buying and insuring a vehicle

Wow ! That's good news, you must be thrilled. Keep us informed of how the rest of the trip turns out and if you get the chance post a couple of pictures of your new ride.

You can register a vehicle in Washington State and get license plates with a California address? That just doesn't sound right.

I knew Washington State was one of the very few states where it was relatively easy for non-residents to register a car, but like GLC, I'm rather shocked they didn't care that you didn't even have an in state address. I'd think you'd have a ton of Californians with Washington plates, to avoid CA's high auto taxes.

I will also say, I would never ever put down a deposit on a vehicle before an inspection (much less completely unseen). I hope everything works out for you, and your vehicle really is in as good of shape as it appears on the surface.

Happy traveling.

Ok guys I will try and clarify
So you can understand

Here is the link to the washington dmv page

http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistr...erprivate.html

I fell under the RCW40.20.025 exemption

All I needed to show was a valid drivers licence

And no where does it say you need to prove your residency or address
All they asked for was a postal address

The lady even called her supervisor over to confirm

You can even do all this by post!

But I paid extra for instant title

Mike I realise you are only trying to help and I appreciate all advice but sometimes when people do nothing but tell you how hard something is and how it can not be done without providing any possible solutions
It ends up being a really negative situation
As far as the vehicles condition I haven't mentioned this because I like to work like a sponge and absorb others knowledge
I like to if anything downplay my knowledge BUT
My father was a mechanic and a car dealer all my life I have been around buying and selling cars I have stripped down and rebuilt several car and bike engines and even done a back to chassis rebuild, I have done three full bare metal re sprays and I worked for five years as a auto electrician
I think I've got this mate

Thanks again guys and gals
When I'm next at a real PC I'll get up some pics

Cheers !

I am not trying to give you a hard time - but none of that addresses registration and license plates - it only addresses a title. I just can't see how you were able to register the vehicle and get Washington plates for it without a Washington address. Would you please clarify?

Perhaps the nomenclature and procedures are different where you are from - a title is simply an ownership document. If the vehicle is financed you don't get the title, the lienholder keeps it till it's paid off and/or resold. Registration is a separate process and a separate document (normally done at the same time as the title) to get license plates. Just having a title does not automatically get you license plates. If Washington is one of the states where the license plates stay with the vehicle instead of with the owner, you still have to register the vehicle and existing plates in your name. THIS is where I can't understand how this can be done with an out of state address.

What I'm afraid of is you might be driving around without a registration document, which the police will ask for (along with your driver's license and your proof of insurance) if you are stopped for any reason. Again, this is separate from the title.

No GLC we did both the title and the registration on the spot at the same time we have both sets of paperwork
We were even able to register it in both hannah and my name , we signed two registration certificates

Oh and the plates stay on the car,
Really it doesn't seem to matter I mean if a California resident wanted to register a vehicle there and wanted to give them a local address a mail forwarding company would be fine as they don't require proof
We were expecting that's what we were going to have to do but we went in and asked beforehand And were told we didn't need it, that its just a postal address and anything would do

We didn't tell any white lies we were completely upfront about our situation and what we were trying to do
They were very helpful

We had to pay 9% in sales tax

But because we were in Bellingham no smog was needed

Hope that helps

Rightoh here's a couple pics!

Attachment 3889
Attachment 3890

Nice ride, good luck with it and have a great trip !

Dave.

Cheers dave! We are already having a fantastic time!