Selling a motorcycle, couple logistical questions.

[Martinjmpr]

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER LEAVE THE PLATE ON!

NEVER!

NEVER!

So here's the deal: In Colorado if you buy a motor vehicle or a trailer from a private seller, and it's after 5:00 or on a weekend, you can legally drive that vehicle without a license plate for up to 72 hours to transport it from the place of sale to the place it will be stored.

I buy and sell lots of vehicles from private owners and I usually prepare a bill of sale with the following: Description of vehicle, date, time and place of sale, and then I append this to the bottom of the bill of sale:

42-3-115, Registration Upon Transfer
...

(b) A transferee may operate a motor vehicle on the highway before registering it if:
...

(III) (A) The transferee has purchased the motor vehicle within the last thirty-six hours from a person who is not a motor vehicle dealer under article 6 of title 12, C.R.S.;

(B) The vehicle was purchased either on a Saturday, on a Sunday, on a legal holiday, or between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m.;

(C) The vehicle is being driven from the place where the transferor stored the vehicle to the place where the transferee intends to store the vehicle;

(D) The owner possesses, in the vehicle, a bill of sale that shows the time and date of sale and that is signed by both the buyer and seller; and

(E) The owner possesses, in the vehicle, proof of insurance as required by section 42-4-1409.

Leaving a license plate on a vehicle is a nightmare. You are leaving yourself open to parking citations, toll citations,etc.


So in case it wasn't clear from the above

NEVER LEAVE THE LICENSE PLATE ON THE VEHICLE!

[Martinjmpr]

True story time: About 20 years ago my brother had an old Scout. The thing was a beast but after 4 or 5 years he got tired of sinking money into it and put it up for sale.

Foolishly, he left the plates on, thinking "what could possibly go wrong?"

Well, six months later he started getting inundated with notices of a parking tickets, warnings that the vehicle would be booted, towed, bills from towing and storage companies, etc etc. It was a real PITA that I think lasted over a year before he finally got it resolved. Apparently the "buyer" never registered the vehicle so it remained in my brother's name, along with the soon-expired license plates.

Now I don't think it cost him any money but it certainly cost him a lot of time, phone calls, explanations, etc and probably some sleepless nights as well.

"Average" people learn from their mistakes. "SMART" people learn from OTHER PEOPLE'S mistakes. So be smart and learn from my brother.