Buying a used car in Oregon / Washington

I am planning out a fly and drive around May next year and I'd like to spend a few days visiting the Pacific Northwest where I am planning to find a car to drive back home to Pennsylvania. One of the details I am unsure of is the title and tag process out in Oregon and Washington. Here in Pennsylvania things can be bit difficult, sales have to be taken to a notary during reasonable business hours 8a-8p and no sales can be made on Sundays because of this. Has anyone applied for a temporary registration in Oregon or Washington? That would give me a few days to make the trip home where I could get everything settled up for my home state.

I have nothing valuable to contribute, aside from having raced your old car last month at autocross. When did you sell it?

I can speak for Washington, having just done a fly-and-buy from there.

You need a valid WA plate to drive a car there. It doesn't seem to matter if it belongs to you or the PO - if the car is registered, it's good to go.

The risk is... that's fine within WA. If you get pulled over outside WA, well, there are no sure guarantees. I made it across all of Oregon and to the first DMV in Nevada without incident. I can't honestly say what would have happened if I'd gotten pulled over in either state.

Can't really say what the laws are in Washington, but I was looking at a car in Ohio a while back. IIRC, to legally drive it home to Michigan, I would have needed to use the seller's plate from the point of purchase to the Ohio/Indiana border. At the Indiana border, I would need to switch to a plate that was registered to me. At the Michigan/Indiana border, I would have needed to drive it the rest of the way with no plate. (I may have some of the state requirements mixed up, as this was several years ago) The point is, there were three different plate requirements in 3 states. I can't imagine trying to coordinate for the 10-12ish you would need to cross through from WA/OR to PA. If it were me, I'd either have it titled and registered in my home state before I went to get it (if you are buying before you travel) or get a short term/paper tag in the state you're buying it from and drive it all the way home then retitle/register it.

This is one of those things that really needs to be standardized state to state.

There is no requirement for a notary in Oregon. Also license plates are not turned in. If you buy a car from a private seller they leave them on the car.

If for some reason it has no plates you can go to the dmv and get a thirty day trip permit for around $20 with proof of insurance.

Jumper K. Balls wrote: There is no requirement for a notary in Oregon. Also license plates are not turned in. If you buy a car from a private seller they leave them on the car. If for some reason it has no plates you can go to the dmv and get a thirty day trip permit for around $20 with proof of insurance.

Ditto for Washington.

The DMV in WA is open Monday through Saturday. So you can get a temp tag if the car does not have plates, or valid tabs.

If the car does have plates and up to date tabs you should be go to go. At least in WA and OR.

Your out of luck if you buy a car without these on a Sunday, however I bought my Firebird from a small car dealer on a Sunday,in Oregon It had no plates or registration.

the small dealer told me I had 24 or 48 hrs (can't remember) to drive it with no Plates. I was promptly pulled over by a WA State Patrol officer on my way home for doing 85 in a 70.

I told him I just bought the car and the "Speedo must be off" (it wasn't He actually confirmed it was dead on) gave him the Bill of sale and a few minutes later came back and let me go. This was back in 05. So rules may have changed.

I forgot to add, if you have a Wa state title sighned over to you, a Bill of sale and valid plates/tabs I would assume that would be all the proof you need to drive cross country.

Esoteric Nixon wrote: I have nothing valuable to contribute, aside from having raced your old car last month at autocross. When did you sell it?

I'm assuming you are talking about the Fairlane. I sold it about two months ago, I think the new owner is enjoying the car as much as I did. It might not be the fastest way around an autocross but it is a ton of fun.

Oregon is ran by hippies. "It's all good, man!" You could drive around here for a month as the car sits as long as you hav a bill o sale with you and the title is signed and dated. Hell, I have to go into dmv once in awhile and make sure they take cars out of my name that I've sold years ago. Despite its coastal and hip/trending locale, the whole state is super lax. Even DEQ out here doesn't care, they put a rod up the muffler, have you rev it to 3k, if it passes your done, not even a visual inspection. And they could care less if it's a 200$ junker, or a Ferrari.

Thanks for the information everybody. I should probably put in a call to the DMV in both states but, the actual transfer seems pretty simple. New York and Maryland are similar, sign the title over and hand it to the new owner, they do need to keep the plates though. I'll see if either state offers a temporary registration.

I know Ohio has temporary plates and registration, because I'm still waiting for my Ohio title to show up on a vehicle I have now.

Cops in Oregon aren't too happy about non-matching D.L. and permanent registration, but IME if the tags are valid and you have a bill of sale at hand with a dated within the last couple days, no big deal.