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Hi. I had a quick question about the process of buying a car on St John. Ill be buying one in the next couple of days (hopefully) and want to make sure I know where to take it to get it registered etc. I know in Virginia when you buy a car from an individual, they sign the deed over to you and take their license plates back and then you need to drive directly to the DMV to get your registration and new plates. Is it the same process here? If so where is the "DMV"? and does anyone know the approximate costs of registering a car?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Jeremy
Posted : November 3, 2011 1:19 pm
It's a slightly different process; a quick search of the archives should turn it up. Basically, you make a deal, get the registration and/or title notarized with both buyer and seller's signatures, get insurance, and then go with the seller to the BMV. Once you are all done, the seller will need a copy of your new registration to take to his/her insurance agent to prove that the vehicle is no longer in their name.
The Bureau of Motor Vehicles office on St John is down the hill from the fire station in Cruz Bay. Go early in the morning and you will find it is a treat compared to BMV in the states. Small, fast, and pretty friendly by island government standards.
Posted : November 3, 2011 3:05 pm
... and then go with the seller to the BMV ...
I've bought and sold several cars on STX and I've never had to go to the BMV with a buyer (as a seller), or request the seller accompany me to the BMV (as a buyer).
Is this a weird STJ thing?
I do think it's unnecessarily expensive and wasteful that they require that new plates be issued every time a title is turned over. If the seller doesn't want to keep them (as is often the case if they're leaving island as opposed to buying a new car), the new owner should be able to reuse them.
Posted : November 3, 2011 9:00 pm
I've bought and sold several cars on STX and I've never had to go to the BMV with a buyer (as a seller), or request the seller accompany me to the BMV (as a buyer).
Is this a weird STJ thing?
Could be. On STJ, the buyer and seller both have to be there to get photocopies made of their licenses at the time of the transaction. That gets stapled to the buyer's registration application form. Then, as long as there are no tickets on the vehicle, the seller is all done. I've sold a couple of vehicles and helped others do it, and this seems to be the way it goes.
I do think it's unnecessarily expensive and wasteful that they require that new plates be issued every time a title is turned over. If the seller doesn't want to keep them (as is often the case if they're leaving island as opposed to buying a new car), the new owner should be able to reuse them.
That's odd -- we don't have to do that on STJ. In fact, I know people who have bought used cars from STT but they live on STJ, and the cars still have the used St. Thomas plates on them.
Posted : November 4, 2011 1:49 pm
Also, in this way the seller can be sure the car has been officially transferred out of his/her name.
Posted : November 4, 2011 2:59 pm