VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Transporting a new purchase

Over the years with all of the cars I bought I never bothered to put plates or insurance on any of them untill after I got home. Well for the first time in my life I registered a vehicle and insured it before we moved it. Now I know many of us if not all of us just put a set plates on a car and drove it home, I learned my lesson..... and I hope this will prevent any of you from taking any chances in the future
My son stopped to get gas, not sure what side the gas was on he placed the 1986 K-5 in park and got out, he grabbed the wheel to assist his exit and with all of the play in the tilt column it jumped to reverse and took out two parked cars!
No one was hurt but there was some damage. For some reason I told him put plates on it before we move it, if he did not it would have cost me/him thousands!
Lesson learned......
John

Good lesson John. Another thought: Before you start working on that new classic you bought, get a title. I did an assessment on a later model collector car last week and discovered the car had been stolen. The new owner is now in the process of trying to obtain ownership for the car. I am told it is not an easy process.

Brownie Petersen
Petersen Historical Automobile Appraisals

Every state is different, in NYS you have to have the title/registration from the owner to transfer the vehicle, so the paperwork goes with the car. That has to match the VIN. It can be a hassel to bring cars to NYS from another state due to different paperwork.

John

If you check you will find in most states that you automatically have 30days insurance the same as the most expensive vehicle you have on your policy. I have checked with my agent several times and each verified that. The 30 days does not mean that you can wait until the 29th day. It gives you time to get back home to take care of the paperwork.

In NYS you need plates issued to that vehicle, and in order to get plates in NYS, you need insurance and proof of it for DMV.It is a summons and a moving violation to drive a vehicle without current registration (plates) NYS inspection and proof of insurace. After the accident the first thing the cop asked "let me guess the plates are off another car?" He did say it was a first for him the have three vehicles in an accedent and no one was driving. It could have been ugly, again a lot might have to do with NYS laws
John

Guess that is another difference between NYS and TX. To register a new vehicle all you need is proof of insurance for a current vehicle. I have heard that is going to change but so far not yet. I also understand beginning 1/1/09 that the state of TX will have a database of active vehicle insurance. The police and other state and local officials can access the database to nearly instantly determine if the driver/vehicle actually has insurance in force. ~ 1/3 of drivers do not have insurance despite the law requiring everyone in the state have it. The practice here is to setup a year policy, make the first monthly payment and then no more. The next year when the registration is up for renewal they do the same again. Hopefully the database will stop most of that. I also understand the insurance companies will be required to notify the state when a policy lapses so that can also be in the database. When matched with the plate number it will ID those without insurance. Hopefully my insurance will not increase as fast. No hope of it decreasing.

Does the police have jurisdiction for vehicle accidents on private property in NY? I assume that the store was private property. They don't in TX but often are called and actually investigate or otherwise assist. They also give warnings but can't issue citations and have them enforced.

Chipper, I would not count on the car being covered in a state between Translavania and Texas if you have an accident either towing or driving the new old car. Since I use Taylor antique car insurance. I call them (keep their telephone number handy) and make sure that they have the car listed on your insurance policy before you leave the seller's state just to be on the safe side. My brother brought his 53s in from other states and before he could get them registered or titled he had to have it state inspected, even though a state inspection sticker is not required on a car with antique tags. You must have proof that the car is "roadworthy" before it can be registered in Texas, that takes a state inspection for proof.

I also heard on the 10:00 news that any car stopped by a law enforcement officer and the database shows it isn't currently insured for liability insurance WILL be towed from that point to a impound yard. Maybe that will fix old Bubba and Leroy and Jose that drive a wreck and are not too careful how they drive to get off the road!
( Hey! Bubba Hold my beer, I'm gonna try something!)
Happy motoring!

The story here in Norway would be: A stolen car would have to be returned to the registered, legal owner, with no compensation and even after years after it has been stolen. You will not be allowed to keep the car even if you are in good faith. And the buyer buying the stolen car would have to demand the money in return from the socalled seller. Not a very easy task, I believe. So don't buy without solid proof of ownership and papers to show the register office.

:vcca:

Mr. Mack,
I agree it is always best to verify insurance coverage. If you have something (like your money) someone wants to take it from you. And the assumption is if you can afford an antique car, you must be rich.

Check with your agent for your modern transportation. You might be surprised at what he tells you about covering new purchases. The laws are different for each state and as we know Texas and Louisiana are a separate set of law books. Packing is a right in Texas for instance. All you have to do is claim to be going to cross two county lines or you can have that graduation certificate.

Chipper, I am not worried about the insurance for the car after we get into Texas. The getting here from several states away with a newly purchased car is the problem. While you are checking the state records where you buy the car (waiting, and waiting) is when it is a good time to inform your insurance agent of the new purchase and making sure it is covered is when I was talking about.
Once back in the 1980s I bought a "parts car" and only had a bill of sale for "car Parts". I did jump through some hoops when I decided to restore the car and title it in Texas.
Yes, if you have the antique car fever you certainly are "rich" and probably blessed, but that don't mean you have any money. In fact if you have a nice shiney vintage Chevrolet, that is an indicator that you probably have empty pockets.

Can I use that as a signature line? It certainly is accurate, at least for me.

Chip,
The police were called to investigate because there was an accident with three vehicles and no one behind the wheel of any of them. This was the first time I ever did it right, because it was my son and I did not want him to take the chances I had over the years. It worked out well, however... Jose in vehicle number two that was driven into vehicle number three did not have insurance, problem for owner of vehicle number three.
John

In Oklahoma if you buy the vehicle in another state you can not register it until the tag agent physically sees the VIN in person. I lived in Indiana and the same was true there, except it was a deputy sheriff that had to do the verification instead of the tag agent.

When I moved from Oklahoma to Indiana with 5 cars the deputy came to my house and checked all the numbers at one time.
When I moved back to Oklahoma from Indiana I had to take all the vehicles physically to the tag agent, they would not come to my house. If I couldn't drive it, I had to trailer it.

I have had no problems with an out of state title, but with a bill of sale I had to apply for a salvaged vehicle title. A Deputy Sheriff had to witness me doing a pencil rub of the stamped in engine number on a 51.