What is the fastest way to register my car in NY state?
September 5, 2024 5:34 AM Subscribe
We are buying a used car from a dealer in New York state. I'm having trouble working out if it is any faster, in terms of getting permanent plates, registration, insurance, if we transfer the registration and plates from our trade in to the new(er) car, or if we should just get new registration and plates. We are doing the trade-in either way.
My understanding is we will get some kind of temporary documentation from the dealership and we then have 30 days to get the permanent registration (and plates).
We have to drive across the border to Canada in a week and I'm not sure if having temporary registration/plates will be any kind of extra issue there if we get pulled over or something. It doesn't seem like Ontario would care about my temporary registration but I can't tell for sure, and that's why I want the faster registration option if there is one.
If we transfer the registration from our current car to the new one, will the dealer just transfer the plates right away and it's all done? Or do they have to give us temporary plates, then we wait until the registration is transferred and then at that time we can put our current car's plate on the new one?
If this doesn't make any difference in terms of driving the car around during the temporary registration period then we will transfer the registration and plates. But if it's faster some other way we will do that.
My understanding is we will get some kind of temporary documentation from the dealership and we then have 30 days to get the permanent registration (and plates).
We have to drive across the border to Canada in a week and I'm not sure if having temporary registration/plates will be any kind of extra issue there if we get pulled over or something. It doesn't seem like Ontario would care about my temporary registration but I can't tell for sure, and that's why I want the faster registration option if there is one.
If we transfer the registration from our current car to the new one, will the dealer just transfer the plates right away and it's all done? Or do they have to give us temporary plates, then we wait until the registration is transferred and then at that time we can put our current car's plate on the new one?
If this doesn't make any difference in terms of driving the car around during the temporary registration period then we will transfer the registration and plates. But if it's faster some other way we will do that.
Do the transfer. It will save money and you will have your old plates, the numbers of which you already have memorized, right?
posted by leaper at 7:13 AM on September 5
posted by leaper at 7:13 AM on September 5
Best answer: NYS resident here too. Last time I traded in a car, they simply moved my plate from one car to the other (at my request) and I got a new registration card in the mail a week or two later. I also think (can't remember 100%) that I got an email from NYSDMV with a temporary registration card for my fully registered new car. (I was and am registered with NYS DMV for online transactions.) The only thing I did was take the envelope from my mailbox to the glovebox.
Fwiw, my relatives in Buffalo and Niagara Falls had the same plate for like 50 years. Just transferred from old car to new. They crossed the border regularly.
Pro tip: When asked why you are crossing into Canada, DO NOT say for Grateful Dead concert. That will add about an hour to the crossing.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:21 AM on September 5 [2 favorites]
Fwiw, my relatives in Buffalo and Niagara Falls had the same plate for like 50 years. Just transferred from old car to new. They crossed the border regularly.
Pro tip: When asked why you are crossing into Canada, DO NOT say for Grateful Dead concert. That will add about an hour to the crossing.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:21 AM on September 5 [2 favorites]
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" It doesn't seem like Ontario would care about my temporary registration"
That could be a very risky assumption to make.
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:38 AM on September 5 [1 favorite]