how to move my car from TX to NC

Ok, I'm looking at buying a car in TX, it runs and drives fine, so i im thinking drive it home...

Anyone got ideas on how to do that legaly? I wont have the title till i get there soo...

What do?

What would be NOT legal about it in the first place? You can drive a car with any state's (current) plates/stickers through any other state, full faith and credit yadda yadda yadda, and there's no law i know of saying any car you drive has to be titled in your name.

As far as i know, all you need to do is get the vin number and get the vehicle insured on your policy, and then show up and take it anywhere in USA you felt like going. Let freedom ring.

I think every state has methods in place to make this possible. You can get a 10-day ticket to get out of Dodge. Call one or both of the DMVs involved and ask.

Plates stay with the car in Texas so that is not an issue as long as it's legally registered when you buy it. You have 30 days to transfer them.

I've become a big fan of the auto tranport business. Rates are typically $0.50-0.60 per mile, so a quick mapquest will show you the cost estimate. Now calculate what it will cost you to get there, fuel, food, hotel, etc, and then the amount of time it will take. Hey, I'm all for a road trip and adventure and will still do it when it makes sense, but with time getting to be more precious as I get older, this becomes viable.

what glueguy said .....

don't know about Texas, but in NC when you sell the car the plates MUST be turned in ... you could probably go to NC DMV with the vin and get some sort of temp. tag to bring it home ( I'm guessing here .... all the cars I've ever bought have been in state ) ... but a call to DMV should answer all your questions

Cut the deal, seller sends you a Title and Bill of Sale, register it in NC. Fly to Texas with NC plates and paperwork in your carry-on; drive home.

Bring a date, take all back roads, it'll be fun.

Well, i thought of doing the last bit, but it requires me to send a large amount of money to someone who seems nice, but i dont know... I was going to transport but decided aginst for this reason... Said paypal he didnt have paypal, didnt seem interested in acquiring it... mentioned western union. for me it threw a red flag, maybe im being over careful? Are there other safe ways of sending money like that?

Other bit is, so he didnt ever reg/title the vehicle in his name, its in the po name signed open... so more.than likely no tags and recent reg... Any trouble.from this? I know in nc we have notary...

glueguy wrote: but with time getting to be more precious as I get older

All the more reason to use that time to take a roadtrip adventure. Life is short and time is precious. Fill your days with memories of sitting in an office or whatever or have some great memories of cross country adventures.

I loves me a roadtrip ;)

Texas does have a 5 day non-renewable transit pass. It is free but is limited to one per vin.

The transit permit is valid in Texas, but it is one-way, one-trip, and I have no idea if it is valid in other states. You can also get a temporary registration. That is not free and requires you to file insurance paperwork prior to receiving your registration.

Any questions let me know. I can go into detail on your Texas options.

Where in TEXAS is it. I don't think I can help but I may. Im in El Paso it is only ??? 900 miles from the other end of Texas. My wife is going to SC next Month.

Its in rowlett, near dallas Maybe if it comes to that but i think he wants it sold sooner than that, thanks though

VG30_S12 wrote: Well, i thought of doing the last bit, but it requires me to send a large amount of money to someone who seems nice, but i dont know... I was going to transport but decided aginst for this reason... Said paypal he didnt have paypal, didnt seem interested in acquiring it... mentioned western union. for me it threw a red flag, maybe im being over careful? Are there other safe ways of sending money like that? Other bit is, so he didnt ever reg/title the vehicle in his name, its in the po name signed open... so more.than likely no tags and recent reg... Any trouble.from this? I know in nc we have notary...

I've suddenly seen several red flags appear out of nowhere when I read the above.

The car isn't considerably cheaper than this model normally goes for?

Unless it's money that you can lose without noticing, here's what I'd do:

• Talk to Texas DMV and your insurance so you know how to do the temp tag/movement permit/whatever it is called and also have an idea to get the insurance end of things sorted out.
• If you have a bank account with one of the big national banks, keep the money safely in there.
• Meet with the seller, check the car over after verifying it exists, run a VIN check via smart phone and maybe bribe another forum member with beer and food to provide a second opinion
• Drive to the bank, have the bank either give the seller cash or a certified check if everything checks out and get the seller to sign over the title
• Get temp tags and drive home.

If the car is currently registered, you will have absolutely 0 issues (unless maybe the car has vanity plates)

Even if the registration is expired, you have 20 (not 30) days to transfer the title and get a new registration sticker, so again, no issue.

I believe you are over thinking it. Just add the car to your insurance and have your bill of sale/title/whatever documentation you also need for your state's title transfer procedure.

VG30_S12 wrote: Other bit is, so he didnt ever reg/title the vehicle in his name, its in the po name signed open... so more.than likely no tags and recent reg... Any trouble.from this? I know in nc we have notary...

Plates will likely be on the car. I wouldn't worry about the Texas registration as long as the title wasn't dated by the original owner.

I'd call the people that do registration in your state about the notary, that isn't required here in Texas, but if your state requires it for a title transfer then you may be in a more difficult situation.

Rowlett, hmmmmm. Doe the seller own/ manage a car wash or are any of the pictures of the car at a car wash?

afaik, no, hes an embroidery, Im on his fb, and like i said, seems legit but in this day and age, you never know... If i had to guess im probably overpaying on actual kbb value, but i think the car is so worth it, sern vids and pics of the vehicle running(vigo too) The only thing that flaged me is when he said western union... Is a cashiers check any safer for me?

Meh, still abusable but "safer" to some extent.

Rent-A-Car and tow dolly?

Most states are far more concerned about insurance than plates, and of those, most dont require to get a just bough car home.

JThw8 wrote:

glueguy wrote: but with time getting to be more precious as I get older

All the more reason to use that time to take a roadtrip adventure. Life is short and time is precious. Fill your days with memories of sitting in an office or whatever or have some great memories of cross country adventures. I loves me a roadtrip ;)

And I do, too. If I can afford to take the time to do it right, then fine. But to fly 1000 miles to just grind it back over 2 days, in a car that I haven't put a wrench to and don't know if I can trust, holds much less interest in my old age. I'd rather it get delivered back, get it up on stands and bond with it, then take it for a fun drive.

A lot of people don't think about transport and don't compare the cost to the cost of going to get it, that was my point was the awareness of an option.

The last car that I was going to fly-n-drive, I got there and it shimmied like mad on the highway, and overheated within 10 miles. Obviously my view of "no problems" and his view were, um, different. SOB even knew that I was flying in and didn't fess up about the problems. I went back to the airport to buy a one way ticket home. Neither one of those would have been a huge problem if the car had been transported and delivered to my home. I could have dealt with them in that case. But driving it home would have sucked.

glueguy wrote: But driving it home would have sucked.

This is what trailers are for!

You dont have to turn plates in in texas, so it will have plates on it. I've literally recycled texas license plates for scrap metal. I accidentally left one on a bumper cover i gave to a junkyard as a core last weekend.. nobody cares.

I agree with m4ff3w that you are overthinking it. I have lived in texas all my life and my experience tells me there is a VERY small chance you will have any issues, and what issues you may have arise simply from the short distance you will be driving IN texas with expired texas stickers, but even then, as long as you have insurance you will likely get nothing but a cursory sniff from an officer before letting you go with no action taken.

First off... where in Texas is this car? I am in the Houston area.

Secondly, if you have the VIN, call your insurance company and get full coverage WITH towing. This will save your arse if something happens to your new investment while on the way home. Texas will not give you the tags with the car, if the guy selling it leaves the tags on the car, you are fine to drive it home as long as it is insured. I bought a car from North Carolina two weeks ago, flew there for $118 on US Airways and drove it home for the cost of $75 in fuel. Certainly it was much cheaper than getting it transported, but I had full maintenance records and trusted the department I bought it from.

You can go to your local DMV, give them your copy of the insurance and VIN. They will give you a temp tag good for 30 days for less than $25.00 if you are in an area requiring the emissions certification prior to out of state registration.

Let me know if you need help.

In reply to RaceShotsResource: What did you get that gets 40mpg? I need 2