# Selling NY car to CA buyers ... many process questions

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-ny-car-to-ca-buyers-many-process-questions/1021660>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 3, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-ny-car-to-ca-buyers-many-process-questions/1021660 "2025-08-03T14:12:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-ny-car-to-ca-buyers-many-process-questions/1021660/21 "2025-08-14T04:09:41Z")

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You’re required to surrender the plates even if you and the vehicle move out of state [Moving to or from New York State | NY DMV](https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/moving-to-or-from-new-york-state) There’s a form you fill out and you can mail the plates back.

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**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-ny-car-to-ca-buyers-many-process-questions/1021660/22 "2025-08-14T13:10:33Z")

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What insurance company was this? Usually they break themselves down into state versions which are independent of each other. State Farm for one.

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**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-ny-car-to-ca-buyers-many-process-questions/1021660/23 "2025-08-14T13:14:21Z")

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Thank you Doreen. I knew this was a thing. I wasn’t aware that any insurance company provided coverage that transcended state borders. Nor did I think this was legal.

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**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-ny-car-to-ca-buyers-many-process-questions/1021660/24 "2025-08-14T14:14:08Z")

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When I was relocating to Kansas 30+ years ago, I bought a car in Virginia on Thursday, drove to Kansas over the next two days on 30-day plates (used to be cardboard plates the dealer affixed, don’t know if they are still a thing) and temporary insurance issued at the dealership, registered the car in Kansas on Monday and 6 years later when I moved to Georgia I couldn’t get a license because Virginia said I owed tens of thousands in fines for having a vehicle without insurance. I knew nothing about this. Apparently when I ignored the renewal notices from the scummy insurance company in Virginia they reported the cancellation to Virginia DMV. The dealer also canceled the application for Virginia plates. But as far as Virginia was concerned I had a car with expired registration and no insurance.

Apparently I needed to do something upon registering my car in Kansas. Had to hire a Virginia lawyer to sort it out very quickly. Because I couldn’t drive in Georgia on my Missouri license.

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