Paperwork needed when buying a car

[zboot]

I've gotten so excited and involved in the process of finding a car that I've totally neglected to educate myself on the administrative issues that are involved.

My situation is that I'm planning to buy a car from a private seller in Massachusetts while I live in Florida.

Prior to getting the car back home, I need to:

- Obtain a temporary license plate from MA DMV
- Make sure I have a bill of sale from the seller
- Make sure I have the sellers contact and license info
- Obtain a title transfer form from MA DMV
- Obtain insurance from an agent licensed for FL

Once home, I need to:
- Title and register the car in FL
- Pay any associated taxes and fees

I think those are the neccessary minimums. I'm not sure if I need to obtain emissions test records from the seller or if there are any other dmv documents that I need prior to taking ownership of the car.

[SDKmann]

I really cant see how you could have missed anything with that list.

[96cali]

Have you called the Florida BMV?

[zboot]

They told me I will need to call MA DMV to get temporary tags.

Their website indicates I'll need proof of ownership - bill of sale and orig title to get it titled and registered in FL.

I'd left my cell phone at home and wasn't able to call MA DMV till I got back. Unfortunately, they were closed, so I'll find out all the stuff I need to do with them tomorrow.

[aceyx]

Where are you picking it up in MA? The RMV is atrociously slow (no surprise there) but there are some that are faster, such as the one in Needham. I'm sure some members can point you to the ones that will save you some time.


When you do the title transfer on the title itself, make sure you take down the odometer reading. It's easy to forget.

[1996 328ti]

Be sure you have the proper bill of sale.
When I bought my car in Florida to Maryland, Maryland rejected the Bill of Sale because it wasn't theirs.

[zboot]

Where are you picking it up in MA? The RMV is atrociously slow (no surprise there) but there are some that are faster, such as the one in Needham. I'm sure some members can point you to the ones that will save you some time.


When you do the title transfer on the title itself, make sure you take down the odometer reading. It's easy to forget.

The closest to the car is the one in New Bedford. I'll call FL HSMV and MA RMV tomorrow to check on the bill of sale issue and see if I can expedite getting everything done. I've got two weeks till I go to get the car. . . I'm hopeful that's enough time.

[mohaughn]

It shouldn't matter in Florida. Atleast not in Orange county. I bought my last car in Atlanta. Drove it back to Orlando. Went to the DMV payed the one time registration and tag fee which was like 110$, registered it for the year, 30$ or so, and payed the tax, 6.5%.

I think I took the receipt from the seller and a copy of the check. I don't think they looked at the check.

[zboot]

So, it turns out that MA does not issue temporary tags. After talking with FL HSMV, I'd need to have the original title, bill of sale, proof of insurance, and a VIN verification form (filled out by a police officer), in order to get the vehicle titled and registered in FL so I can get the plates and goto MA to pick it up.

Additionally, the initial costs of title, registration, and taxes will run me about $650. Going to get the car and getting back to tallahassee is about $400. . . wow, I didn't anticipate shelling out that much above what I'm paying for the car. .. this ti better be worth it.

[mohaughn]

Why not take a look at the one in the for sale section that is in Florida. A bit higher mileage, but it looks like a clean car.

I don't know if I would travel that far for a Ti unless it was a very good condition club sport. You see them pop up for sale all of the time in Central and South Florida.

[1996 328ti]

I flew from DC to Florida with a one way ticket.
Then again, I knew the previous owner for a few years.

[mohaughn]

I didn't think about that.. I would travel for a swapped Ti as well if I had pretty good information on it being done properly...

I flew from Orlando to Atlanta with a one way ticket for the wagon... And that was based off of a friends test drive and looking over the vehicle. But I only ended up spending 300$ in travel fees to get a car worth $30k. Spending 500-600 for a car worth $6-9k seems a bit extreme to me. But if you really want a Ti and this one is in really good shape do whatever you feel is appropriate.

[zboot]

The owner has all the service records, the carfax is excellent, and the pics show that it's in very good condition. It's a 98' w/ 113k miles, leather interior. . . and i'm getting it at a pretty good price on it. If I go for the one in FL, I'd save about $300 of the trip costs but I'd have to pay the same for tax, title, tags, and registration ($650) - actually more since the car in FL costs > $500 more. . . I'm going to arrange for it to be looked over by a mechanic in MA. If it passes with flying colors, then I will go for it. . . otherwise, it would probably end up being more trouble than its worth.

Edit - there is a minor benefit of going out to MA, I can stop by in Pittsburgh to pick up some stuff that I have in storage there.

[mohaughn]

Talk to both owners and see if you can get them down under $6k. With over 100k miles, asking in excess of 6k is pushing it, especially if they are only base or active models. I've usually found that private sellers mark up the asking price a bit expecting people to want to haggle a little. If I was the seller I would be happy to get 5500 for either of those cars.

If the car in Florida is in Central Florida there are members on here that may be willing to check it out for you. If it is in Orlando I'd be willing to take a look.

[zboot]

Well. . . the one in FL is an AT. . .so that puts it off my list. . . and the car I'm looking at in MA. . .we're between $5000 and $5500

[mohaughn]

Good choice. The Ti really needs the manual transmission. Sounds like you may be getting a good deal at that price.