We are buying a car from a friend in Maryland. We will then drive it back to New Jersey to register it. However, our friend will keep his license plates. Then how do we drive it back to New Jersey without plates?
ETA: This is the first car we’ve have ever bought. We’ve been carless since 2006.
Make a sign that says “JUST BOUGHT” with the date of sale and tape it up inside the rear window. And of course carry the paperwork (title, bill of sale, whatever) with you.
Have your friend send you the paperwork he has for the registration. Do the title transfer in your state, get new plates or a temporary registration, go to Maryland, drive car home. Incidentally, a lot of people aren’t aware they can do the registration stuff at their local AAA office. Not having to wait in a DMV line is worth the cost of an autoclub membership alone.
I’m not sure I understand the sequence of events here. I can register the car in NJ without a title in my hand? I mean the title is with the car in Maryland. What is my friend supposed to send me exactly?
The AAA advice is golden!
I won’t get pulled over for this?
Possibly, but the officer will let you go, his job is to arrest people committing crimes, not commerce. Many people drive with temp registration in their windows when they purchase a new car. There should be a Time interval where you have to register the car, 10 days or something like that.
You would be ill-advised to follow the advice above regarding putting a handwritten sign in the window. Most states consider any vehicle driven on a roadway without tags (and insurance) to be in violation of the law, regardless of commerce or when you bought the vehicle.
Some states will issue a “Vehicle in Transit” permit, or you can get a New Jersey temporary tag that is good for 20 days. You have get that in person, and need a bit of paperwork- should be able to find that information online.
-JR
I believe the advice is to get the title and any other necessary paperwork from your friend , register the car in NJ and then go pick up the car. That’s the way I’ve handled every private transfer- the recipient gets the paperwork, and the plates and then picks up the car. Yes, it takes longer, but you can’t drive without plates ,and
My advice would be to call your DMV and the DMV for the state that you’re buying the car in. They will have the information that you need, and you’ll want to do it before you start signing any paperwork- this will make it much easier on you.
You can probably get the title signed over to you and a temp tag in Maryland, then you’ll need to get your perm plates in New Jersey. You’ll want to pick out an insurance company before you buy the car, talk to an agent, and get a quote. Ask the agent about what you need to do to make sure you’re covered until the paperwork goes through.
Just call the DMV, and before you buy the vehicle. Each state is different, and you’ll need to know the quirks of both the states involved. I’ve also found that a lot of people who claim to know how to do a car transfer don’t- at least here in Ohio. (For instance, a counter-signed Car Title, properly filled out on the back of the form, is not a negotiatable document in Ohio until a Notary notorizes both your and their signatures. Which means that the guy with the cool car for sale on Craigslist who doesn’t have a title with his name on the front of it might as well not have a title…)
Best advice yet. I used to buy & sell used cars in the Western states. No two had exactly the same rules and each multi-state transaction had subtle ways to go wrong.
It’s not hard, but it’s a lot easier to avoid mistakes than to correct them.
Folks who’ve lived in one state their whole lives would be amazed to learn how many different ways there are to handle vehicle transfers. So their one-state advice, while well-intentioned, is so wrong as to be laughable.
I know exactly zero about MD & NJ. So my only advice is to scour their vehicle registration agency websites and call or visit in person if you still have questions. Yes, it’s a PITA.
As to insurance, get a company & quote first. When you pick up the car, call your agent & have him/her turn on the insurance & fax you proof. *Then *drive the car out of the previous owner’s driveway. Not before.
+1 Good advice