Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

I am traveling out of state to purchase RV from a private party. I have purchased many of vehicles in state, but want to make sure I do this right. Assuming my inspection of vehicle turns up no surprises, I will obtain a bill of sale and title signed over to me. Then I will begin drive home. My insurance carrier has assured me I will have coverage. That said, I am primarily concerned with driving back after purchase without plates.

I have contacted state patrol and DMV of state where I am purchasing and got conflicting answers. Will a bill of sale and signed and dated title be enough if I am pulled over? Does anyone has practical experience with this?

Thanks,
James

My experience is that you must have some sort of temporary or in-transit plate issued by DMV of state where purchase is made. Be sure to have proof of purchase from an individual or your state may want to collect sales/use tax when you apply for plates at home.
Hope this helps because states are all different in this regard.
Ralph

jschwing wrote:I am traveling out of state to purchase RV from a private party. I have purchased many of vehicles in state, but want to make sure I do this right. Assuming my inspection of vehicle turns up no surprises, I will obtain a bill of sale and title signed over to me. Then I will begin drive home. My insurance carrier has assured me I will have coverage. That said, I am primarily concerned with driving back after purchase without plates.

I have contacted state patrol and DMV of state where I am purchasing and got conflicting answers. Will a bill of sale and signed and dated title be enough if I am pulled over? Does anyone has practical experience with this?

Thanks,
James

I have done this with cars and motorhomes. To be safe, go to the BMV in the state where you are purchasing the vehicle and get a temporary plate. In Indiana, my state, I pay the state sales tax 7% when I register the vehicle in IN. Present the signed title and sometimes a bill of sale to verify the sales price.
Good luck.

We bought our used BFT from the factory in Humboldt. They provided us with a temporary plate, a bill of sale, and an Iowa title. Upon arriving home in Arizona, we registered the vehicle and paid the sales tax in AZ.

Other states may vary. I would be very reluctant to pay the sales tax in the selling state, as your home state will no doubt want to collect that as well.

Don't forget to contact your insurance company prior to the sale.

Hope this helps,
Daryl

We purchased from a private party out of state and they allowed us to keep the plates until we were able to register it in our own state. Then we mailed the plates back to them.

As a seller I would have to disagree with letting the buyer keep the plates with a promise to mail them back after the buyer gets home.

I had a very bad experience allowing a buyer to keep the plates when I sold him a car several years ago. For several months the buyer never transferred the title into his own name after arriving home. I stated getting demands to pay unpaid parking tickets for that sold car. I kept sending the tickets back to the issuing city stating that I no longer owned that car. This went on for around a year before the new buyer must have finally transferred the title to his name.

I have purchased over 100 vehicles and have never left the plates with the seller and many I purchaed from out of state. Typically you have at least 10 days to register in your home state, but I always call my insurance company immediately to make sure I'm insured. I don't know about other states, but in CA when you sell a vehicle the plates stay with the vehicle, and you then go online, and fill in the buyers information along with the vehicle information, which releases the seller of any liability after the you sell it. If the buyer crashes the car into a Starbucks after leaving your house your free of any liability. I'm curious how it works in other states.

We purchased our used BF in PA and drove it back to our home state of CA.
We had the following.
Bill of Sale that I got from CA DMV signed by seller.
Signed and dated Title.
A temp paper license (trip ticket) from PA DMV scotched tape inside the rear window.
I called my AAA insurance about BF.
I paid seller w/ cashiers check from Chase Bank.

The trip was super. No problem. We took 3 weeks in driving back. No police. Or uneasy feelings.
Our first campground/ and nite in our "new" BF was Intercourse, PA in Amish Country.

James, you are in an interesting position... and Iowa (I'm a fellow Iowan) has one of the least restrictive licensing laws in the country. In Iowa you have 30 days to make application for registration, and you need not have any other paperwork in the vehicle other than a copy of the bill of sale and/or registration/copy of the signed title during that 30 days.

I'm not a DMV person, but I DID stay at a Holiday Inn Express recently... Actually, I've bought and sold a number of RVs in and out of state in the past few years, so I have gotten fairly familiar with Iowa's laws.

If you're buying from a dealership out of state, they'll do the paperwork and likely issue a temporary tag from that state... and forward the 5% road use tax to Iowa who will register the coach and send the title either to you or the lien-holder (unless it's an electronic title which some counties are doing, I presume Polk is one, in which case they'll just send you the registration.)

If you're buying from a private party and they keep the plates, get a bill of sale and the signed title (or at least a copy of the registration) and you should be good to go. If you get stopped for not having plates (and believe it or not of all of the times I've transported RVs without plates, I've only been stopped once and that was on my way home from the Born Free factory with my 23RK when I bought it) give the cop your bill of sale, your copy of the registration and/or signed title, and a copy of IA Code Section 321.20. While in transit, I supposed technically the registration laws of both states could come into play, reciprocity would make Iowa the state with greater standing as that is where you're a resident and the vehicle will be registered.

Interestingly, the Iowa Code is vague enough that during the 30 day application period, it doesn't even require you to show proof of insurance... however the last purchase I made, I called my insurance agent, gave them the make, model, and VIN, and asked them to scan and then text a copy of the proof of insurance to my phone... (which legally meets the requirement for "proof of insurance" in Iowa) before I headed home from Illinois with the Born Free 32RQ.

Good luck with your purchase!

http://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/vehicleregis ... gister.htm

Thank you everyone for sharing your various experiences. I have done some additional research and it would seem that the sellers state, Massachusetts, is more restrictive than most. I was able to find the sales and use tax guidelines here https://secure.rmv.state.ma.us/PolicyBr ... fstate.htm

It appears that I can avoid paying the sales tax in MA by taking delivery out of state. However, there is some ambiguity over what qualifies as a valid out-of-state Letter of Delivery. If take delivery in the state of MA, I must pay sales tax, but I do not have to register. This requires that I provide a completed ST-7R Form and a copy of the Bill of Sale or Invoice. I spoke to the seller and asked him to contact his RMV to get some additional details regarding an out of state delivery transaction.

Outside of that I will either have to conduct our transaction in the parking lot of a MA RMV office, or perhaps he will be willing to have me mail them the plates once I arrive home.

The irony of purchasing an Iowan purchasing a motor coach built in Iowa, and located in MA is not lost on me at this point. Stay tuned. Also, it has come to my attention that this motorhome was apparently owned at some point by a member here.

Thanks,
James

James,

I think that only applies to purchases from a dealer, not to private sales.
Personally I would go to MA and start driving back to IA with executed bill of sale, and signed title in my possession.

Fantom wrote:James,

I think that only applies to purchases from a dealer, not to private sales.
Personally I would go to MA and start driving back to IA with executed bill of sale, and signed title in my possession.

I agree, and you'll be paying the tax on the sale in Polk County. I bought my current Born Free from a dealer in Pontiac, IL and still only paid the 5% Iowa use tax to Cedar County IA who actually did the registration even though it was transacted through the dealer.

Fantom wrote:James,

I think that only applies to purchases from a dealer, not to private sales.
Personally I would go to MA and start driving back to IA with executed bill of sale, and signed title in my possession.

Here is an excpert from MA RMV site regarding non-resident purchase of vehicle and taking delivery in MA.

If the vehicle was purchased in Massachusetts from a dealer registered with the Department of Revenue, the purchaser must pay the 6.25% state sales tax on the purchase price of the vehicle. If the vehicle was purchased in Massachusetts from a dealer not registered with the Department of Revenue or from a private party, the purchaser must pay the 6.25% state sales tax on either the purchase price or the National Automobile Dealers Association clean trade-in value, whichever is higher.

A non-resident who buys a motor vehicle in Massachusetts is not required to register or title the vehicle in Massachusetts. In these cases, this is considered a Tax-Only Transaction, since the buyer is still obligated to pay sales tax to Massachusetts.


Looks like it applies to both the way I read it.

I would still take a chance, even if you will get stopped by the trooper, he will not know the tax law.
99% he will let you go if you show Bill of Sale, Signed Title by the seller, and insurance voucher,
How many miles do you have to drive in MA ? The second you cross the State border you are off the hook

James, I agree with your reading of the statute. We bought our 2015 through Lazy Days in Florida. Even though we did not take delivery in Florida, we had to pay Florida sales tax. But, when we registered the coach in Michigan, we got credit for the tax paid to Florida so were not taxed twice. If you have not done so already, check the Iowa statute for credit against your registration fee for tax paid to another state on the purchase.

Judy