reddy
Active Member
So in Texas if you buy a new (non Tesla) car, you drive it off the lot with plates? I see a lot of new US cars with no plates or some temporary cardboard placard instead of plates quite frequently. I believe it was like this in CA when my brother bought his last new car. I imagine it varies from state to state.
In Texas the dealer will give you a temporary paper license plate with a unique number on it.
The dealer will then, for an additional fee, take your paperwork to the local tax assessor/collector office and pay the taxes for you, register the car, and get your plates. Some dealers do this in a few days, others could take 2 weeks if they are waiting for your check to 'not bounce'.
Alternatively, you could tell the dealer you want to handle the registration yourself. Most dealers hate this, because the additional fee is huge profit for them. But they will give you the paper tag when you drive the car off the lot, and you can pick up the manufacturers title and bill of sale from the dealer after your check clears.
With Tesla, they had FedEx'd the dealer title and bill of sale before the car arrived. I had it inspected, and had Texas plates on it within 3 hours of delivery.