Community Forums

txcpl · 08-16-2017, 11:00 AM

We are looking for a specific RV and found one in another state that appears to meet the wants we have for a MH. I have purchased RV's in the past, but never from another state. I don't know what that entails, if anything different.

Definitely would have an inspection done from RV tech and diesel tech.

It's the paperwork for title transfer that I am not sure about. Can I get the papers signed by the seller, then register it in my state when I get home? Or do I have to register it in the state where it was bought? How do I know what to look for in a clear title from a different state?
What have others done in situations like this?

Thanks in advance.

MisterT · 08-16-2017, 11:14 AM

are you referring to a Private sale from an owner?
if so, and even with a dealer sale, you would ONLY register it in the state you reside in, it has nothing to do with the state it is being sold from.

a TITLE is the main piece of paperwork, along with a sales form/receipt, and proof of insurance - all needed while you drive it back to your home state, which is where you will then register it. While taxes are not applicable for private sales in most states, Georgia, for example, now levies a TAVT 'tax/fee' when your REGISTER it, no matter where you purchased it.

When I purchased our first coach, a 5vr, in Florida, from a private owner, I paid the tax/fee in Georgia when I returned to register it.
When I traded it in for a Georgetown in TX, the dealer collected the GA TAVT fee and submitted it directly to them. When I returned and registered it, the fee was already collected by the state - I only paid the tag fee.
When I traded that for a Palazzo in TX, the same thing occured again.
(trades, though, in Georgia, DO offset the total TAVT for the new vehicle)

Mr_D · 08-16-2017, 11:18 AM

If it's used you will need to find out from your home state what is needed. You may have to buy a trip permit too.
I've never bought from a private party, but did buy a used rig from a dealer. They had it all figured out and taken care of. The hard part was paying the use tax! Luckily I only owed for the difference between the old traded in unit and the used rig. That saved about $8,000

Buly · 08-16-2017, 11:20 AM

We are in FL and bought our DS 4369 in TN . Drove it back with the TN plates and executed bill of sale and insurance.
Than registered it with DMV in FL. They need the old title signed by the previous owner, and we also paid the FL sales tax at DMV.
DMV also needed us to call the local police and ask them to send an officer to verify the VIN number before they issued our new license plates.
That's all I remember

Poppy01 · 08-16-2017, 12:23 PM

We bought ours used, private party, out of state. We were told that as long as the vehicle had current tags in the state it is "currently registered" it would not be a problem. Double checked with insurance to make sure we were covered too. We did have an option to complete the sale prior to leaving Florida and register in Washington, but we would have only 10 (maybe it was 15) days to have it emissions checked in Washington. We decided to wait until we returned to register it. Didn't have a problem, then again, we didn't get stopped of have an accident either.

TCollins · 08-16-2017, 07:39 PM

I bought a used class A from a private seller in Illinois this year. The PO and I went to DMV and had a title made out to me and sold me a temporary tag for $10. When I got it back to Ohio I had to take it to have the VIN verified. After all that I went to Ohio DMV, got an Ohio title, paid the sales tax and got new OH plates.

Winemaker2 · 08-20-2017, 05:16 PM

Some states will issue a transit tag to allow return trip to your home state. NY issues temp tags to dealers or individuals.
When I recently bought MH via private sale in NC i researched and found NC does not issue temp tags to individuals.
I negotiated w seller and they allowed me use their plates to do the trip home and returned them to them bia mail. I had proof of insurance, bill of sale and PO registration & plates.
My plan B was to take my plates from previous MH with us and use them for return...not really legal but I would have taken the risk and explained I tried to get temp tag but NC would not issue me one!