Originally Posted By: CKN
The million dollar question is-
does the title change upon his signature or upon the registration event where ever that takes place? Nothing personal-but I don't know if I would want someone driving a car "still registered to me" if his signature on the title isn't good enough. That's a legal question. Could be dependent on the state you are in at the time,should something happen.
I bought a car, here in Maine, that was still florida titled. Florida titles have a little "tear off" on the bottom that gets the buyer's info; the seller can keep this tear off and turn it in to the DMV to absolve himself of liability. Even without tear offs the seller can (should?) photocopy the title all filled out and the bill of sale.
On page 1 someone thought they could get as a buyer get the title with just a down payment, if so, they'd have a fool for a seller. All cash, then title, in person, with the car there, would be the only reasonable approach.
I've gone down to NC a couple times to buy rust free cars. I researched ahead of time and they issue temporary plates to out of state residents. They don't charge sales tax on a private sale. GENERALLY if the selling state and buying state both charge tax, you only pay the higher tax, but this would only be a concern on dealer sales.
I had to show the title, BOS, and insurance to the NC DMV for my temp plate but I got to hold on to all this stuff to turn into my home state. If you're amazingly lucky your home state will let you run an old plate on a new car for a week, or your home state will let you get a "transit plate" type thing ahead of time without proof of ownership. (Maine does.)
Now, shameless self promotion.