1969w3155

I will be going to Illinois tomorrow through Indiana from Michigan to tag along with my buddy and his son, who is buying an Iroc Z. Michigan will allow you to buy a car and drive it home (no deviations on the way) without plates, he was unable to find info on how Ind. & ILL. do it. He is straight with his insurance company, but the Michigan DMV could not supply him with any info on the other two states, can anyone here give info on their respective State laws regarding this? Thanks. (p.s. I tried to get him to buy an Olds...no luck).

gaerte04

As long as you have a bill of sale you will be fine driving in Indiana. If you do get pulled over just show them the bill of sale that is dated and shows you just bought it.

coppercutlass

In illinois you should be fine. We drove from washington to chicago with no incident and no plates no insurance and we got pulled over in 3 states.

jensenracing77

with a bill of sale you should be good. i drove from NJ to IN with no plates on a car i got and also from NC to IN the same way. never give them a reason to pull me over other than the lack of a plate. one thing you do NOT want to do... don't put a plate from another car on it to "get you home". i have seen several people do this and that WILL get you in trouble if you get pulled over.

1969w3155

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

waynestevens

You can see if Michigan issues temporary permit stickers/ tag. If they do it should eliminate any potential issues. Wayne

MDchanic

Wow! As a lifelong Northeasterner, I can't believe that other states let you do this.

You've just blown my mind.

- Eric

Aceshigh

First of all, seriously ?? I'm not sure if i should laugh.....or facepalm.

I'm not going to even say what I think.
Simply put, you shouldn't take legal advice from a web forum related to vehicle requirements in different states.
Call the Sec of State in IL or one of the numerous IL State Police locations and ask.

Driving a vehicle in IL without registration, or insurance is illegal whether you just bought it or not.
You still need a temporary permit and insurance.
In Indiana you have to have a signed title and you go to the BMV to buy a 4 day temp plate for $9.
You also need proof of insurance from your agent, and I would think the insurance part applies in all states.

Illinios Sec of State also has temp permits for $10 , but like I said, I will not advise you......call the IL State Police.
Just because random people have slipped past the LEO's on the road, doesn't mean it's "Legal".

gaerte04

Point taken but he is only wanting to drive it home not go to the power tour with the thing. Also what if the previos owner has a lien on the vehicle and he does not have the title. A bill of sale is the only option you have. But your right why take information from people on the web.

MDchanic

Any place I've ever been, driving around with no license plates gets you noting more than a free trip to the impound lot, and a ticket you've got to go to court for.

- Eric

66400

Texas will issue a 30 day permit good for any driving anywhere for 25.00 or a 5 day one trip(start and end destination) permit for 5.00, proof of insurance is needed to get it. No other paper work required.

Henry

Aceshigh

1969w31, I found the info you need. (but still call the Sec of State)
http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/...00E04250R.html

To each their own......I just want to be sure you make an informed decision.
Let us know if that ever works for you on a traffic stop with no ticket as an end result

States are hurting for money these days BADLY......the days of freebies are over
It's best to cover your butt.

1969w3155

Did the 12 hour road trip on Sunday the 24th, he had insurance on it from his carrier, good for ten days (his ins. company noted that he would be covered for that time period even if he had not contacted them, mine is three days before contacting them, just for instances like this) could not get plates nor temp paper plate for Michigan nor registration unless title was in his name. Title was handed over when we picked it up, Illinois plates were good for three more days. No problems encountered. I went online to both states DMV, but did not have any luck tracking down the info. His Insurance co. could not provide info on Ind. & ILL., though you would think they would have that on hand if they did business in those states. He could not get any info from Michigans DMV either for those states. I did not find out about the trip until Saturday night..too late to call either DMV. Agree that he should have called Ind. & ILL. DMV before Saturday.

Aceshigh

Sounds like you were fortunate that the seller had a current registered vehicle and left the plates on the car for ya.

As long as you call your agent and inform them you're buying a new vehicle, usually you're covered for 30 days IIRC.
But proving it to an LEO on a traffic stop, is where you just bring your current INS card with the bill of sale.

DeltaPace77

Curious on the IROC Z28 you're buddy's getting, as my brother has one of these since new. 89' black vert 5 speed manual 100% original with 7K mi on the clock. Mostly just sits in the garage, rarely driven. Really not sure what he's even still doing with it, but seems to enjoy having the open top experience for nice days.

1969w3155

The guy he bought it from, had it at his brother in law's dealership, which proably didn't hurt, as they might have been more savy as to what was needed for him to pick it up.

1969w3155

It needs some work, but overall not a bad car for the price, drove about 350-400 miles with no problems. Hardtop, auto, 5.7L, with hand crank windows. 70 something thousand miles. I have driven a mid 80's Z28 with a 5 speed and they are fun, but hard to pass up on the increased hp and torque of the 5.7.

J-(Chicago)

Let's be realistic here. Police officers are everyday folk like us. They probably don't give a flying hoot whether or not you bought the 9 dollar permit or not. Even if they wanted to make a big deal of it, they would most likely have to "look up" the rule you are even breaking to get it correct on the ticket. I got pulled over on the way home from buying a car on several occasions, showed them the dated bills of sale and title from the same day, and they sent me off wishing "good luck" 3 out of 3 times. Aceshigh is giving the proper advice here. I personally don't bother with hoop jumping on this particular issue however.

MDchanic

Depends on where you are, and how close to the end of the month (quota time) it is.

When I'm back in NY, I never worry about it -
"Howyadoin'. Ys know you got a light out?"
"No. Sorry about that - I've got a spare bulb in the trunk - you want me to change it now?"
"Naah, don't worry about it. Have a good day!"

When I'm in rural areas, though, they're all 22 years old, crew-cut RoboCops -
"May I see your license and registration, Sir?"
"Sure."
"Do you know why I pulled you over, Sir?"
"No, not really."
"Where are you going today?"
"To work."
"Stay in the car, Sir."

Very hostile, and they make me nervous as hell.
Once one told me I had a headlight out, and I knew I had just seen it working a few minutes before, so I got out to look at it and he almost shot me (actually reached for his gun).

If I can avoid an encounter with The Law, I always do. Most are just fine, but some are a few cards short of a full deck, and you can never tell which is which until it's too late.
Better to be safe than go looking for trouble. I'd prefer to take extra trouble and arrive alive than to be technically "right" and spend a week in the hospital.
You can ask Aces High what he thinks about this.

- Eric

1969w3155

I would guess that would depend on what part of the country that you are in, or city or town for that matter, I have run across real jerks, but most are pretty decent, but you are right about the younger ones, just a different breed, they will arrest their own.

Aceshigh

Agreed about what parts of the country you're in, or if you're near a big city or way out in the boonies.

Being ex-military I've lived in all 4 corners of the US, and traveled quite a few places abroad.

In my history of run in's with the law on traffic stops, I've learned that major city areas cops don't bother with trivial things.

But out in the more rural areas, they nail you for it. Things you never really see people get pulled over for in Chicago, they will nail you for on the highways mid state or down south. State Troopers especially here are ****, and if you're stopped I've been told they have to ticket you.

The ONE TIME that was tested and found to not be true......was Christmas 2010. I was pulled over for passing a State Trooper in Rosemont on I-90 heading to the city. I was doing 71 mph and he was doing 70mph. I was happy not to get a ticket though......but if I was in a rural area, it's almost guaranteed.

I've had my fair share of freebies from LEO's though, some can be cool. Some can be real dicks.
More often then not though, most just want to blame the cop for stopping us when we know we were wrong.