Got a question about car transfer

[DammitJanet]

Ok, slowly things are coming together on my Dad's belongings. I am heading to Richmond on Friday to see about the money and some of my dads trinkets, the tools, old books or pictures, and Pat asked if I wanted to bring the truck home with me. I said sure. That would be a great way to bring the tools home.

However, I got to thinking because she said something about how I would have to do the whole title transfer and stuff that Friday...well...that is a problem. They live in VA. I live in NC. I can throw insurance on the truck that day without a problem because all I have to do is call my insurance company because its a national company but...I cant get to my county license plate agency to tag the car until I ...well...get to them with the title on Monday!

Just how on earth do I drive the truck home from VA without tags? My theory would be to leave his current tags on the truck and just mail them back to her. I know those tags arent getting turned back in because they are vanity plates and I know my step-sister's husband wants one of them and if Pat doesnt want the other one, I want one. (In VA, they have both front and back plates)

I know we will get the title signed on Friday by Pat over to me. If I can get a paper of some sort giving me permission to drive from DMV, that would be great but I dont know if they do that. Anyone know? If it was a dealer I could get 30 day tags.

 

[susiestar]

The 30 day tags are not just for dealers. You can pay for 30 day tags at the tag agency and this is likely what you will have to do. We had to do that when we bought a car from a private seller in OH and again when we moved to OK. I know my cousins in VA and NY state have also done this because I can remember talking about it. Often you get the 30 day tags if you get the car out of state or if you get it from a private seller because not every state has the tags stay with the car when it sells (some do). Also if they don't have the actual metal tags or you want vanity plates there can be a waiting period to get them and you get the paper tags then too.

I hope things go well with your stepmom. I know this will be hard for all of you. (((((hugs)))))

 

[DammitJanet]

So do I go to the DMV here in my state and tell them I need a set or do I go to VA and ask for a set...I dont think my state will give me a set until I can bring them a title to show I actually have a title that I am bringing a car down. Will VA actually give me a set if no one wants to turn in his plates?

What we have always done before is just leave the tags on the car we have bought and it is double insured until I get it to my house and then mail the tags back to the owner. That is always the easiest way. I mean really, until I do the transfer of title at my DMV, it is still legally their car. And I cant just jump down and cross over into the closest county in NC and change the title...we have to register our cars in the county in which we reside.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Janet,

Personally - If it were me, I would just call and get insurance, get the title signed by Pat, and just drive the truck with your dad's plates back to NC. Just wait until you get back to NC and go to the DMV there and pick up your new plates. That way you don't have bother with an additional DMV visit in VA (I hate going to the DMV!). I don't think an officer is going to ticket anyone who is properly insured with a valid license because they have the old tags on a truck their dad left them when he passed.....

Honestly, just roll with old tags.

Sharon

P.S. You can always stop at my house for a cup of coffee on the way out or in town!!!!

 

[susiestar]

Sharon is right. My option was if your stepmom didn't want to let you take the tags. If she won't let you mail them back then you can get the paper tags at the DMV so you don't have to pay for a year of registration in her state and in your own. As long as the car is registered with up to date tags there shouldn't be a problem. If the tags are expired it will probably be cheaper to get the paper tags than to pay the ticket for not having them in-date, Know what I mean??

 

[KTMom91]

In CA, you have ten days to register a change in ownership. I'd get the truck home with whatever is currently on it, and change it out then.

 

[HaoZi]

Most (if not all) states have a grace period for change of ownership. As long as you have the paperwork showing the change of ownership in the truck and the date of change or sale is within that grace period, you should be okay.

Call your local DMV office and ask them about the situation. One thing I've seen people do to get around some things is write out a bill of sale for the vehicle and list it as sold for $1 to get around the "gift" status that tacks on extra taxes/fees.

http://www.dmv.org/nc-north-carolina/title-transfers.php#Inheriting_a_Vehicle (inheritance)

http://www.dmv.org/nc-north-carolina/title-transfers.php#Buying_a_Vehicle (transfer to family)

 

[donna723]

In Virginia, do the tags stay with the car or with the owner? If they stay with the owner, you could always just drive the car home with the VA tags, get your own NC tags, then send the VA tag back to your stepmom. She wouldn't need it back right away unless she was planning to immediately transfer it to another vehicle. If the tags stay with the car, it would still be perfectly legal for you to drive it home with the VA tag, then get your own tag. You have a certain amount of time to get another tag for it. Here, you must replace an out of state tag with a local one if you are employed or if you have children enrolled in school.

 

[HaoZi]

The VA site said the tags need to be turned in so the taxes don't continue on the vehicle, so Janet would mail them back.

 

[DammitJanet]

Yeah the tags should be turned in but I am sure that they will be reported as "missing" because these are vanity plates and no one wants to turn them in. He has had them for at least the last 25 years or more and they say USSVIN which stands for the ship he was on in WWII. Pat also has vanity plates which are hysterical...CPATFLY. LOL.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

I've had vanity plates in virginia in the past and I've never had to turn them in! If you don't renew, the plates are not valid.

Get the title signed over by Pat and drive the truck home with the va plates. Go to the DMV in NC, transfer title and get new plates. That will take care of the tax issue. Taxes on a vehicle stop the minute the vehicle is recorded in another name.

And don't forget about the coffee!

Sharon

 

[KTMom91]

If you want to keep the plates active without putting them on another vehicle, you might be able to pay a yearly fee just to keep them active. I have vanity plates, and CA allows you to keep them as long as you pay to keep them active. It used to be $10/year, but I'm sure it's more than that now.

 

[Shari]

I have always taken plates from another vehicle I own and if there's a question, I tell them I am transferring the plates to the vehicle I just purchased. Always keep the paperwork on you til you have valid plates, tho.

I have found that, while there is a grace period to get plates on a vehicle, having no plates screams PULL ME OVER!!!!!

 

[DDD]

I hope your trip goes well. It will be a relief to finish off the transfer of personal property I'm sure. Hugs. DDD

 

[DammitJanet]

I dont have any other valid tags to take with me. Guess I could borrow a set from Cory...lmao. Or one of his friends...wouldnt that be a kick in the pants. I wouldnt take a chance on those though.

Either I will bring Dad's tags with me if she lets me or I will stick a cardboard tag on the car...sort of a missing tag like so many do. I doubt anyone will actually notice if I do the cardboard tag.

I called my insurance company and they told me as long as I am insured there isnt a problem. I do have a grace period to get it titled and tagged. I have to get it down to NC, get it inspected and go to DMV.

On the tag issue...I have an old car in my yard that we drove before I got my new car. Its a 94 Escort. We bought it for 400 bucks. It came with no back bumper. Somehow on a trip up to Jamie's our rear plate fell off. Most likely, someone stole it at a truck stop or something because I know it was there when we left. Anyway, we get up to Jamie's place and we dont notice it until Tony and Jamie are going on base to do something. A MP pulls them over and his priceless words were "Do you know you dont have a bumper?" Well gosh no! Thieves are bad up there! Duh.

 

[donna723]

I don't know how it works in other places but here you can get in big trouble and end up in court for having a tag on your car that is not registered to that car! Our little weekly newspaper lists all the court activity and there's a pretty hefty fine for doing this if they catch you. If she would let you drive home on the VA plates that are on it now, you could overnight them back to her the very next day and then get your own tags.