I live in Oregon and I want to buy a used car from South Carolina.
What’s the best way? I was thinking of flying and driving back, but what else do I need to know?
I havEn’t bought a car, ever, so forgive me if I appear to be a dumbass. 
Are you buying from a dealer or private sale? You’ll need to have insurance on the car, and a plate for it. A dealer can probably get you a temp plate.
Private.
With cash.
If the seller is nice, you may be able to get him to let you use the plate until you get back to Oregon, where you’ll send the plate back. Ask him if he’ll let you use the plate for the trip if you have your own insurance. Otherwise you have to have the car delivered, trailered, or drive it illegally.
My advice: buy a car in Oregon. You’re welcome. But if you must, see what you can do about insurance and registration before driving back. I’d guess the insurance thing will be easy but I don’t know about the registration. Just be educated before you drive an uninsured unregistrated car across the country.
Most states give you 15-30 days after purchase to register. If you already have car insurance for another car, it should cover you for the drive back. Call the company to make sure. And why would they pull the plates on the car before the drive home?
I have never heard of the that. I just picked up a nice used car in Oregon and drove it back to WA without a hitch, and it still has the same plates on it. How would I have registered the car before I got there, paid the money for the car, and received the title?
Just get a bill of sale, that should cover you fine on the drive home. Buying a car out of state is not that big of a deal.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Most states give you 15-30 days after purchase to register. If you already have car insurance for another car, it should cover you for the drive back. Call the company to make sure. And why would they pull the plates on the car before the drive home?
I have never heard of the that. I just picked up a nice used car in Oregon and drove it back to WA without a hitch, and it still has the same plates on it. How would I have registered the car before I got there, paid the money for the car, and received the title?
Just get a bill of sale, that should cover you fine on the drive home. Buying a car out of state is not that big of a deal. [/quote]
Driving a car you currently own with his plates is illegal, and can land you in jail and the car impounded. You can either go to the dmv in his town or yours and get a temp tag for the ride back.
[quote]Tyrant wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Most states give you 15-30 days after purchase to register. If you already have car insurance for another car, it should cover you for the drive back. Call the company to make sure. And why would they pull the plates on the car before the drive home?
I have never heard of the that. I just picked up a nice used car in Oregon and drove it back to WA without a hitch, and it still has the same plates on it. How would I have registered the car before I got there, paid the money for the car, and received the title?
Just get a bill of sale, that should cover you fine on the drive home. Buying a car out of state is not that big of a deal. [/quote]
Driving a car you currently own with his plates is illegal, and can land you in jail and the car impounded. You can either go to the dmv in his town or yours and get a temp tag for the ride back.[/quote]
Is this a state-change thing? Because I purchased my car, used, from a private seller, three years ago, in the same state, and haven’t changed the license plates. And have had a couple of lawful encounters with the police who have written me tickets for things, but not having some other dudes license plates.
I’ve just never heard of this plate-changing business.
[quote]Producer wrote:
I live in Oregon and I want to buy a used car from South Carolina.
What’s the best way? I was thinking of flying and driving back, but what else do I need to know?
I haven’t bought a car, ever, so forgive me if I appear to be a dumbass. :)[/quote]
Curious, how did you find this car in SC? Hopefully it is from someone you trust. I’m sure there are plenty in OR. If you found it through Craig’s list be mindful of the following scam: Local seller (to your area) “claims” they have recently moved, re-located, military, divorce or some other compelling story and need to just sell the vehicle usually greatly below market value. Often the pictures of the vehicle look awesome! Not trying to rain on your parade but some times there are title issues or the vehicle was involved in an accident, flood, hurricane etc. then rebuilt. Long way to go for a lemon. Just sayin. Buyer beware.
Just did this. Bought a vehicle (from family) from another state.
Called insurance company and said “I’m buying a XX-XXXX with XXXXX miles and VIN XXXXXX and I want to add it to my insurance”. They ran it and a temp card in the mail.
After I hung the phone up, I went to the town office and said “I’m buying a vehicle out of state, so I’d like to register it now and get the tags so I can drive it back”.
Gave them make, model, mileage, paid sales tax (on $1), and local excise tax. They handed me tags and registration stickers. Drove to get it (with another family member who was visiting here), popped the tags on and drove back.-- perfectly legal.
The only difference here is that the family member brought the title when they came to visit, so technically I posessed title to the vehicle to register it. I don’t know if your seller will ship you the title before hand. If it’s already paid for, shouldn’t be a problem.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
The only difference here is that the family member brought the title when they came to visit, so technically I posessed title to the vehicle to register it. I don’t know if your seller will ship you the title before hand. If it’s already paid for, shouldn’t be a problem.[/quote]
Not sure what the rules are in Oregon, but PA is a huge pain. You have to get the VIN verified by STATE police (not local, as I found out to my dismay) – VIN etchings are not accepted for out of state tranfers; depending on the vehicle, you have to go to a mechanic to get the GVWR certified; and they don’t issue temporary tags. If you’re going to buy the car for less than a certain percentage of NADA value, you have to fill out a justification form. And they will come check your vehicle. So pretty much it sucks.
The best thing to do is go to the local AAA office, or wherever you’ll get the title transferred, and ask them for EVERYTHING you’ll need. Remember you’ll be dealing with paper pushers. Have a folder with three copies of every document ever produced by your state.