anotherlimey

I know this process will vary slightly between States (I'm in Florida). But all advice will be appreciated!

I'll be buying a new car soon and selling my current car privately. But I'm not sure what to do with the license plate and registration?

I've checked the Florida DMV website and the process seems to go something like:

1) Buy new car
2) Dealer "registers" vehicle with State under my old license plate
3) Transfer license plate to new car
4) Leave old car in a driveway (because it's no longer registered)
5) Sell old car whenever
6) New owner registers the old car ASAP

Do I really just swap the plate to the new car?

Has anyone done this before?

Englishtart

We bought a new car last week, the trade in had registration due to expire at the end of March, I still had the new sticker, but hadn't put it on. The dealer swapped the plates, registered the new one and just stuck the new sticker on the old plates on the new car

Confused yet?

anotherlimey

So you put the old plate on the new car?

Maybe I'll just ask the dealer when I go.

penguinsix

I just sold my car in Maryland (via Carmax, which actually gave me a good price) and they gave me the plates at the end and told me to mail them in or drop them at a DMV. If I was to buy a new car they would have issued new temp tags for the new car. The plates would not have carried over.

However, insurance often does carry over when you get a new car. I think in some places you have 7-30 days before you have to notify the insurance company that you have bought a new car and the old coverage protects the new one.

Again, like everything here, it depends on your state.

osgood

yep,swap your plate off old car for your new car...you need a title to sell your old car......

Englishtart

Yep, that's what they did, we also called our ins' company from their office to stop it on the trade in and start it on the new one, the dealership needed proof of ins' to finish the paperwork.

Unfortunately, neither hubby nor I had the ins' card with us that day, he had emptied the trade in ready to get rid of it and forgot to put the paperwork back in it

although he did manage to forget the 'travel angel' hanging from the mirror, that has kept me safe in cars for over ten years!

S Folinsky

Out of idle curiosity: are you talking about personalized plates? Then there would be a reason to change the plates. That is the only instance where on a intrastate sale where the plates would be changed, no? I've bought and sold many cars over the years and never had the plates changed. I know that it is especially prized if an older car still has the original license plates thereon -- a 1967 Stingray with the original black California plates is worth more than if it had the newer blue or white reflectorized plates.

Moonshadow_Girl

Ditto what Mr. Folinsky said... I wonder if switching of the plates is a common occurence in other states. Granted, I've never owned a personalized license plate, but here in California, the plate generally stays with the vehicle unless it is a personalized plate. Fascinating...

When I've bought/sold private cars, I just head down to my friendly, neighborhood AAA office. Gotta love AAA and their DMV access!

anotherlimey

Not personalized plates, no.

From what I gather the registration is tied to the owner, not the car: http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/buying_selling.html

So when I buy a new car I'm supposed to put the old plate on the new car, and keep the old car off the road until it's sold because it's no longer registered. When the old car is sold, the new owner goes to a local tax office to get it registered.

I assume the dealer registers the new car with the old license plate. Maybe I've got registration and license plate mixed up

Bob

In MA, yes...in ME, kind of, privately that's what you do, but if you buy from a dealer you get a temp plate till you've registered the plate with the car and then you stick it on.

Bob

When you register the plate in ME/MA, the plate is registered to you, not the car, so you take it with you and only give it back to the state if you move out of the state or get a vanity plate.

Englishtart

What you are being told is exactly what happened to us last week, we have actually had the same plates on three different cars now. The dealer registered our new car for us, with old plates.

When we traded in a car in Oklahoma, we were handed the old plates to put on the new car ourselves, the new one had a temporary sticker for registration in the back window.

S Folinsky

The Florida site does not say the "plate" -- it says the "tag." I just updated the tag on one of the cars just yesterday [California reregistration goes on a rolling basis. The car purchased in March 2004 gets a new tag every March, the one in August gets a new tag in August. The other car was "pre-owned" and still has the original plates].

Possession of the "pink slip" [which haven't been pink in years] is evidence of title. So when you sell the car, assuming there is no loan on it, you sign over the pink and the new owner is supposed to go to DMV within 10 days and re-register the car. As a way of protection, the pink usually has a bill of sale tear-off which the buyer signs and the seller, for her own protection, notifies the DMV of the sale.

California law will not all registration by an alien who cannot show lawful status in the US. So for the older cars, there is a market for cars which show 10 or 11 months left on the tags -- it increases the price that can be fetched for the car! The seller is WELL advised to notify the DMV of the sale. When parking tickets are unpaid, the State pays them and places a lien on the vehicle.

anotherlimey

Mmm, Florida tags are applied to the license plate but they aren't easy to get off. And if I could get the tag off I'd have nowhere to put it because the new car would have a paper license-plate until a real one came through.

I'm pretty sure we just move the plate. But I'll ask the dealer just to make sure.

I own the car and have the title in-hand.

Bob

And in ME/MA, if you buy a car, doesn't matter if there's still valid inspection or registration tag, it's voided on sale and you've got to get new ones.