Selling a bike outside of state - what to do with the license plate?

[ilikefood]

The California thing of license plate staying with the vehicle when you sell it is new and weird to me (everywhere else I've lived you keep your plate when you sell your bike, and the buyer gets a new plate from the DMV), but I'm selling my bike to someone in Texas, not in California. Since the bike is going out of state, should I take off my license plate? Or does it still stay with the bike?

 

[Blankpage]

I can't see the logic to sending the plate with the bike. Not like he's going to use that plate in Texas.

 

[Kawikiwi]

Frame it.

 

[ctwo]

...and hang it in the garage.

 

[zelig]

TL;DR = not required by TX

From the Texas perspective, you have no obligation to include your license plate in a sale. The system here even has a Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification Form to help clear a seller if a buyer "abuses" an included plate (running up tolls, etc), which should give you an idea of how often that occurs.

I would guess California does NOT have a form like this if they require you to include the plate in a sale? Too lazy to search. :smoking

Anyway... to compensate for vehicles selling without plates, Texas has various temporary permit options.

Buying from out of state is an opportunity to legitimately acquire such plates, but as a buyer I am aware of the risks that a seller may wish to avoid, and would not be upset by a withheld plate if it was not legally required.

 

[ScottRNelson]

When I've sold vehicles to out of state buyers, I kept the plate. In my case, however, they were always personalized plates, so I would keep the plate even when sold within California too.

Take off the plate once you've sold it.

 

[berth]

Frame it.

...and hang it in the garage.

Yea I thought the destiny of dead plates was to nailed to the walls of bars.

 

[CDONA]

In Az. it is your plate, to be used for your next vehicle.

 

[lam@barf]

VA has a transfer permit. The buyer can buy a $5 permit, good for three days. The buyer and the seller have to sign and date at point of sale and that gets the buyer the time to get to a VA DMV to tag the new-to-them bike.

I bought a bike in NC, used the permit as a paper tag, rode home and went to the DMV the next Monday.

 

[ilikefood]

Great, thanks for the advice! I'm going to keep the plate. The bike is getting trucked to Texas, not ridden, so the seller won't need a plate to get the bike home.

 

[Pailfayce]

Garage wall.

 

[avu3]

Vehicles I have bought from out of state have always come with a plate. Even if that state has you keep plates. I wonder if that's lazy sellers or what. The DMV collects them and issues you your new CA plate. No idea about the other way.

CA Has a Release of Liability form ( you fill out online now) which absolves you of responsibility for the vehicle - traffic fines, lawsuits, etc. I'd do that, regardless of where the vehicle is going. I'd keep a copy of the Bill of Sale and transfer paperwork just in case.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

I bought my Goldwing up in Oregon. Got it registered at the Los Gatos DMV office. They inspected it for the VIN and whatever, then handed me a new plate. They never asked for the old, Oregon, plate and I never offered it to them. A few months ago we replaced the plate with a handicapped plate, at the Santa Teresa DMV - they took the old plate that time and we had to ride around with no plate for a few weeks until Sacramento could send us a new plate.

 

[Strigoi]

I've only sold one vehicle out of state. I let the plate go with the truck. It was a dealer that bought it in Indiana (IIRC) and he sold it with the same CA plate on it.