Oddball question

[TempestCatto]

Hi guys, I hope this okay to post here. But I have an oddball question and I didn't know where else to turn.

 

So long story short, I have a project car I'm slowly working on. I live in PA which requires vehicular inspections to keep a car legally on the road. My project car will obviously not pass inspection, but I still need to drive it around to keep it somewhat healthy (and to take it to a shop when there's work I can't do).

 

My sister lives in Alabama, a state that doesn't require vehicular inspections. My thought was this: Have her register the car in her name, with her residency, in Alabama. Then have both her, my dad, and myself on the title of the car (currently my dad and I are on the title). Then have her mail me the license plates. I would then swap them out for my PA plate and remove the expired PA state inspection stickers from the windshield. However, I don't know if an inspection of a new to the state vehicle is required when registering it in Alabama. So does anyone know if this would work? As far as I can tell, the only thing we'd need to do is a VIN inspection, which I think is just verifying the VIN on the title and the actual car itself.

 

Am I wrong? Is there any sort of physical inspection required when registering a new to the state vehicle an Alabama? Does the car actually need to be in the state? Or could we get away with saying "the car was gifted to her by me, but I have it up here to work on for her" if anyone ever asked?

 

Thanks to anyone who answers.

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, TempestCatto said:

I have a project car I'm slowly working on.

Fun.

 

2 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

I still need to drive it around to keep it somewhat healthy (and to take it to a shop when there's work I can't do).

And this is where you fucked up.

 

2 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Or could we get away with saying "the car was gifted to her by me, but I have it up here to work on for her" if anyone ever asked?

That depends on who works the counter, but assume no.

 

4 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

My sister lives in Alabama, a state that doesn't require vehicular inspections. My thought was this: Have her register the car in her name, with her residency, in Alabama. Then have both her, my dad, and myself on the title of the car (currently my dad and I are on the title). Then have her mail me the license plates. I would then swap them out for my PA plate and remove the expired PA state inspection stickers from the windshield. However, I don't know if an inspection of a new to the state vehicle is required when registering it in Alabama. So does anyone know if this would work? As far as I can tell, the only thing we'd need to do is a VIN inspection, which I think is just verifying the VIN on the title and the actual car itself.

 

Yeah you're going to need to start calling sheriffs on that one, maybe visit the police station to get some opinions. What's on the books is irrelevant. What's important is what they think is on the books.

[PlayStation 2]

Alabama doesn't require any inspections on the car itself outside of VIN confirmation, correct. It looks like outside of initial registration, your car never has to enter the state again for re-registration. Your car will have to be titled with an Alabama title, though, so keep that in mind.

Depending on how harsh Pennsylvania is with registered cars that aren't registered to the state, this might be a time to look into a state like Montana, as your car legitimately never has to enter the state so long as you do some trickery that involves getting the car registered to an LLC.

 

Relevant link: https://www.support.revenue.alabama.gov/hc/en-us/articles/115006309308-What-are-the-prerequisites-for-registering-a-vehicle-in-Alabama-

[amdorintel]

loop holes are meant to be taken advantage of!

..... and its not illegal!!!!!

..... until insurance finds out then its a gamble!

[TempestCatto]

On 11/5/2019 at 10:00 PM, handymanshandle said:

how harsh Pennsylvania is with registered cars that aren't registered to the state

This right here is a good point.

 

I got some legal advice from a local law firm. In short, it's a type of fraud and really will only screw me over if I ever need to make an insurance claim. I think I'll just stick it out with my PA registration. Thanks for your suggestion.

[amdorintel]

people do it all the time @TempestCatto

but insurance will give any reason not to pay out

[TempestCatto]

22 minutes ago, amdorintel said:

but insurance will give any reason not to pay out

Precisely why it's too risky for me.

[Founders]

5 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Precisely why it's too risky for me.

Good decision. Say you get pulled over, PA license, AL tags, it will automatically raise an officers suspicion that's something's not right. That only really works if the car is a rental.

[Kawaii Koneko]

Honestly, I think putting your name on the title will be a red flag given you are a resident of a different state. It may not trigger anything initially but should you get in an accident or have to make an insurance claim, then I would be a bit nervous. I think it would be best to just put the car in her name, under her insurance if possible. Should anything happen where you need to make an insurance claim or whatever, it wouldn't be hard to just lie and say you were borrowing her car. Insurance should still cover it, at least mine does.

 

That said. States like Cali are cracking down on people doing this. People buying expensive cars are often registering the car in a different state, like Oregon. The reason they do this is to avoid the taxes and fees. When you are buying a $150,000 car and up, it can be quite expensive to register a car.

 

So I would check into this thoroughly if I were you and see if this is a loophole or actually illegal.

 

Also, consider narcs who might report you. One of the ways California catches these people is because narcs tip them off. So don't be surprised if a neighbor gets mad at you or some punk doesn't like you and decides to call up the DMV or whoever that would get reported to.

[Bombastinator]

This sounds expensive. More expensive than a set of blocks to put the car on and run the engine and a car hauling service to take it to the shop.  I’m not sure there’s a real win here even if it works.

[SaviorSix]

The Doctrine of Clean Hands will prevent you from taking legal action in the event something happens to your car. You're circumventing the law and intentionally registering a car that has never been in Alabama and resides in Pennsylvania. That, and just because the car is registered in Alabama, doesn't mean it's immune to Pennsylvania law.

[amdorintel]

17 hours ago, Ehmc130 said:

Good decision. Say you get pulled over, PA license, AL tags, it will automatically raise an officers suspicion that's something's not right. That only really works if the car is a rental.

depends really, but yea its more likely out of state plates get pulled over, but depends if the copper clues in, even so he cant do nothing about it unless the occupants have loose lips. thats why they like to get ya talking. grey area

 

like i stated, insurance will investigate, once something happens and a claim is made.... that is their job!

save $100 on insurance or get denied $1M insurance payout to another driver in an accident because its your fault

up to you

 

play it safe

 

insurance companies often deny coverage when its rightfully covered

[Zusafek]

I used to live in PA, and now you have me curious as to what kind of vehicle your tinkering with. Especially if you say it won't pass inspection. I never had issues passing inspections with any of my hot rod cars in PA.

[TempestCatto]

1 hour ago, Zusafek said:

I used to live in PA, and now you have me curious as to what kind of vehicle your tinkering with. Especially if you say it won't pass inspection. I never had issues passing inspections with any of my hot rod cars in PA.

Well how old were they? They probably were exempt from most things. My vehicle is from '98 so it still has to pass everything. The big issue is when the battery dies, it resets the computer and I have to drive it 200 miles before it will pass emissions. That and some fun rust issues, which can be solved by a good body shop.

[amdorintel]

i never even needed a mechanic safety inspection for my 14 year old vehicle, I think the limit was 15 maybe 20, but its a simple safety inspection, blinkers, brakes, no air quality quakery. every province/state is different, same with insurance companies

[Zusafek]

15 minutes ago, TempestCatto said:

Well how old were they? They probably were exempt from most things. My vehicle is from '98 so it still has to pass everything. The big issue is when the battery dies, it resets the computer and I have to drive it 200 miles before it will pass emissions. That and some fun rust issues, which can be solved by a good body shop.

I lived in PA in 2005 thru 2013. The cars in question for me was a 1998 S-10 with a 383 stroker in it. The next was a 2005 and 2006 Saab 9-2X Aero models with extensive modifications. And the last was a 2008 BMW M3 with a LS2 engine swap. All passed inspections with zero issues. 

 

As for your battery issue.  Get a battery tender. It's worth the money. Keeps your battery from going flat. I use one on my motorcycle and my car when I'm not home. I'm only home about 5 days every 4 to 5 weeks. The rust issues I would recommend doing a thorough cleaning and sanding. Then purchasing patch panels to weld on. If it's on the frame, find a donor car to replace the frame. It's what I had to do for my new project. A 1972 AMC Javelin SST.