tags.

 

[TheYeti]

sounds good. will do. havent heard from the seller yet so hopefully it doesnt fall through.

 

[wvmystichrome]

When I bought my Cobra new in 2004 I called the insurance company. They suggested I put insurance on the car right then in case anything happened in the mean time. I had already signed a purchase agreement but we had not exchanged money. Once I got the car home, 30 days later, I took it to the local DMV and got the paperwork done and got plates and was ready to go. Our DMV here in WV can give you a temp tag that is good for 30 - 60 days since I was getting a personalized plate. Otherwise I would have received a regular plate before I left.

I would suggest the seller give you a hand written bill of sale. Also have him sign it in front of a witness who will also sign it as such. Just for your protection.

Enjoy your car when you get it.