Can this be done? California buyer, Mass 911

[Chris Lovell]

Sorry for a possible off topic post...

Can a California resident buy a car from a Mass private seller and drive the 911 across the country? My brother is looking at getting a 911 from a Massachusetts seller and driving to San Jose. For a registration, the Calif registry says he needs a Mass. policman to fill out a "validation of vehicle" form. Is this right? Are there any other bureaucratic issues which need to be handled?

Thanks.

[Jack Olsen]

Generally speaking, the DMV-equivalent in the seller's state can give you temporary tags for the trip. When I picked my car up in Indiana, I just drove it without taking any steps. Oddly, when I got my first speeding ticket in Illinois, this wasn't a problem at all. I paid cash to the ticketing officer (what's up with that, Illinois?) and was on my way.

[ubiquity0]

Originally posted by JackOlsen
I paid cash to the ticketing officer (what's up with that, Illinois?) and was on my way.

He was on the way to the pub & needed some beer money

[juanbenae]

i wonder if illinois residents can do the "pay the nice policemen on the spot" deal, or it had to do with you being from out of state?

[adamred]

When I bought my car from a guy in Illinois, we traded $$ for title via fed ex. I took title to NJ DMV, paid the reg fee and taxes, got plates, flew to Illinois and put plates on the car and drove it home....

NJ gives you 30 days to get it inspected by the smog police, so I was within regulations. Not sure of course about the California rules..

Adam

[jpachard]

Yes, But if you are in MA and need to get a car here they won't issue temp tags or plate. When I bought a car in Oregon I got the run around from the MA DMV. Finally ended up having to get the previous owner to keep the plates on so I could drive it home.

James

[steve911]

Chris--
If you haven't, check out the CA DMV site - they have a surprising wealth of information with respect to buying and registering an out of state vehicle.

CA DMV website

One timing issue of note - you must apply for California registration and pay all registration and license fees within 20 days of your purchase (copied directly from the website above).

[cegerer]

I bought my Cayenne out-State and was told by the Michigan DMV that it was legal to drive it home without license plates. As long as I had a "proof of purchase" and a title.

[techweenie]

Have a truck bring the 911 out here.

It's about $1000. The cost of airfare, lodging and road food adds up to less, but you probably want to do a fair amount of maintenance on any used car before needing to rely on it for 3-4 straight days of driving.

YMMV

[FLAT6FAN]

Illinois must be comparable to Mexico. The officers allow you to pay tickets on the side of the road. The only thing different is that the fine is usually open to bargaining.

[84porsche]

I bought my old car from Massachusetts. The PO had the title so I submitted that to the DMV when the vehicle came into California. They give you 20 days from when the vehicle enters the state to register it. I also had to mail the Mass plates back so the PO could return them to the DMV.

[Jim Richards]

Originally posted by JackOlsen
Generally speaking, the DMV-equivalent in the seller's state can give you temporary tags for the trip.

When I bought the 73E (PA car), I got a temp tag from VA so I could drive it home. Did it over the internet in a few minutes...printed it out on my home printer. It was cheap, easy and no hassles, unless you're caught speeding on the way home.

[84porsche]

How likely is it for a Porsche driver to be caught speeding especially on his way home?

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by Chris Lovell
Sorry for a possible off topic post...

Can a California resident buy a car from a Mass private seller and drive the 911 across the country? My brother is looking at getting a 911 from a Massachusetts seller and driving to San Jose. For a registration, the Calif registry says he needs a Mass. policman to fill out a "validation of vehicle" form. Is this right? Are there any other bureaucratic issues which need to be handled?

Thanks.

Egzellent! We will add your brother to the Collective! Bhuaaa ha haa!
-Chris

[98GTW]

Originally posted by adamred
When I bought my car from a guy in Illinois, we traded $$ for title via fed ex. I took title to NJ DMV, paid the reg fee and taxes, got plates, flew to Illinois and put plates on the car and drove it home....

Adam

I did essentially the same thing between FL (where the car was when I bought it) and NY (where I drove it to). Only hitch is that it was repainted from brown

to green


before I drove it home. My title and registration are still wrong.
One of these days I'm gonna hafta look into fixing that.....