Do you have to title a car before you can sell it?

Dear all:

I bought a 95 Prelude back two months ago. I still haven't
titled it, since I don't drive it. It just sits in my car port.

I live in Maryland, but I am close to D.C. and Virginia. I have
decided that I want to sell this car instead of keeping it.
Therefore, it would make little sense for me to title it, pay the
taxes and registration, just so I can sell it. I would like to avoid
having to title it to me before selling it, if I can help it.

My question is: do I have to title it to my name before I can
sell a car? Or is there some way I can sign a bill of sale to someone
else? The pink slip has already been signed over to me. So, the
block under the "new Owner" has my name on the original pink slip.
The previous owner signed that pink slip to me.

Also, as far as making it road legal so that potential buyers
can legally test drive it, I was thinking of getting a temporary
registration. I have heard that these temporary tags are like transit
tags. Do you think that this will work? I want to make the car road
legal for buyers to test drive the car. Which state or (district, as
in D.C.) is the best place to get transit tags. I want the longest
possible time period for this temp tag so that I can wait for the
right buyer with the right offer to buy the car.

Another idea is getting a dealer tag, but I have no idea what is
involved or how much it would cost. I just know that it seems that
dealers are able to take any car and put their dealer tags on there
and drive any unregistered cars.

Please help. I really need it. Thx in advance.

 

In my state, title and registration are two entirely separate issues.
You can title the car without registering it.

Taxes are paid upon titling it.

In general, yes, you must own the title before you transfer it to
someone. Right now you probably have the original owner's title that he
signed over to you, right?

 

since the title has been signed to you then YES you do have to have it
transfered to you before you can legally sell it...(i am in virginia
but i would *THINK* that most states are similar)....selling one that
has not been transfered is done sometimes when the title is "open",
meaning that the seller did not put the new owners name on the
title...it is not exactly legal to do so, but it does happen alot...
JT

 

In my state, only a user car dealer can do that.

 

JT: Thank you for helping me on this. So, my next question is: once
I hand over the title to the DMV, doesn't it take up to 4 weeks before
the new title is printed and mailed to me? So, does this mean that I
will have to wait all that time before I can sell the car? What if
buyer comes right away before the new pink slip has been printed by
the DMV?

I don't think that it would be fair for the DMV to force me to wait to
sell my car. So, in that case, what can be done?

thx in advance.

 

You've probably already violated your state's rules of transfer of sale.
What you need to do is pony up the $$, go to your local DMV and register the
car. It has to be registered in the state where you reside...or the car is
garaged and used. You can't pick which state suits your needs. Don't blame
the DMV for ating up time to handle the paperwork....you've already
lolygagged for 2 months doing anything. Have you added this car to your
insurance policy so that coverage exists should a prospective buyer get into
an accident? Dealers, btw, pay DMV fees for those dealer plates and its not
cheap getting those as you must be a registered dealer with dealer's bond
and insurance in place.

JT: Thank you for helping me on this. So, my next question is: once
I hand over the title to the DMV, doesn't it take up to 4 weeks before
the new title is printed and mailed to me? So, does this mean that I
will have to wait all that time before I can sell the car? What if
buyer comes right away before the new pink slip has been printed by
the DMV?

I don't think that it would be fair for the DMV to force me to wait to
sell my car. So, in that case, what can be done?

thx in advance.[/QUOTE]

 

That's what I was thinking, too. Be prepared for the possibility of a
fine.
In CA, you have ten days to inform the DMV of the sale...and to pay the
sales tax on the purchase. This is one area you can play with. If the
seller is agreeable, you can alter the selling price so as to lower the
tax you'll have to pay.

 

I don't think it's fair that you made the DMV wait two months (and counting)
before submitting your title.

So there.

 

Actually, having the "pink slip" doesn't mean that much as far as the state
is concerned.
The state does not know that you own the vehicle.
Yeah, you can probably sell the car without registering it since you never
plated it.
So if whom you sell it to wants to plate it, he'd have to register it as
his.

 

once again i don't know about maryland, but i just titled a vehicle
this past saturday here in virginia...walked in with the title from
the seller(happened to be an auction vehicle from maryland, how
ironic) and walked out with the new one...there is no wait, it is
printed on the spot...(here in virginia)
JT

 

In my state, no. They handle that right at the counter in about 3
minutes.

You're thinking of the whole car dealer thing. That's entirely
different than you walking into the county offices and having them print
you a title.

 

Why don't you call your local DMV office and ask, or at least
check the DMV's web site to see if the info is there.

 

Better take some bail money with you. Failure to pay the sales tax could
land you in jail...

JT: Thank you for helping me on this. So, my next question is: once
I hand over the title to the DMV, doesn't it take up to 4 weeks before
the new title is printed and mailed to me? So, does this mean that I
will have to wait all that time before I can sell the car? What if
buyer comes right away before the new pink slip has been printed by
the DMV?

I don't think that it would be fair for the DMV to force me to wait to
sell my car. So, in that case, what can be done?

thx in advance.[/QUOTE]

 

JT: Thank you for helping me on this. So, my next question is: once
Give or take, depending on the efficency of your state's (CA?) DMV. Their
website should say how long to expect. NY took abut 5 weeks, NJ 3, and I
can't remember CA although I think it was quicker than NY. If you have a
decent and not crowded local DMV you might call/visit and ask them about
your situation. You're more likely to get reliable answers about your
options there, although I'd be sure to get it in writing in addition to
whatever they tell you. (aka get a brochure, form, etc. which details
possible things you can do, rather than relying on someone not having
their head up their ass and giving you verbal misinformation.)

You also could call a lawyer who works with traffic stuff.


Unless he/she's comfortable giving a complete stranger money for a car
she/he'll have questionable legal ownership of, you'll probably have to
wait. Even if you find out an answer to your dilemma, the buyer might be
uncomfortable. I sure would be unless you had ample documentation of how
it was a binding sale. Then again many car buyers are dumb.


Fair? DMV? Same sentence? Oh wow, that's a good one. You haven't been to
many DMVs, have you?

I was in a similar situation about a year ago - I had a disabled car
street parked in Brooklyn and no title expected for a couple of weeks.
Luckily the local blizzards caused street cleaning suspension several
weeks in a row, preventing me from getting parking tickets, and by the
time it thawed the title had arrived and I could dispose of the vehicle.
Also luckily for me I still had an old CA license plate, which allowed me
to surrender the plates and keep the car street parked (illegally of
course but what cop is going to dig a convertible out of the snow to
examine and run a check on not suspicious looking out of state plates?).
However, if it wasn't for my good luck, I would have been quite
screwed with parking tickets and waiting for the title.

Dave

 

They give you a temporary paper if they don't up and print the permanent
one right there.

Here in Canada, they just print up a new registration paper on the spot.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's