Temporary Plate

[floyd]

Originally Posted by jon carpenter

It is my understanding, in Illinois anyway (confirm with the attorney in your state), the colored piece of sheet metal with numbers/letters is ONLY a receipt showing you have paid taxes for the vehicle (trailer). You have a duplicate paper copy in your vehicle. The metal plate does nothing else except show you have paid taxes and can drive the vehicle/trailer around.

jon

If you want to drive a car on a public street you must register it and buy a plate.
The plate is issued with the first registration and is part of it, the sticker and the paper registration proves it is up to date and shows to whom it is registered.
The title price is a fee.
The registration costs are fees.
The sales tax on the purchase is a tax and is paid when you apply for a title.

You can buy a car, pay the title fee and the sales tax and never register it if you are going to use it on private land (like a race track) or use it for parts, or just to decorate your garage.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by gordon2

My understanding is that The Certificate of Origin substitutes as a title of sorts for a new vehicle that has not been titled yet. It does not work for used or any vehicle that is or has been titled and can only be issued by the manufacturer.

When I bought new in Sept 2015, Evelands gave me the Certificate of Origin AND a temp tag.

You are sorta right.
There is no owner's name on the certificate of origin, but if it is built by a manufacturer it is needed in order to describe the trailer with the information used to issue a title.
The trailer shown below was bought as a kit. As with my Scamp, it came with a certificate of origin even though the trailer below was nothing more than than a frame in pieces and an axle. I built it as seen and the title was issued from the C.o.O.
If I had simply bought an axle and built the trailer complete, it would have had a "Home Built" title, and I think they would require an inspection.(don't recall). I do remember buying the kit on sale at Menards for $75.
It was then $140 for title and registration.
The luggage carrier came off and it had side rails and tie downs for use as a utility trailer.

[k0wtz]

Floyd I just renewed my edge car plates cost for 2 years 48.00 ia really likes to charge don't they?

bob

[Jon in AZ]

Arizona changed some years back. We used to keep the plates and turn them in, but now plates stay with the vehicle. You can go online (or by mail or to the DMV in person) and report the sale so you no longer have liability for anything that might happen involving the new owner. You also get a prorated refund of taxes paid, starting from when you report, not when sold, so there is a financial incentive to report promptly. It's easy to forget amid the stress of a major transaction.

Procedures vary greatly among states, and states change from time to time. If I were a first-time buyer or seller- whether in-state or out-of-state- I would have a conversation with my home state's motor vehicle department about procedures, requirements, and no-no's.

However, judging by the number of trailers that have been bought and/or sold by forum members and the almost complete absence of posts reporting problems involving licensing for transport, I'd say it's a non-issue. The fact that liability insurance covers the trailer while towing on the highway may have something to do with that.

Most paperwork problems are related to ownership documents. That's where you need to be very careful.

[k0wtz]

jon I suppose there are things that can happen in any transaction we just had a shady guy here who has been in trouble all his life I might add gtt caught selling non-existant large dirt moving, industrial equipment.

He started out buying this stuff at sales I am thinking then taking it to a shop and supposedly redo it but I am thinking he just slapped new paint on and that was it!

as usual his venture was a money looser so he started selling stuff but there wasn't any! How he thought he could get by with this I don't know!

One idea he had was he went into some sort of fancy cattle business all registered of course! In order to build a line you have to have all those high-priced sales. he once booked a fancy hotel and carted those cattle up an elevator to the banquet center on the top floor.

Those sales may bring big bux on a cow but I don't think the sale is ever completed just the high price paid then a new-comer with cash wants to go into the cattle business and there you go!

as for trailers with no plates with all the problems law enforcement has now I bet this on the bottom of their list to worry about in their day!

[k0wtz]

Floyd I built one of those to tow behind my motorcycle one time.


cheap and easy


bob

[emij]

Every vehicle (campers included) that we have ever purchased or sold between private parties, we've simply taken our plates off, signed over title, filled out our Colorado state bill of sale (found in DMV online documents) and watched the car drive off or driven our new buy home. No in transit, etc. Most recently my husband drove out to Kentucky to pick up our new to us Scamp 16, which was registered in South Dakota and whose owner resided at least part time in Ohio. We also took along a South Dakota bill of sale (again printed off of the SD DMV website) so that the sale would match the registration and title when we brought it to the Colorado DMV. We had zero issues, in transport or in titling and registering it to our names. But EVERY STATE IS DIFFERENT. I would suggest you really do your homework.

On another note, our music teacher recently sold his car to a private party and forgot to take the plates off. This week he received a call from another persons insurance, because the car, with his plates, had been involved in a hit and run, only someone was able to write down the plate. The person he sold it to didn't bother to go register or title the car in his name, and now our music teacher is fighting to clear his name, even though he has copies of a bill of sale and signed title.

We always remove our plate and call to let the DMV know we sold it. A refund isn't offered, and I don't know if that is required in Colorado, but it makes me feel better.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

The fact that liability insurance covers the trailer while towing on the highway may have something to do with that.

Canadians should not assume the trailer is covered by vehicle insurance. When I renewed my trailer tag last year, I bumped third party liability up to $3 million ( costs a few dollars more ).