Buying in VA driving to OH
Buying in VA driving to OH Anyone in VA or near VA? Trying to figure out what I would need as far as plates to buy a car in VA and drive it back to OH. I know I'll have to have it inspected and pay OH sales tax and all that garbage once I get it back. Would like to make sure I'm legal for the lengthy drive back to OH. There is always a chance I could get picked up in the new LS1 
Southwest Virginia.. somewhat near Bristol. I'm not going to actually be keeping the car in Virginia so I wouldn't think I should get regular Virginia plates. I was wondering if there was any kind of like temporary transport tag? I know some states have that where you would buy a transport tag for say 15 -20 bucks and you would be legal to drive it from point A to point B. Then license it when you get to where you are going to be keeping the car.
I bought my Z in MD. I had to get a Trip Permit that allowed me to drive the car unregistered for 3 days. I think it cost like $5 or something. Then i just took a tag off my other vehicle to stick on the back. Talk to your DMV in the state in which you plan on registering in.
I actually got pulled over 10 mins away from my house. Cop asked what the plate belonged to and i told him my truck and showed it's registration and then showed him the trip permit. He understood i just purchased the vehicle and let me go. He really just wanted to check the car out i think as he gave me a compliment and told me to have a good night.
I actually got pulled over 10 mins away from my house. Cop asked what the plate belonged to and i told him my truck and showed it's registration and then showed him the trip permit. He understood i just purchased the vehicle and let me go. He really just wanted to check the car out i think as he gave me a compliment and told me to have a good night.
yeah i would think you would need to talk to your local DMV. I bought mine from MD from a private seller and he just left his tags on there and i mailed them back to him when i got home. For my truck i got from a used car dealer and just had temp tags.
I bought a car in Louisiana and drove it back to Virginia with no tags what so ever and only a sign in the back window that said intransit. Never got stopped by any cop and I passed plenty of them on the 17 hour trip.
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Verdad Gallardo Thanks for all the great info everyone! I think transporting the car is going to end up being the easier part of this whole thing lol. Would be so much easier if there was one of these closer to me 
After talking to just about everyone under the sun today... no one really seems to know the best way for me to cover my *** buying a car out of state, with a loan on it through an out of state bank 
The best info I could gather so far is to pay the guy who owns it with a cashier's check or something and then do a bill of sale with all the info necessary and have it signed by both of us and notarized. He bought the car through a dealer who got him financed through an out of state bank so no branches anywhere close to him to go "pay off" the car. He will have to mail or wire transfer the funds to the bank to pay off the car, wait for the title, and then sign it and mail it to me. Neither of us really knows how this whole bit works but then again neither does anyone at the bank or DMV ha.
I really don't think I'm going to get screwed by the guy, but does anyone know if the bill of sale would be enough to get a new title if I had to? This assuming the worst that I take the car and he blows the cash and never pays off the loan or gets the title? I'd like to think they would accept the bill of sale and issue me a new title in my state if something shady like that happened and I could prove it. As long as i'm covered mostly in the worst case scenario I'm cool with doing it that way. Thanks again for all the help! I just want the damn car LOL
After talking to just about everyone under the sun today... no one really seems to know the best way for me to cover my *** buying a car out of state, with a loan on it through an out of state bank The best info I could gather so far is to pay the guy who owns it with a cashier's check or something and then do a bill of sale with all the info necessary and have it signed by both of us and notarized. He bought the car through a dealer who got him financed through an out of state bank so no branches anywhere close to him to go "pay off" the car. He will have to mail or wire transfer the funds to the bank to pay off the car, wait for the title, and then sign it and mail it to me. Neither of us really knows how this whole bit works but then again neither does anyone at the bank or DMV ha.
I really don't think I'm going to get screwed by the guy, but does anyone know if the bill of sale would be enough to get a new title if I had to? This assuming the worst that I take the car and he blows the cash and never pays off the loan or gets the title? I'd like to think they would accept the bill of sale and issue me a new title in my state if something shady like that happened and I could prove it. As long as i'm covered mostly in the worst case scenario I'm cool with doing it that way. Thanks again for all the help! I just want the damn car LOL
Teching In
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
A few points. First, transporting the car from Virginia does not require Virginia's permission, but the state you're registering the car in. Ohio's DMV should issue you a temporary transit tag/registration good for a short period of time, allowing you to transport the vehicle back into your home state.
DO NOT put fictitious tags on the vehicle you're transporting. While most cops will let you off, you're much better driving without a plate and having a bill of sale, then you are getting pulled over with a fictitious plate. A license plate registered to a 2003 Corolla will not look good when you're in a '99 Trans Am. Typically the fines for fictitious plates are more expensive than the fine for no registration. If you take care of the transit tag listed above, you'll be covered and not need to worry about this section.
Lastly I don't like the situation with an out of state bank. If he were to sell you the car without giving you the title, and he did not pay off the loan, the company with a lien against the current title could still have the vehicle repossessed. The courts would see the bill of sale as proof, but it would need to be brought up in a civil suit. Your newly purchased car could be repossessed and you would need to pursue the seller legally which could take a long time. If you have a garage and don't mind it sitting for a little while, I'd suggest buying the car and parking it in the garage until you receive the old title in the mail. The DMV will not issue you a new title without the old title properly signed over.
Good luck.
DO NOT put fictitious tags on the vehicle you're transporting. While most cops will let you off, you're much better driving without a plate and having a bill of sale, then you are getting pulled over with a fictitious plate. A license plate registered to a 2003 Corolla will not look good when you're in a '99 Trans Am. Typically the fines for fictitious plates are more expensive than the fine for no registration. If you take care of the transit tag listed above, you'll be covered and not need to worry about this section.
Lastly I don't like the situation with an out of state bank. If he were to sell you the car without giving you the title, and he did not pay off the loan, the company with a lien against the current title could still have the vehicle repossessed. The courts would see the bill of sale as proof, but it would need to be brought up in a civil suit. Your newly purchased car could be repossessed and you would need to pursue the seller legally which could take a long time. If you have a garage and don't mind it sitting for a little while, I'd suggest buying the car and parking it in the garage until you receive the old title in the mail. The DMV will not issue you a new title without the old title properly signed over.
Good luck.
Launching!
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 205
Likes: 10
From: Newville, PA
Just drive the car without a tag. As long as you carry the bill of sale with you, you shouldn't have any issues. I picked up a car down around DC and brought it back to PA without plates. Probably had 20 cops pass me and not one of them did anything.
Sent them a bank certified tracable check for only the payoff of the car. Once the car was paid off and the title was returned to me, I sent him the rest of the money. In my case it was a 50/50 split and to lose half the money instead of all of it was a risk I was willing to take for the deal that I was getting.
You could try something like that.
Thanks for the advice everyone! Got the car back to OH on Thursday night. I got everything worked out pretty well. Only thing left is the title transfer so I'll have to sit on the car for a week or so while the bank processes the closing of the loan and sends the title. Was mostly able to work everything out over the phone thankfully. His loan was with the same bank here that I bank with so that made it slightly easier. Can't wait to start driving it! Didn't want to garage it after the drive home!
