Fly in drive home license question

[da Vinci Dan]

I am purchasing a 911 from a private party in GA and will be driving home to PA. As it is a cash deal, I’ll have the title, bill of sale etc... PA DMV is reguiring a MV-1 form (which I have) and says I’ll need an “in transit” tag from GA for the trip home.

PRoblem: Multiple searches on the GA DMV site have been fruitless and phone calls have been unanswered/ not returned, or on hold forever with “please visit the website” response.

Anybody know how to get the proper documentation for this situation so I can legally drive back to PA?

[jferrante]

I would just show up to the DMV with the title and insurance once the deal is done. They will have the forms and you will be on your way.

[matthewb0051]

I looked around the internet and it appears that GA does not issue temp tags for transit purposes. Everything I found indicated that accepted practice is to carry bill of sale, title, and insurance and that law enforcement will not issue a citation if stopped.

I would call a Porsche dealer and ask if they could issue a plate, even if for a fee.

[juanbenae]

I would think unless you were doing twice the speed limit or something else MW like the sales docs would likely be all you needed. I drove my jeep around, granted in state for 3 weeks after purchase with copies of the signed over title, bill of sale and insurance docs from my insurer for another vehicle in my fleet to show I was in fact insured.

is this a problem in the south & east coast areas? like out of state plated cars are more likely to get harassed by 50?

[tirwin]

I think Matthew is correct.

Although, would the PO just allow you to keep the old plate on the car until you get home? I think the are some rare circumstances where a plate can be transferred to another vehicle but this is not normally the case, so there isn’t a lot of reason to keep it. If you committed ran through a red light with a camera the PO would have a bill of sale to contest the ticket so I can’t think of much harm that could come from leaving the tag on the car. That would allow you to drive home without being hassled. If he is really attached to it maybe you could mail it back once you get home.

I occasionally see people with sketchy “tag applied for” signs taped to their rear window. I always wonder if they ever get pulled over.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

I would think unless you were doing twice the speed limit or something else MW like the sales docs would likely be all you needed. I drove my jeep around, granted in state for 3 weeks after purchase with copies of the signed over title, bill of sale and insurance docs from my insurer for another vehicle in my fleet to show I was in fact insured.

is this a problem in the south & east coast areas? like out of state plated cars are more likely to get harassed by 50?

I could see a car with NO plates being pulled over pretty quickly in metro Atlanta area, especially a vintage car. Cop would likely suspect it was stolen.

[kc911s]

If it was me, I would pay for it and have any and all ownership documents in a envelope and start heading north. If pulled over explain what is going on, show insurance and documents and hope for the best. That's just how I have done it in the past. Is it the right way? Maybe maybe not. Worst case you get a ticket.

[jpnovak]

If seller is reasonable ask to borrow plate for trip home and then mail back. I have done this before on both sides with no issues.

in TX the plate transfers with the car. You fill out a form that states "you have sold the car, transferred and its the buyer's responsibility now" and off you go.

Call your state. They may have a transfer paper plate that you can get ahead of time. Each state is different. Do your homework. Pick up the phone and call DMV to ask the question. They are usually helpful if you approach the right way.

[hank911]

If you have the title, BOS, et, why not register it and bring your new legal plates?

Some states do not issue transit tags. So unless Pa requires you to have a "vin" check or something like that, just register it and bring legal plates.

Or, just ship it

[boyt911sc]

I would visit PennDOT Office and make inquiries. If I were you, I would use one of my car tags that is registered and use it. Make sure you have the deed of sale, title, and insurance coverage for the 911 by your insurance company and drive home safely.

Or request the PO owner to allow you to use the plate/tag driving back home and put this in writing to protect the PO from any liability. Good luck.

Tony

[Matt Monson]

Colorado doesn’t issue transit tags unless you walk into a DMV. But it is generally not required as a bill of sale serves as a defacto registration for 36 hours. And if the transaction happens on a weekend the 36 hours doesn’t start until Monday at 12:01.

If you can’t find details about such things on the GA dmv website I would chance it and just drive it. Title, bos, and poi should be fine to drive home.

[LUFTKUL]

I've always promised previous owner I would send the plate back to them as soon as I arrived at my destination. Easy to do and avoids being hassled on the way home.

[sixbanger]

I just put another tag on and go.No problems yet. Just don't speed.

[blucille]

I’m with jpnovak, and I’ve done it many times including a car I purchased from a reasonable seller in GA and drove back to NJ. It’s a long drive thru many states....and the troopers working the interstate will run all the plates of cars around them. If they run the plates you put on the new car, from you DD Camry or whatever, they will assume the car is stolen or other funky business and it will be a mess to untangle

I vote you use the sellers plate, or get all the documents over to DMV and register this car before you head out.

[steely]

I drove mine from Huntsville, AL to PA- and just registered it (in Jenkintown) when I got home.
Did the same with one from CO. (using sellers plate which I mailed back)

I wouldn't call Pendot, but talk to Frank Van's (or any auto tag place).
They know the ins and outs better than the state folks.

[al lkosmal]

In Washington State you can get a "Trip Permit" that is a temporary vehicle permit for unlicensed vehicles and is good for 3 days. $30.
You might call the Department of licensing for GA and/or PA to see if they offer this type of permit.

regards,
al

[OsoMoore]

I picked up a car in NC and drove it home to WI. I talked to the Wisconsin DMV and they handed me a "Transfer of license plate" form. I filled it out indicating I was going to transfer my current car's plates to the Porsche, and brought the plates on the plane with me.

If I got pulled over, I was supposed to show the transfer form to the cop to show the plates were mine. Then when I got back to WI, I applied for new plates and tore up the old form.

Long story short: bring your old plates and have proof that the car is newly yours. Don't drive like an idiot and you should be fine. DO call your insurance company to let them know ahead of time.

[gazzerr]

I did the exact opposite trip. I went to a PennDOT agent with the PO, title, bill of sale and proof of insurance and got a temporary 30 day paper tag that I drove the car back to ATL on. I didn't feel comfortable driving across state lines on the interstate without some kind of tag. Once I got back home I just went straight to GADOT and registered it. I saw lots of state patrol and they never bothered me.

[Jim Richards]

I bought my 964 garage queen in the Chicago 'burbs and the seller let me use the plates to get home (DC at that time). A day or two after getting home, I got DC plates on the car and I shipped the seller's plates back to him. YMMV

[usera]

I just bought a car from CT, I may have thrown a tag I had laying around the garage and drove back to PA. Its not like you are uninsured or really breaking any big laws.