96ludevtec

Don't drive the car home. Have it shipped by a truck. You're gonna put miles on the car and pay for fuel that just might cost the same amount as shipping it on a truck. I had mine shipped by truck from GA to AZ and it would have cost the same as driving it there myself, so why drive the car?

RXM9600

Bought mine two states away and the guy let me use his plates on the way home. Simply priority mailed it back to him when I got home.

SunzOut

I bought my previous car in N.C (not my S). and drove it back to AL. Went to N.C. DMV with the Bill of Sale, they issued a temp transit tag, cost less than $20. Did not have to pay any sales tax to NC. Paid AL used car tax when I registered it here.

On a long drive with a "new" used car, I'd be concerned that all the fluids are within spec, the tires are good and the car is aligned... may be better to ship it home and do proper maintenance on it before driving long distance in summer heat.

darkdream

It is only about $1000-$1200 to ship a car across country. Plane ticket + fuel + hotel is about the cost of shipping. I do not know about you but for me, even if I ignored all those expenses, just two days of my time is worth more than $1200.

Old racer

Well for me, I wouldn't be buying a car if I didn't want to drive it.

nothing like a good long drive to get to know your "new" car.

sonic9

In florida...driving an unregistered motor vehicle is a misdemeanor that you can go to jail for..not sure about california or other states...however if you just bought it and are just driving it back home..most cops wont give you a problem..you still have some that will though so i wouldnt risk it..if you are buying it from a dealer getting a temp tag is easy..if you are doing a private sale and cant get a tag in time..just have it shipped to you to avoid possibly being arrested in another state and having to return to that state for court..

maranelloboy05

Bought mine in Texas and drove it back to VA. Dealer gave me temp tags and I registered and paid tax on it when I got home, I also added it to insurance before leaving TX.

rob-2

It's pretty pathetic that a cross country road trip in a guys new car is looked down upon. Counting miles, who cares, you cannot bring it with you. Smiles per miles folks. Over the 5 years I had my S. I doubled the miles and only took a $2k hit on the sale of it.

Given the choice I'd get a temp plate and drive it home. Make a nice trip of it. Of course I'd just check all fluids/tires before venturing off.

You'll never forget it. I remember the drive home with my now sold S2000. I will probably never forget it.

cosmomiller

I took 2 days to drive it home from Phoenix to Sacramento. I will never forget it. Got to know the car, drove through spectacular scenery, went the less traveled road when I could, had the entire eastern slope of the Sierras to myself top down 70degree wx on the Sonora Pass. Unreal.

If you can spare the time, drive it cross country. It may be the same as shipping but what the heck is life all about anyway? You could do Route 66 for almost the entire 1/2 of the country and have a blast. I would make as many stops as possible to enjoy yourself. I love driving cross country, especially so in an S. (Maybe that is why I like being an airline pilot)

Get a good tire pressure gauge, a bottle of windex and microfiber towels, a nice little cooler for ice and drinks, maps and /or GPS, earplugs, hat, and you are good to go. Make sure your lug bolts are properly torqued and have not been impacted wrenched to death in case you get a flat.

Have one good whale of a time!!!


Edit, if you have proper paperwork from the sale (filled out and signed title, old registration, your own handwritten bill of sale - thats legal and I would advise making one up-its not hard-use plain language ) you can drive it to CA. If for some reason you are stopped, just tell the truth and have the paperwork (don't forget new auto insurance form you should have-call your company) Even if the cop feels like giving you a ticket for that (not speeding lets say) you can have it withdrawn upon completing registration. In fact the CA DMV website allows that any ticket for non registration be removed upon successful registration later.

I might add that it took me 9 months for the CA DMV to finish registering my S. I did not delay, had all the paperwork, passed smog, even had purchased from dealer in AZ but it just took forever. One holdup was the AZ dealer did not use a CA bill of sale (duh,its Arizona) so I had to get one, backdate it, send it to the dealer, and submit it. I mention that so you can print one and take it along for you and the seller to fill out. It may make your life easier if stopped and will make it easier when you register in CA. When you get your temp tag in CA, ask the DMV clerk for the maximum time limit so you won't have to come back in. I had to. Twice.

Gotpepsi

All of the cars I purchased I just took a risk and drove home without any tags. with my last s2000 I actually did it legally and purchased a tempory tag from the state's DMV website. I printed out the temporary tag and taped it to the window and also carried a bill of sale, title, and has proof of insurance of my phone. Needless to say, I didn't get pulled over anyways. I drove about 500 miles to get her home