Bought a car, is this legal?

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Old 09-18-2007, 12:33 AM
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Default Bought a car, is this legal?

I purchased an f-body the other day with a blown headgasket on the motor. They guy owned the car for a short period of time, around 4 to 5 months. The registration on it was done back in may. Ive been thinking about it, and its really been bugging me. He refused to give me the plates. Said his supervisor told him not to? Is this legal? I planned on fixing it and transferring the title, and driving it. Now I have to buy new plates to? It really made me mad, I dont know of anyone who would sell a car but want to keep the license plates?
Old 09-18-2007, 12:44 AM
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could have been a company car and it had special plates on it that where transferable. Like dealer tags..
Old 09-18-2007, 12:52 AM
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The car had standard texas plates on it. The pics the guy showed me online had TX plates on it. He said he didnt want anything coming back to him? Idk what could come back, i mean, i bought the car, and i want to fix it and drive it, now i gotta spend more money on it, b/c the dude refused to give em up to me.
Old 09-18-2007, 12:57 AM
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im not sure but i think you can do that. Not sure though..might want to call the dmv and found out. I know you are suppose to fill out a forum and that lets texas know that you no longer own the car even if it never changes names. I know in other states you actually have to take the plates off and give them to dmv.
Old 09-18-2007, 12:59 AM
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hmm..cool. I was plannin on givin em a call tomorrow. I am pretty sure he wasnt giving them to the dmv tho, he was keeping em and chunking them.
Old 09-18-2007, 01:00 AM
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he probably didnt want to deal with the possibility of you not transferring the title a couple of months and running the toll booths. its legal you just have to pay an extra $45 when you go to register it for new plates
Old 09-18-2007, 01:05 AM
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Originally Posted by chrysler kid
he probably didnt want to deal with the possibility of you not transferring the title a couple of months and running the toll booths. its legal you just have to pay an extra $45 when you go to register it for new plates
well he needs to be more up to date on the laws. All he has to do is go the where ever and fill out a forum saying he sold the car and no longer owns it.

You might talked to the guy and tell him that and it will save you 45 dollars..
Old 09-18-2007, 01:06 AM
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Yeah, he lives about 4 hours away from me. Oh well, its not like the car will be moving anytime soon anyway.
Old 09-18-2007, 01:34 AM
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There is a form at

http://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/title-tr...ling_a_Vehicle

He fills it out and sends it in with $5 and nothing can be traced back to him after the sale.
Old 09-18-2007, 05:56 AM
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just FYI, I just did transfer title stuff on a used car a couple of months ago.

The original owner must mail that $5 form in.
You take the SIGNED title to the DMV, pay $45 title transfer, Taxes on what the DMV says is the value of the car.

New plates are FREE when you transfer title and pay the taxes. Or, you could take the oringal plates.

If I was u, i'd get NEW plates since they are free!
Old 09-18-2007, 10:15 AM
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+1 for new plates. you have no idea whats on those plates in the records... just because he fills out the form doesnt mean it gets processed right away. even though he is 4 hours from you, a cop might run those plates and think the old owner still owns the car.

if i was selling a car, i woudlnt give up my old plates. and if i was buying a car, i woudlnt accept their old plates.
Old 09-18-2007, 10:35 AM
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LOL it's called a bill of sale. It doesn't even have to be official. Hell I'll write you one:

___________(seller) has tranfered all ownership of ___________________(year, make model, VIN) to _____________(buyer) for the amount of ______________(price in bushels of hay).

X________________(seller, date)

X________________(buyer, date)

That's all. Once something like this has been signed, you cannot be held responsible for anything that happens to the car after the date it's signed, like running toll booths, or a car wreck, or a dead hooker found in the trunk. This form is for your records and your protection. You keep the form, and keep the old plates.
Old 09-18-2007, 11:05 AM
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a bill of sale in the state of texas doesn't have much weight.
Old 09-18-2007, 11:05 AM
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when you register the car your going to have to pay a good chunk of change in taxes. you should get it appraised as a roller and pay less $$ or register it as a gift and pay $10 in taxes.
Old 09-18-2007, 11:17 AM
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how much does the appraisal usually cost tho?
Old 09-18-2007, 12:07 PM
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Having bought several used cars over the last year and a half, I have NOT ONCE been given new plates. The plates have that reflective stuff on there and it is good for like 6 years. Only then are new plates issued, and only then are new plates FREE.

As for the "You dont know what kind of history is on those old plates" comment....When you transfer the title, the computer updates owners...which includes the plates. Driving records dont follow cars, they follow people.

As long as a bill of sale is issued, the State cannot go after the seller for toll road violations. Something does not sound right here.
Old 09-18-2007, 02:28 PM
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Originally Posted by DSIM
Having bought several used cars over the last year and a half, I have NOT ONCE been given new plates. The plates have that reflective stuff on there and it is good for like 6 years. Only then are new plates issued, and only then are new plates FREE.

As for the "You dont know what kind of history is on those old plates" comment....When you transfer the title, the computer updates owners...which includes the plates. Driving records dont follow cars, they follow people.

As long as a bill of sale is issued, the State cannot go after the seller for toll road violations. Something does not sound right here.

i have bought 8 cars over the past 3 years and i didnt know about the $5 form to send in for a new owner. when he registers the car in his name and they give him new plates the old plates are useless so theres no real point in keeping them unless you are just trying to save the hassle and make sure he gets the title transferred.

i know in northern states you are issued one set of plates and thats it, you transfer them from old vehicle to the new one. either way the previous owner keeping the old plates is not a big deal as long as the vin on the dash matches the title. the only other thing i could think of is someone who owns a wrecked camaro steals a new one and puts the plates from his wrecked car on the stolen one.
Old 09-18-2007, 02:34 PM
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It's probably just stolen or a crime was committed in it. Nothing to worry about. The VIN is probably scratched off too, huh?
Old 09-18-2007, 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by hawgs
It's probably just stolen or a crime was committed in it. Nothing to worry about. The VIN is probably scratched off too, huh?
lol the stolen part was running through my head, but the VIN matches up with the title, and they guy I bought it from got it from a dealership.
Old 09-18-2007, 03:17 PM
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Originally Posted by chrysler kid
when he registers the car in his name and they give him new plates the old plates are useless so theres no real point in keeping them unless you are just trying to save the hassle and make sure he gets the title transferred.

The only time I got new plates in the last 6 years was when I bought my Jeep... and thats because I didnt want to pay for those Texas Art plates that were already on it. Every other car (94 240 SX, 97 Camaro, 97 Tahoe, 02 Passat and 04 minivan) has kept the same plates. As a matter of fact, I was expecting to get new plates when I got the 97 Tahoe and thats when the lady told me about the 6 year life that plates have. The minivan I got from a dealership and STILL kept the same plates when we registered it. I just sold the Jeep to my neighbor and guess what.... SAME PLATES.



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