I'm going through this right now....buying a car in PA and getting it to CT.

Your bank will send the money to the sellers bank. Once payoff is met the bank will release the title to either you, your bank, or the seller (depends on bank). You will need to take the title to your NY DMV and get temp tags to drive the car back. This could be different from state to state but this is what I'm dealing with right now. Hope this helps...

 

It's about a 6 hour drive from where I am to where the seller is. If I wait to take the title back to the DMV, that means I'll have to travel to MD twice, which is what I'm trying to avoid. Big PITA.

Thanks for the answer though.

Does anyone know if there is a way to get temp. tags from Maryland just to bring the car home? I have no problem just parking it in the garage until I get the title.

 

1> ask him to leave the plates on the car, drive slow back home
or
2> have him drive the car to you

 

Can't you go to the NY MVA and get a 10 temp transit tag with proof of insurance on the vehicle?

 

What's not legal about driving it home on his plates? I drove home from Texas and from Utah on the existing plates. I had insurance all set up already. I transfered the cars when I got to Minnesota.

 

He said there's something about MD law that doesn't allow someone else to use the plates. I need to find out about the NY temp tags on Tuesday when I can call the DMV.

If worse comes to worse I can drive my current car down there, take the front plate off of it, and put it on the new car. Then drive both cars back on the same plate right behind each other. Hopefully when I get pulled over the officer would understand the situation as long as I have insurance and a bill of sale.

 

the guy Can let you drive the car w/his plates on it, reg'd to him. Sounds like he doesn't want to do that. I had to do 2 trips to Rye, NY to buy my Elise from NH. So far that has been the biggest pita in my history with the car.

 

the guy Can let you drive the car w/his plates on it, reg'd to him. Sounds like he doesn't want to do that.r.

He doesn't feel comfortable with that, unfortunately.

 

so he isn't comfortable with you driving home in the plates but you're comfortable with not having the title going back home? Interesting trade. If you don't get stopped on the way back, its a non issue. You could even mail the plates to him if its that big a deal.

 

You would have the signed title with a lien registered on the paper given to the buyer, then you get a separate piece of paper, the lien release, from the bank after the loan is paid.

What is strange about protecting yourself from liability? Photo cameras, accidents, etc. would be the responsibility of the registered owner of the license plate. What if you don't get your plates back? In MD you have to maintain insurance for outstanding plates and you are required to turn them in when you sell the car. I believe in MD there are 10 day tags for MD residents to transport a car in this situation. I would think most states have these transit/inspection tags, but I am not sure about NY.

 

Theres nothing strange about protecting yourself from liability. There's a certain amount of trust in a deal where you don't get the title right away (my opinion) so I'd think it possible to negotiate that trust both ways. And if thats too big of a risk, 6hr really isn't THAT far if you want to get the deal done.

 

I can understand the seller not wanting you to drive home on his plats as his insurance would be responsible for any problems you got into. You may just need to make two trips - on the first trip you buy the car and come home with the title. The car stays in the sellers driveway with your insurance until you return a week later with your own plates to pick it up. There could be a catch-22 as some states require an inspection on a car bought from out of state before it can be registered which would stop you from getting plates before you bring it home. The other options are to borrow/rent a trailer to bring it home or pay the seller to deliver it.

 

There could be a catch-22 as some states require an inspection on a car bought from out of state before it can be registered which would stop you from getting plates before you bring it home. The other options are to borrow/rent a trailer to bring it home or pay the seller to deliver it.

The catch 22 is generally a myth, the way it worked here is that you get 30 day plates,cardboard temps (can get these w/ bill of sale) you drive home with those, then get your real plates after title changes hands and the car gets inspected.

 

When I bought a car in MD (MD makes you turn in your plates), I provided the seller with proof of insurance on the car (state law holds the driver responsible first in most cases) and drove back on his plates and then registered it when I got home and then FedExed the plates back.

There is no way to get temp plates in NY or MD unless you are a dealer. Arizona used to have this deal where you could get for $10 a temp 48 hour plate just for asking and it did not matter where you were, but I think they stopped.

 

If it were me, I'd hire a transport (car transported in a truck by insured & licensed professionals). It's been my experience that I can get a 500 mile transport across CA for ~$250 if I shop around, so I'd expect a 300-350 mile transport from MD to NY to be less. If you consider the cost of depreciation, maintenance, and insurance while driving + the value of your time, you come out ahead from a financial perspective.

 

If you consider the cost of depreciation, maintenance, and insurance while driving + the value of your time, you come out ahead from a financial perspective.

Then possibly you're better off not driving your garage queen at all. 6 hour drive, we're talking not even 400 miles tops? Anyone buying one of these worrying about the mileage depreciation is buying for the wrong reasons (go buy a fcar instead). Now TIME wise, you may have a point.

 

Putting the car on a trailer will be my last resort. Half the fun of buying this thing is driving it home for the first time!

Although it's a valid point, I could care less about mileage (325 miles, probably won't actually take a full 6 hours), "depreciation," or insurance.

I'll be on the phone with both DMVs most of the day tomorrow, and finalizing my insurance. Hopefully I'll get this figured out so I can have a fun weekend!

Thanks for all the answers so far, I would appreciate as many ideas/comments as possible.

 

Hi,

I am the head of the LOONYs. Lotus Owners of NY. We are all from the Buffalo and Rochester and upper NY area. I hope you join the LOONYs when you get your car.

But more to the point of your question. I dont believe that there is a way to do what you want to do with temp plates. Neither state has them. One way is to send the guy the money and trust him to send you the title, but that is putting a lot of trust into someone you dont know.

What I can do for you is to offer the guy this. And before I tell you what it is, let me say first that I do this all the time and can offer lots of references for both your seller and you. I act as a broker for mostly Caterhams and Sevens, but also other Lotus cars. Usually this is between 2 people that dont know each other and have agreed to do the deal. I normally charge $500 up to 20K, $750 to 30K and $1000 to 40K and $1500 over that. I have done numberous deals over the years and am very well known in the Caterham, Lotus worlds.

What people do is have the buyer send the money to me. I then hold the money in escrow until the car is picked up by commercial transport. Then I release the money to the seller via a check overnighted. That way everyone is protected.

What we could do here is that you send the money to me, I hold it unitil you receive the title and the car is insured. (or until you pick up the car, whatever you and your seller agree on.) Then I release the money to the seller. I would do this for $300 as you hopefully will become a LOONY. Once you have a title, you can get your insurance and plates and fly down.

I dont mean to me mercinary here, but this is what I do and have spent a lifetime building up a repuation that allows me to do it.

If you or your buyer dont want to do this, no hard feelings. I hope you still become a LOONY and join us on Sunday breakfasts.

Edit, wait a minute, my way will not work unless the guy can get the lein released in advance. You will need a letter from his bank saying the lein is satisfied to get the NY title. Seems like the only way is to fly down with the money. Go to his bank and do the deal there so you make sure you get the lein release. Then fedx your license, the paperwork prefilled out by you and signed to someone in NY to register the car for you. Stay the two nights while they thet get the overnight the plates an paper work back to you.

You could also give a friendly dealer, $500 to buy the car for you (you then buy it from him, only problem is in NY he has to warranty the car for like 6 months under state law) and then you fly down and drive it back on his plate. The problem with doing the transport thing, is that you are going to have to go to his bank to make sure you get the release. There is no way to guraantee that is the day the car will be picked up by commercial transport. A trailer my be your only way.

 

Hi Tony, we spoke on NAM/email before Christmas. I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not 100% comfortable with that. And he wouldn't be able to get the lien released until Monday when I wire him the money.

I've been reading a lot on other forums about driving the car without plates just for the way back. I'll probably get pulled over A LOT, but as long as I have all the proper paperwork (title, bill of sale, proof of insurance...), I should be fine. Anybody have experience with this?

I could also trailer the car myself, but that's another thousand bucks I don't feel like spending.

 

I understand . I was hoping that with years of positive results and referrals from poeple that I have done this for before you would feel comfortable. I do this as a business. But I understand.

Knowing the world as I do, unless you can get some 3rd party verification of who this person is, from another Lotus guy, or if he has a business, from people that do business with him and that he acutally owns the car and will get the lien removed, I do have a problem with sending money to an unknown person for a car. Crap happens. Happens all the time. Why are you wiring the money to him? Pay for the car with a bank check when you get there at the place where the lein is being held and dont walk out of there until you have the signed title, bill of sale and the lein release.

I believe it is against the law to drive an unregistered car in both PA and NY. I would throw a plate on the car anyways. Stay at the speed limit. I would have to check EXACTLY what laws i would be breaking ie driving an unregistered car without a plate, or driving a car with the wrong plate and see which is worse and what the fine is. And what would happan if you get into an accident on the way home? Make sure you insurance company knows you are doing this as they might invalidate a claim if you were breaking the law at the time of the accident.

Just my input.

 

well said. if the seller wouldn't give me his plates, I'd borrow a set from a friend and drive back at the speed limit. 'Crap happens' is the reason I bought one that didn't have a lein.

 

OP: I'm in MD and when I purchased my Elise from a dealer in NC. We did everthing through snail mail and had another dealer in NC do a pre-purchase inspection (~$200). I used uShip.com to get quotes and checked that the carrier had current insurance & bond. I paid ~$360 to have it shipped and the carrier delivered it the next day and I highly recommend them. I'll post if anyone is interested.

I suggest that you get a dealer (Criswell of MD is no longer a dealer, but still works on Loti) or Lotus shop to do a pre-purchase inspection. VIN + CarFax, AutoCheck etal is more data points, but not 100%.

One possible solution; have the seller take out a loan for the lien balance and payoff the original loan. When they receive the sale funds from you they can payoff the new loan. Unconventional, but may be feasible.

I live in Columbia, MD, what city does the seller live?

 

Talking to a friend that really knows the car business and who I trust, he tells me that it is the same law being broken whether you drive without a plate or drive with a plate from another car. You will get a fine.

So the chance of being stopped is less with a plate on the car. Put a plate on the car.

Where is the lein from? A local place or out of town. My friend says that some will not give you a lein release on the spot anyways. So you will have to trust someone at some point.

As far a wiring is concerned. The nice thing about doing a wire transfer is that in the event of theft, it is a federal crime. Investigated by the FBI. Not too many people want to mess around with that.

I would still do it in person.

 

Something else...If he will do it, give changeling a couple hundred bucks or ofer to pay for a nice dinner to do the deal for you. Send him the check, he can have the guy drive the car to him. Have him do the deal and send you the docs. See if he will keep the car at his place for a few days till you get down there.

I have done that for guys lots of times. this is what the Lotus group is all about.

 

I will be with him in person when I wire him the money, from my bank to his bank. I'm not buying the car without seeing it and test driving it first. I might just end up trailering it, who knows. I haven't been able to get a hold of a single DMV all day, this whole process is getting very frustrating!

 

You need to de-frustrate yourself. Call Hagerty (or someone else) and set up the insurance. Drive it home on the seller's plates. If the seller desperately needs the plates back, FedEx them later.

If you decide to not buy the car, call Hagerty and cancel the insurance.

 

Dont waste you time calling the NY DMV. There is nothing they can do for you and after reading the posts, probably not MD as well.

 

@Tvacc: Thanks for the suggestion, but I'd do it at no cost. I help people with both technical & people problems. People problems are no charge, but I request that "repayment" be in the form of helping someone else gratis.

 

Have you talked to your bank about this? Typically, if you are taking a loan on a vehicle, they do not want the title released to you. They want it sent directly to them from the other party's bank.

The advantage of that is that they deal directly with the other bank, and you don't have to worry about not getting the title that day. They work it out between themselves.

Until the previous owner's bank loses the title 3 times........

 

I actually found another car at a dealer and put a deposit on it. This will make the whole process a lot easier.

Officially de-frustrated.

Thanks for all of your help guys!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am in PA, and I have bought and sold alot of cars and even more motorcycles. Seldom have I ever gotten "legal" plates to drive the car home. But I always do a bill of sale saying that I take full responsibility for the car once it leaves the sellers residence, and even more important if I am selling a vehicle and the buyer wants to drive it home "not legal" then again I do a bill of sale saying they take full responsibility for the vehicle once it leaves my property. Then both of us sign it, print name and full address, and date it. And if possible copy their drivers license but only if they will let you. I know when im buying something that I will be very tame driving it home, but you never know when some wack job is gonna buy your fast car and decide to find out how fast it is on the way home and total it, or heaven for bid kill someone. Usually if im going to drive it home illegally and the buyer is hesitant, my bill of sale, plus the fact that I always pay in cash usually sways their mind to just let me do it. I think they think that "whats worse? Someone taking the car I've been trying to sell for a while and wrecking it on the way home, if I say no this guy might change his mind and not buy it or risking someone else who could buy it wanting to pay me with a personal check that could bounce. I think in the end cash talks everytime.

And I agree fully with whoever said, driving the car home for the first time is half the fun of buying it. Even my wife loves going with me when I buy a new car or project car, because I seldom buy a car locally and its like a mini vacation picking it up.