Logistics of car transfer

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I'm attempting to buy a used car and sell my old car, and cannot figure out how one is supposed to manage the logistics of having two cars and only one registration, especially in Somerville with the draconian parking rules. I understand that it isn't legal to park a car with no plates on the street, even with my visitor permit in the dashboard? Nor, of course, is it legal to put one plate on each car. So what do those of us who aren't lucky enough to have private driveways do??

and btw, if anyone's interested in a '98 Subaru wagon in decent condition, feel free to drop me a line. preferably asap ;)

Comments

[busylilbear.livejournal.com]

how much are you looking to sell it for? mileage?

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

It's around 138k miles, and I said $4000 in my craigslist posting but am open to negotiation within reason. will have pix up soonish.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

I have no advice, aside from "find a friend with a driveway." But I suspect this has a lot to do with the fact that Mass is the only state I've lived in (of 7) where people routinely talk about preferring to go to a dealer and trade-in rather than deal with the hassle of a private sale. Presumably the auto-dealer lobby likes it this way.

[smammy]

If you want to park both cars on the street, you'll need to register and insure both.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I parked a car without license plates on the streets of Somerville and Medford for several weeks without getting in any trouble. I didn't even have a visitor's permit, but there were places you could park without one then. This was six years ago and they may be stricter about it now. I did have insurance on the car and I was legally registered in California, so I wasn't actually breaking any laws either.

[paradoox.livejournal.com]

Really if you are not going to sell the first car before you buy the new car, you are supposed to get a new registration for the second car (and add it to your insurance).

Even if you had a driveway or lived in a less draconian town, there is no legal way for someone to test drive the car once you have transferred the plates.

[geekpixie.livejournal.com]

This. And as for parking a car without plates on the road, I dare say that was also before ALL Somerville roads were permit required. You'll have to have both cars registered until one is sold, or find somewhere to park, and illegally move a plate to the unregistered one to test drive, which I obviously don't endorse nor recommend, and yet.. I've seen it done ;) Good luck!

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

I just dealt with this hassle, and had to register both cars and pay for insurance for an overlapping month. Suxx, but I couldn't figure anything else out. :(

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

I use Progressive Direct, and they give pro-rated refunds down to the day if you cancel or reduce your coverage.

[ratheripped.livejournal.com]

As the former owner of a 97 outback I'd like to advise anyone in the market for a used late 90's subie to be aware of the head gasket issue. If mamajoan hasn't replaced it yet be sure to prepare yourself for the inevitable (it's fixable but if you don't get it right away with a mechanic that knows subie's you're going to be in for a world of misdiagnosis)...

http://users.sisna.com/ignatius/subaru/headgasket.html