Transferring a car title--thoroughly confused!

[torinsmom]

I'm so confused, but hoping I'm making this harder than it is.

My dad bought a used car for my DS17. He put the title in his(my dad's) name, until he felt like DS was ready to drive. So, now he feels DS is ready. He is going to sign the title over to me and have it notarized. I will need to take it to the DMV and get it transferred to my name. The car is insured in my dad's name right now. I am seeing on the DMV site that you need proof of insurance in your name before you can transfer the title to your name. In talking to Nationwide, I was told I cannot get insurance in my name until my name is on the title. So, how do I do this? It seems like a catch 22 to me, because I can't do either thing without the other being done first. Any advice would help

BTW, before I get flamed, yes, DS will be on the insurance as well, but he will not be the primary driver until he starts to drive regularly in a few months.

 

[notactuallyme]

I'm so confused, but hoping I'm making this harder than it is.

My dad bought a used car for my DS17. He put the title in his(my dad's) name, until he felt like DS was ready to drive. So, now he feels DS is ready. He is going to sign the title over to me and have it notarized. I will need to take it to the DMV and get it transferred to my name. The car is insured in my dad's name right now. I am seeing on the DMV site that you need proof of insurance in your name before you can transfer the title to your name. In talking to Nationwide, I was told I cannot get insurance in my name until my name is on the title. So, how do I do this? It seems like a catch 22 to me, because I can't do either thing without the other being done first. Any advice would help

BTW, before I get flamed, yes, DS will be on the insurance as well, but he will not be the primary driver until he starts to drive regularly in a few months.

I know it varies from state to state, but here the easiest way to get around this is to have your father "sell" you the car. Just make it a nominal amount, Like $1 to avoid the taxes.

 

[C.Ann]

I may be wrong (anyone feel free to correct me), but I believe you could solve this problem by simply titling the car in your name, but not registering it the same day.. Just because a car is titled in your name doesn't mean you have to register it and put it on the road right away..

Then - when you have the car titled to you, call your insurance carrier, provide the proof that it's titled to you, get your insurance, and go back to DMV and register the car at that point in time..

It's a pain - more trips than necessary - but unless one place or the other is giving you incorrect info, I don't see any other way around it..

Good luck!

 

[torinsmom]

I may be wrong (anyone feel free to correct me), but I believe you could solve this problem by simply titling the car in your name, but not registering it the same day.. Just because a car is titled in your name doesn't mean you have to register it and put it on the road right away..

Then - when you have the car titled to you, call your insurance carrier, provide the proof that it's titled to you, get your insurance, and go back to DMV and register the car at that point in time..

It's a pain - more trips than necessary - but unless one place or the other is giving you incorrect info, I don't see any other way around it..

Good luck!

So if it is titled in my name and registered and insured in another, can it still be driven? I don't intend to get insurance until the end of the month, but would like my son to be able to practice in the car.

 

[C.Ann]

So if it is titled in my name and registered and insured in another, can it still be driven? I don't intend to get insurance until the end of the month, but would like my son to be able to practice in the car.

That makes it a little more confusing.. Whose name is it going to be registered in and insured in? Is there a reason it can't be titled to that person instead of you?

 

[Swalphin]

Your dad can keep it on his policy until you put it on yours till the end of the month, I would just do title, registration and insurance at the same time to make your life easier. I keep rereading your post and again I would just do all three at the same time. Keep it on your dad's policy until you can do title, insurance and registration at once. Trust me they will send you home from the DMV w/o all 3. You can have your dad sign the title to you so the title is then in your name, the car is yours and add it to your policy, if you do not change the registration and still have it insured by yourself and your dad ,if your son gets pulled over he will have a headache trying to explain. Just save yourself the headache and do all three at once. You can add it to your policy as soon as the title is signed on the back to you by your dad.

 

[Darcy03231]

So if it is titled in my name and registered and insured in another, can it still be driven? I don't intend to get insurance until the end of the month, but would like my son to be able to practice in the car.

In my state the car has to be titled, registered and insured to the same person.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Call you local DVM and they will tell you the steps you need to do for your laws.

 

[torinsmom]

That makes it a little more confusing.. Whose name is it going to be registered in and insured in? Is there a reason it can't be titled to that person instead of you?

It would be registered and insure in my dad's name still until I put it on my insurance a week or two later. It is already titled to my dad. I don't know why he didn't put my name on it as well, since he knew it was coming to me in 2 months. That would have really simplified things. Now I have to get it registered, titled, get new tags, etc.

Your dad can keep it on his policy until you put it on yours till the end of the month, I would just do title, registration and insurance at the same time to make your life easier. I keep rereading your post and again I would just do all three at the same time. Keep it on your dad's policy until you can do title, insurance and registration at once. Trust me they will send you home from the DMV w/o all 3. You can have your dad sign the title to you so the title is then in your name, the car is yours and add it to your policy, if you do not change the registration and still have it insured by yourself and your dad ,if your son gets pulled over he will have a headache trying to explain. Just save yourself the headache and do all three at once. You can add it to your policy as soon as the title is signed on the back to you by your dad.

I am driving it back tomorrow, so I would like it in my name ASAP. I think I will just try and get everything done earlier rather than later. I would hate for my son to have an accident while practicing and make my dad's insurance go up. He has it on a policy with his other 2 cars, and they have no points.

The insurance agent said that I could not just use the signed title to get insurance. I have to get the title in my name first. I guess I will call Monday and see what the process is.

 

[DVC-Don]

What we have out customers do is bring in the title prior to going to DMV, on the back is where the seller and buyer sign, we make a copy front and back with the signatures and then issue a policy binder & ID cards that you take to DMV along with the title. The copy of the title is then scanned and electronically sent to the company.

*This can vary by state.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

1. Can a person under age 18 be the legal owner of a car in your state?

2. Check on the difference in price between having the car on your insurance with DS as the primary driver of the car as compared to the cost of having a separate insurance policy with him as the owner. The difference may surprise you.

3. The first time I bought a car I had the insurance in place before I actually picked up the car or had any of the ownership paperwork done.

 

[torinsmom]

1. Can a person under age 18 be the legal owner of a car in your state?

2. Check on the difference in price between having the car on your insurance with DS as the primary driver of the car as compared to the cost of having a separate insurance policy with him as the owner. The difference may surprise you.

3. The first time I bought a car I had the insurance in place before I actually picked up the car or had any of the ownership paperwork done.

The car will be titled to me and I am well over 18 My son will not be on the title, until he is at least 18, probably older.

I am putting the car on a separate policy, with me as the primary driver and DS as a secondary driver. If I put him on my policy, he will have to be listed as the primary driver, since this will be the second car. This would make my insurance cost skyrocket, and it makes no sense since he won't be the primary driver for a few months. Right now, I pay around $420 every 6 months for full coverage on my car. With the second car and him on the policy, it would at least triple to around $1300/month(more depending on limits). With the second policy, the cost will stay at $420 for my car and will be $777/6 months for the other car with me and DS as drivers. This is with liability/comprehensive/accident forgiveness and high limits. So I save a little money and don't have to worry that a ticket or accident will make my car insurance be so high.

 

[msmayor]

The car will be titled to me and I am well over 18 My son will not be on the title, until he is at least 18, probably older.

I am putting the car on a separate policy, with me as the primary driver and DS as a secondary driver. If I put him on my policy, he will have to be listed as the primary driver, since this will be the second car. This would make my insurance cost skyrocket, and it makes no sense since he won't be the primary driver for a few months. Right now, I pay around $420 every 6 months for full coverage on my car. With the second car and him on the policy, it would at least triple to around $1300/month(more depending on limits). With the second policy, the cost will stay at $420 for my car and will be $777/6 months for the other car with me and DS as drivers. This is with liability/comprehensive/accident forgiveness and high limits. So I save a little money and don't have to worry that a ticket or accident will make my car insurance be so high.

A separate policy with the same insurance company you have now? This could be a recipe for disaster.

Should your son have an accident in this second car, your insurance company may wonder why you are listed as the primary driver for two vehicles. It could cause problems if a claim situation arises.

 

[Kellydelly]

A separate policy with the same insurance company you have now? This could be a recipe for disaster.

Should your son have an accident in this second car, your insurance company may wonder why you are listed as the primary driver for two vehicles. It could cause problems if a claim situation arises.

Doesn't each vehicle have it's own "policy" anyway ? Some of our vehicles are registered in Dh's name and some are in mine (we have three).

 

[msmayor]

Doesn't each vehicle have it's own "policy" anyway ? Some of our vehicles are registered in Dh's name and some are in mine (we have three).

Not necessarily. Generally, each car is "covered" separately under a single policy. You can chose different coverages and different limits for each individual vehicle, but all are covered under a single auto policy.

Our household has three vehicles, all are titled in my name (which makes it easier for me to handle all dealings with DMV). Each car has its own 'primary driver' though...my husband, myself and my son. We do have four drivers in the house and our daughter (who is away at college) is listed as only an occasional driver on the vehicle where I am the primary.

When we added our son as a primary for the third vehicle, our premium only increased $60/month...and this was for a 2008 Saturn Vue with full coverage. We have higher limits as well which are required for our umbrella policy. All three vehicles have both collision and comprehensive coverage.

My total bill for all three vehicles with four drivers is about $250/month...and I live in a state with some of the highest rates in the nation.

 

[undertheradar]

OP, do you have AAA? You could handle all of this through them.

 

[torinsmom]

A separate policy with the same insurance company you have now? This could be a recipe for disaster.

Should your son have an accident in this second car, your insurance company may wonder why you are listed as the primary driver for two vehicles. It could cause problems if a claim situation arises.

Separate companies. I am keeping my car with the same company I have used since I began driving. The other car will be with Nationwide. The Nationwide agent knows I have another car with another company. Eventually, I will have both cars on one policy, but I want to keep them separate in the beginning. After the first year without an accident, rates go down substantially and I will reeevaluate then.

 

[dis-happy]

I live in NC too and have had to do this with several cars. I think as long as you can show any insurance policy in your name, you will be fine.

Also, the $1. trick doesn't work here. If your dad/car title lives in the same state the car can pass to you without fees, but if it is coming from out of state you'll pay fees on the fair market value according to the dmv's bluebook.


Finally, my experience is that we have been able to call up our insurance company and have the car added before it gets registered. My dh got a car from my dad last year and drove it home cross country. It was insured in our name at least 2 weeks before we were able to get it registered. I'd call your insurance company back and see if you get the same info the second time around.

 

[torinsmom]

I live in NC too and have had to do this with several cars. I think as long as you can show any insurance policy in your name, you will be fine.

Also, the $1. trick doesn't work here. If your dad/car title lives in the same state the car can pass to you without fees, but if it is coming from out of state you'll pay fees on the fair market value according to the dmv's bluebook.


Finally, my experience is that we have been able to call up our insurance company and have the car added before it gets registered. My dh got a car from my dad last year and drove it home cross country. It was insured in our name at least 2 weeks before we were able to get it registered. I'd call your insurance company back and see if you get the same info the second time around.

We both live in NC. He is basically gifting the car to my son through me.

 

[dis-happy]

We both live in NC. He is basically gifting the car to my son through me.

Right, but whether or not you'll pay a DMV fee/tax (not sure what they call it) depends on which state the title is currently in. If it's in NC it can pass to you for free.

If it's out of state, you'll pay the percent tax on whatever they deem the car to be worth.


ETA: "we both live in NC".....you mean both you and your father, not just you and me. LOL So at least you'll won't have to pay that add'l registration tax. yay!