04-24-2021, 06:07 PM
Well before you get to the part of the DMV, you need to be very careful buying a used car from a private party here.
Ask to see the title before you agree on any price. Ensure that the name on the title matches the seller. Flippers buy vehicles and never transfer the vehicle into their name and if there are any title issues such as unpaid tickets, past due registration, etc., you are on the hook to pay it. You will see vehicles offered as having "no back taxes". Do not do a sale if the DMV is not open to verify the information.
Verify that the year/model on the title matches with what you think you are buying. I came across a vehicle that was offered as a 2004 when in reality, after seeing the title, I noticed it was really a 2002. Of course, the scammer claimed he didn't know and was asking a price for a 2 year newer model. I passed.
It is also becoming quite common for folks here to buy instrument clusters from salvage yards with less mileage and swap the cluster out. Do a Carfax on every purchase. I discovered one Honda CRV I was looking at, had 180k miles not the 75k that was on the odometer. The seller had owned the vehicle all of 3 months and the mileage paper trail indicated that he was the culprit of the falsified mileage.
All in all, you are much better off to either bring your existing vehicle over or buy something on the mainland and ship it. Yes, it costs $1500 to ship from the west coast ports but you will still be ahead of the game, dollar wise when you get it here.
Ask to see the title before you agree on any price. Ensure that the name on the title matches the seller. Flippers buy vehicles and never transfer the vehicle into their name and if there are any title issues such as unpaid tickets, past due registration, etc., you are on the hook to pay it. You will see vehicles offered as having "no back taxes". Do not do a sale if the DMV is not open to verify the information.
Verify that the year/model on the title matches with what you think you are buying. I came across a vehicle that was offered as a 2004 when in reality, after seeing the title, I noticed it was really a 2002. Of course, the scammer claimed he didn't know and was asking a price for a 2 year newer model. I passed.
It is also becoming quite common for folks here to buy instrument clusters from salvage yards with less mileage and swap the cluster out. Do a Carfax on every purchase. I discovered one Honda CRV I was looking at, had 180k miles not the 75k that was on the odometer. The seller had owned the vehicle all of 3 months and the mileage paper trail indicated that he was the culprit of the falsified mileage.
All in all, you are much better off to either bring your existing vehicle over or buy something on the mainland and ship it. Yes, it costs $1500 to ship from the west coast ports but you will still be ahead of the game, dollar wise when you get it here.