[ossiblue]

In California, here's the regulation:

(From the California DMV site)

Reclassification of Vehicle Upon Transfer

Upon change of ownership, the department reestablishes the vehicle value and determines the appropriate Vehicle License Fee based on the purchase price or current market value of the vehicle. Gifts are not exempt from the reclassification and are reclassified based on the current market value of the vehicle.

If you are not suggesting it's a gift, you need to declare a value for use tax purposes. If DMV thinks the value is too low, they will assign a value and asses the tax unless you can prove the lesser value.