I'm ready for some flames, but who cares...

Say I go buy a car from someone and then they sign the title over to me. In Maryland at least the original owner has to return their plates so when I go to pick up the car it will not have plates. Is it ok to drive to MVA without plates in order to register the car?

 

You can NOT drive anywhere without plates and also if the car is signed over to you all you need to do is go to the MVA and transfer teh title and have an inspection ticket with the title so you can get your tags. It does not matter if the old owner has returned the tags or not. That is their issue not yours. But PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE WITHOUT TAGS on the car. It is illegal and if you have not transfered the title and gotten new tags that means you also have no registration so most likely if you get pulled over you will be arrested for (no tags, no proof of ownership, etc.)

 

In the past I've driven home w/ the car and his plates on... (very carefully) As soon as I got the car registered I mailed them back to him... A bit of trust is needed so I wouldn't do it with shady people.

 

I've driven a purchased car home with a rear tag from another one of my register'd cars. I had a bill of sale and signed over title with me just in case (not that I would have been any less screwed if pulled over). Not extremely legal but sure beats a trip to the DMV and back to pick up the car an hour away. You take a risk doing anything other than the legal (PITA) way though.

 

Perhaps you guys meet at the DMV to finish the sale. That's probably the best option. Then you guys can kill two (or three) birds with one stone - title, plates, and sale.

 

Done the same.....my friend bought a car up in NJ and i just followed right behind him on the ride home so no one could possibly try to run the plate number....

 

When I purchased my beater Accord last year, the owner cancelled the insurance, but the tags were still active. She delivered the vehicle to me and I immediately insured it. Then, I took the vehicle with her tags and my insurance to the inspection station, had it inspected and went to the MVA and picked up new tags.

At MVA I needed proof of insurance, bill of sale, proof of address, title and emissions/safety inspection. Took me 30 minutes total at MVA and total time was less than a day to do it all.

Pretty sure this wasn't 100% legal, but the car was insured the whole time and was driven in her name only briefly (with her consent) on current tags.

BTW - This was in VA..

 

be careful

 

I believe in MD if the Car is registered it has to be insured..so the owner dropping insurance with the car being registered to them still isn't an option.

 

thanks for all the replies guys, if/when i get my car i think i will "borrow" the original owner's plates to drive it home. i will get the car insured the day i buy it and tell the owner not to take off the insurance until i mail him back the plates.