Buying a Class A coach in Texas
I plan to buy a coach from a private party (not a dealer) in Texas. I plan to fly there in a couple of weeks and drive it home to West Virginia. I will need some sort of temporary tag good for a...
Forum Discussion
I’ve bought vehicles in other states before and it was no big deal to get a 10-day tag in the state where I purchased in order to drive it back home. I don’t remember even having to show an Insurance Certificate, just the title sighed over to me. In Texas, it seems to be a big deal to get a tag to drive it home.
It seems an Insurance Certificate that complies with WV law is not good enough in Texas. I was told I need a Declaration Sheet, which takes time. I spoke with my insurance agent and added the vehicle to my WV policy today, in hopes that I can get the Dec Sheet in the next 2 weeks, before I board a plane for Texas. If for some unforeseen reason I end up not buying the coach, I can drop it from the policy again and get a refund of most of what I pay in premiums. But under WV insurance law, any vehicle that I buy is automatically added to my existing policy. My obligation is to notify my agent within 14 days of when I buy it and pay the premium when they get around to sending me the bill. It was the same in Ohio when I lived there.
I was also told by the county tax office in Texas that I must have a list of all routes that I will be taking on the way back to WV and that I cannot under any circumstances take any different route home. I printed out the directions from Mapquest. I wonder if the authorities in LA, MS, AL, TN, VA and WV will be checking as I drive through.
I entered the coach VIN on this Texas DMV web page https://vision21.txdmv.gov/Vehicle/VehicleLookupForPermit.aspx and it told me that “(t)his vehicle is not eligible for a Transit Permit. You must go immediately to your local county tax office to title and register your vehicle.” I don’t want to title and register the vehicle there in Texas.
I think I will call the Texas DMV again tomorrow. I now have the VIN (which I did not have when I called last week) so maybe they can tell me more about exactly what kind of tag I need, etc.
I will also call the WV DMV again tomorrow to ask about getting a WV temporary tag. In my past experience, they will only issue one when I bring in the title, pay the use tax, and apply for a WV title. One cannot get regular plates in WV until the title is issued, which can take 2 or 3 weeks because they are all issued in Charleston.
Wayne
It seems an Insurance Certificate that complies with WV law is not good enough in Texas. I was told I need a Declaration Sheet, which takes time. I spoke with my insurance agent and added the vehicle to my WV policy today, in hopes that I can get the Dec Sheet in the next 2 weeks, before I board a plane for Texas. If for some unforeseen reason I end up not buying the coach, I can drop it from the policy again and get a refund of most of what I pay in premiums. But under WV insurance law, any vehicle that I buy is automatically added to my existing policy. My obligation is to notify my agent within 14 days of when I buy it and pay the premium when they get around to sending me the bill. It was the same in Ohio when I lived there.
I was also told by the county tax office in Texas that I must have a list of all routes that I will be taking on the way back to WV and that I cannot under any circumstances take any different route home. I printed out the directions from Mapquest. I wonder if the authorities in LA, MS, AL, TN, VA and WV will be checking as I drive through.
I entered the coach VIN on this Texas DMV web page https://vision21.txdmv.gov/Vehicle/VehicleLookupForPermit.aspx and it told me that “(t)his vehicle is not eligible for a Transit Permit. You must go immediately to your local county tax office to title and register your vehicle.” I don’t want to title and register the vehicle there in Texas.
I think I will call the Texas DMV again tomorrow. I now have the VIN (which I did not have when I called last week) so maybe they can tell me more about exactly what kind of tag I need, etc.
I will also call the WV DMV again tomorrow to ask about getting a WV temporary tag. In my past experience, they will only issue one when I bring in the title, pay the use tax, and apply for a WV title. One cannot get regular plates in WV until the title is issued, which can take 2 or 3 weeks because they are all issued in Charleston.
Wayne
