Expired plates dilemma

[gindie]

Ohio resident.

I let the plates expire (a month ago) on a car I'm getting ready to sell. No excuses, just simple procrastination on getting the car ready for the sale. I have not been driving it for the past month.

My neighbor across the street wants to test drive the car for a couple of days. Here are my choices:

1) Just let him drive it with the expired tags (there's a sticker on the back plate with a "6" on it indicating June 2012 expiration)

2) He's offered to put on plates that he took from another car of his (presumably the ones he will transfer to my car if he buys it).

I'm thinking it's basically the same penalty for me if he gets pulled over? I tried to get a 30-day plate, but they only put those on at dealers.

Any suggestions?

 

[MichaelB]

Purposely driving with the wrong plates sounds like something that might not end well. If it were me I'd suck it up and renew the plates.

 

[pb4uski]

Is there a grace period? In some states you have a certain number of days after your registration expires or after you buy a car to register it.

 

[Bestwifeever]

In my state that would mean the plates expired on 6/30. I don't think a cop would ticket us at that point. I have to say I'd risk it and let your neighbor test drive with those plates on.

 

[gindie]

In my state that would mean the plates expired on 6/30. I don't think a cop would ticket us at that point. I have to say I'd risk it and let your neighbor test drive with those plates on.

Unfortunately, in Ohio it expires on the owner's birthday and the "6" sticker has that date printed on it, but it's tiny.

 

[easysurfer]

The easiest thing to do is to just renew the plates.

But if you want to be creative...

How long of a test drive is your neighbor talking about? An hour or two? Or to test drive the car for a day or two?

If it's just an hour or two, you can roll the dice and hope you don't get ticketed. Of course, if you do get a ticket, you'd be kicking yourself (kinda like, the question "Do I put change in the parking meter or risk it?"). Any more than that, I wouldn't feel comfortable.

IMO, I wouldn't have the neighor put on the look-a-like plates, as this sounds like something Kramer would do on the old Seinfeld episodes, and you can imagine what type of trouble he'd get into.

If you don't already have an offer, perhaps you can factor in the cost of the plates and bump up the asking price by that amount. Maybe that will work.

 

[REWahoo]

Unfortunately, in Ohio it expires on the owner's birthday and the "6" sticker has that date printed on it, but it's tiny.

If the small sticker is on the rear plate you could follow behind him in another vehicle during the test. Unlikely a cop would see the expired sticker unless he was stopped behind the car at a light...

 

[Cessna5354]

Weigh the cost of the new tags vs the ticket,

However in the unwanted event of an accident, "the Who Knew defense" will not be favorable.

Depends how far out of town you are, as to what I would decide, but the safest is to renew, if this sale falls thru, you might need the renewal tags anyway.

Good Luck !!

 

[Goonie]

I just looked on the Ohio BMV website, and it shows the renewal is only $34.50, add a $20 late fee for being over 7 days past due, and it's still only $54.50. I imagine that would still be cheaper than paying a ticket and possibly having it tacked on to your driving records at the BMV.

I'd renew and just tack the added cost on to your asking price of the car, if it sells in the near future.

 

[grasshopper]

In Arizona you are allowed to get a 3 day registration on line.

https://servicearizona.com/webapp/permit3/

 

[REWahoo]

In Arizona you are allowed to get a 3 day registration on line.

Send gindie the link...

 

[Purron]

I'd renew 'em. That being said, a couple of years ago, DH forgot to renew his plates for 2 months. He was working for a local government agency at the time and often parked right next to police cars. Plus, he commuted in heavy traffic. No one ever noticed.....

 

[easysurfer]

I'd renew 'em. That being said, a couple of years ago, DH forgot to renew his plates for 2 months. He was working for a local government agency at the time and often parked right next to police cars. Plus, he commuted in heavy traffic. No one ever noticed.....

I'm sure the enforcement varies from county to county.

But maybe the best chance of getting stopped is if you have a traffic violation? Otherwise, a roll of the dice?

 

[FreeAtLast]

It gives a police officer cause to pull you over. I would just renew them.

 

[Calico]

...But maybe the best chance of getting stopped is if you have a traffic violation? Otherwise, a roll of the dice?

Another good chance of getting pulled over (speaking from personal experience) is if you are stopped at a red light at night, and are lucky enough to have Officer Friendly of the Highway Patrol Department pull up directly behind you, with his headlights beautifully illuminating your expired sticker. This gave me the opportunity to see the inside of our county courthouse bright and early one morning, along with hundreds of other unfortunate souls. Fortunately it was a first (and trust me - LAST) offense. I renewed the sticker prior to the court appearance, so a quick chat with the assistant DA got the whole thing dismissed.

You can take a chance on not getting caught, but believe me, if you lose the gamble, and see those blue flashing lights, it isn't worth it.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'd gamble for the test drive, but then again I live in a state that can be fairly lax on enforcement of such things. The worst thing you can do here is forget to turn in the old tag if you drop insurance. That has hefty fines.
Key for us is having insurance on the vehicle, you can wiggle out of anything that is a lesser crime than that. And I'm guilty of a plate swap or two in my youth, though just the stories are enough to freak out my DH!

 

[Walt34]

I'd say bite the bullet and renew the tags.

Another issue is that if you drive it with expired tags or tags issued to another vehicle (which in Maryland is a separate and more severe violation) you may also be driving without insurance. I say that because most insurance policies require that the insured vehicle have current registration. Driving an unregistered vehicle means they can deny the claim. Placing tags issued to another vehicle on the car takes the wind out of you sails when you try to claim you didn't know it was expired.

And when I was on the road, cars being driven with tags issued to another were towed. No discussion, no debate, you're not driving it until you show up at the impound lot with current tags for it. The reason is the insurance thing and I had no tolerance for that degree of irresponsibility.

 

[rescueme]

I'd renew and just tack the added cost on to your asking price of the car, if it sells in the near future.

+1

 

[mystang52]

As others have said, expired plates are easy pickings for the police to stop you....never mind that *I* would never sell my car to a friend or neighbor.

 

[Pajaro]

I bet you could walk in to a mom & pop used car lot and buy a 30-day dealer plate for less than the cost of full registration.

 

[utrecht]

The ticket goes to the person driving the car...not the owner of the car. Does that change what you want to do?

 

[utrecht]

I bet you could walk in to a mom & pop used car lot and buy a 30-day dealer plate for less than the cost of full registration.

That's "more illegal" than driving a car with expired plates.

 

[My Dream]

Here in Canada you can get a 10 day temporary plate for $15.00. Is it possible that option is available in your State?

 

[Bestwifeever]

I'd say bite the bullet and renew the tags.

Another issue is that if you drive it with expired tags or tags issued to another vehicle (which in Maryland is a separate and more severe violation) you may also be driving without insurance. I say that because most insurance policies require that the insured vehicle have current registration. Driving an unregistered vehicle means they can deny the claim....

Whoa, I didn't even think about the insurance issue. I officially withdraw my previous comments about risking a test drive and replace them with "Never."

 

[Dimsumkid]

I believe these options may/will work:

1) sign the title, leave the buyer's signature/date/odometer reading blank (in case it doesn't work out). Take off the plates and make a bill of sale with a date to void the sale. Have your neighbor call his insurance to add the car. Looks like the new owner has 30 days to transfer the title or incur a $5 fine;

2) get a 30 day temporary plate from DMV for $18.50 then let the neighbor test drive it;

3) If you can't get the temp plates, renew the old plates with a $20 late fee.