Ok so a quick summary, I am buying a car in Mississippi and plan on driving it back to New York. I am having trouble finding a way to legally transport this through other states. I called the NYS DMV and the Mississippi tax collections(they deal with licensing and titles)

NYS said, we only offer temp plates for cars traveling within NY or outside(not coming in to)

Mississippi said, all you need is a bill of sale and you can drive around without plates for 7 days legally. They only sell temporary tags to dealers.

I just would not feel safe traveling with no temp plates at all and doubt other states would care about how Mississippi does things.


My only thoughts right now is see if i can get temp plates from Tennessee(where my brother lives), or if the seller is willing to risk me driving home with his plates and mailing them back.

 

what would chuck norris do?

 

I sure as hell wouldn't allow that. Bring your own plates off a different car, and drive the speed limit.

 

I'm sure if you keep a copy of the title/bill of sale with you in the car, proving you JUST purchased it; you won't have anything to worry about. Just make sure you have an updated insurance card.

I'd be more wary of using plates off of another car, should you get pulled over. They'll run them and find out they aren't on the correct vehicle, and you'll risk a more severe penalty than if you didn't even have them in the first place.

 

Yea.....I just bought a car in state....but it was titled in a different state. While I didnt have the issue you do (as my car was in state) its tough playing by multiple states rules.

When i bought mine i just had bill of sale and insurance, no plate. After the fact i realized i SHOULD have applied for a 3 day registration, but...didnt!

I really dont think unless the officer is having a bad day he will give you much hell about it if you have supporting documents and just tell him you are trying to get the thing home.

 

i didn't do any research/planning at all when i bought (bad decision in hindsight). anyway, i drove home with the original owner's plates! haha. and i did get pulled over, in my home state like right after i crossed the border. good thing i had all the paper work...they checked it for awhile and told me they had to make sure i didn't steal it (i think they were also wondering why someone who looked so young was driving one of these fancy new ferraris).

 

just have the bill of sale with you. If you want to feel safe, tape a copy in your rear window so the cops can see it. Its legal to drive it home, but make sure it is ibsured when you drive it.

 

. Dont make this a bigger deal than it is. Youre not breaking the law (unless youre speeding of course)

 

thanks, I decided to drive it back with a sign stating "tags pending" and with the notarized bill of sale and insurance. I would think you would get in more trouble for using plates to a different vehicle, maybe if this was 30 years back and they did not share databases.

 

well she is home, with no hassle