Tips on Buying Cars: buying out of state - how to, state buyer, state dmv

Question
hi,
I'm interested in buying a car froma private party in NY.  I live in MA.  Can I use my existing MA plate to drive the car home before I get a new registration?  If not, what do I need to do?

Answer
Hi,

This is a very good question; unfortunately, I can't answer it for you because of individual state laws.

As you know, state laws vary considerably, and I don't know what the specific laws are in MA or NY. In Texas, where I live, when selling to an out of state buyer, you sign over the registration using a TX Department of Transportation form. The registration rights and responsibilities are then transferred to the buyer, and they use the existing plates to drive to their state. MA may have a similar requirement.

Here's a website I found on Google that has links to individual state DMV's that will help you research your question further.

http://www.dmv.org/

Good luck!


Regard,


Ron