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Buying a street bike out of state-used private seller??

Discussion in 'General' started by Brad, Apr 17, 2019.

  1. Brad

    Brad Swollen Member

    Tried to search as it's likely covered but......

    I've got a wild hair to buy a street bike if I sell a current one on Friday. I've found one of interest near Dallas and could fly there for $100. I'd ride it back home the next day or maybe sight see and make it into a multi day trip back to Georgia.

    Any tips or quirks to be aware of? Can I just get a signed Texas title and roll home? Keep sellers plates until I register at home? Ride home with a "just bought it" cardboard tag?

    Haven't contacted the seller about any of this as I'm not fond of pulling someone's chain until a plan is in place...... Thanks!
     
  2. motion

    motion Nihilistic Member

    Some states require the seller to pull the plate when selling the vehicle. You may have to go to DMV and get a temp tag.
     
    Brad likes this.
  3. Rising

    Rising Well-Known Member

    It has been a while since I lived in TX but when I was there I believe the plate stayed with the vehicle.
     
    Brad likes this.
  4. Brad

    Brad Swollen Member

    Looked that way from some "google-fu" but hard to trust that sometimes. Thanks
     
  5. Alex_V

    Alex_V Dump the diesel

    Done that a number of times, Brad.

    Simple solution: ask the seller to let you have his tag for a ride back, have bill of sale, and a title, valid insurance in your name. I have never been pulled over during my few stints, but my gut feeling is that I would have enough paperwork to get a pass.
     
    TurboBlew, Murcielago311 and Brad like this.
  6. Alex_V

    Alex_V Dump the diesel

    One time I rode back from Ann Arbor back to ATL on a WR250X that I bough sight unseen. It had a "purple heart" tag on it. For whatever reason I was pretty sure that I will not get pulled over at all.
     
    ineedanap and Brad like this.
  7. ducnut

    ducnut Well-Known Member

    Do the deal, have the seller overnight the paperwork to you, take paperwork to your DMV, get it registered, and take updated plate and paperwork with you to TX.
     
    Razr likes this.
  8. Woofentino Pugr

    Woofentino Pugr Well-Known Member

    Call your local DMV and ask them how you should do this. They may give you a registration form to fill out and an envelope to mail.
     
  9. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    Some states require the actual bike to be present when titled in another state. Me personally... Id offer the seller to lend me the plate for the ride home. Obtain insurance for the unit and ride home. Definitely mail title in a registered or trackable manner.
     
  10. Britt

    Britt Well-Known Member

    Flew to DFW, owner picked me up, went to RailHead for BBQ, then out to his house in Weatherford....bike was exactly as he described..paid him, loaded up my stuff and left...took a few days to get back to North Ga..via backroads and The Natchez Trace Parkway.

    He left the tag on the bike, it is still on the wall in my shop with all the other old bike tags...
     
    JBall, Brad and K51000 like this.
  11. beac83

    beac83 "My safeword is bananna"

    I've done it twice.

    One time, I had no plate, but carried the signed title (fully filled out to me), and I had insurance on it in my name from my carrier. I did not get stopped, but it was only one state over and a few hundred miles

    Another time, I bought a bike with a CO from halfway across the country. Not wanting to tempt fate on a two-day ride across 5 states, I obtained the CO and registered the bike with my state, and took the plate with me, mounted it and rode home.

    YMMV.
     
    SpeedyE and Brad like this.
  12. FZ1guy

    FZ1guy Hey...watch this

    In Ga you can ride with a bill of sale and no tag for a reasonable period of time. Don't recall if a week or month.
     
    ToofPic likes this.
  13. renegade17

    renegade17 Well-Known Member

    Dude you are fucken nuts to ride one of those that far.
     
  14. SpeedyE

    SpeedyE Experimental prototype, never meant for production

    long time ago, I had just bought a bike from a buddy, had insurance and bill of sale. No inspection, no plates, yet, title in transfer. Was out of state, police-impounded, until title was sent to me through DMV-transfer. When I finally showed up w/ title, they wouldn't let me leave w/ the bike, cause of no plates/inspection (they said illegal to ride on street). Had to rent a truck to pick up my bike from city's impound.
    It was an ordeal and expensive. imho, they were doing everything they could to milk me for storage fees. From the police seizure to the impound and ending, always seemed like a scam/harassment to me.
    ymmv
     
  15. G2G

    G2G I feel the need

    Did this with my current bike. Bought a bike from my friend in Orlando. Flew down rode it straight home to Chicago. I brought another plate from my other bike and tossed it on. Had the title of the new bike in my pocket just incase I got pulled over. Would it have helped if I got pulled over for speeding? Not sure but I never had any issues. Don't ride like an idiot and you should not have any issues if you have a plate on.
     
  16. speedluvn

    speedluvn Man card Issuer

    I hear some of you guys asking the seller to borrow plates and all but when I have done these types of transactions when the buyer leaves the transaction is over. I don't know you and No! You can't borrow the tags. You may go rape and pillage the country side with "my" vehicle and I now have to prove my innocence.

    Its not worth the headache or aggravation of the possible problems associated with me allowing you to borrow my tags.
     
    beac83 likes this.
  17. Mongo

    Mongo Administrator

    Yep, I'd never let anyone keep MY tags unless it's a state where they go with the vehicle no matter what.
     
  18. ducnut

    ducnut Well-Known Member

    IL isn’t one of them.

    I bought a bike from NC and did just as I described, above. Painless.
     
  19. In NC, where the state wants the license plate back when a vehicle is sold, no - you can’t leave with it.

    In TN, where the state doesn’t give a crap what happens to the plate when the vehicle is sold - you have the endorsed title, a notarized BOS, I have copies, and I canceled the registration and my insurance policy. What you do with the now-dead tag is up to you.
     
  20. Alex_V

    Alex_V Dump the diesel

    Knowingly putting a tag from a different vehicle will get you in a alot more trouble than not having a tag at all. I wouldn't do that.
     
    Brad likes this.

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