I live in NJ. My dad passed away and I inherited his car, which I would like to sell ASAP. Right not it is just sitting in the driveway and I do not plan to drive it. The title is in his name. Do I have to have it transferred to my name before I sell it? Also, his registration and insurance expired. Do I have to renew them even if I don’t plan to drive the car?
My condolences on your loss. The NJ MVC has some info at this link.
http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Vehicle/TransferringVehicle.htm
Otherwise, I can only suggest calling the local MVC office.
Ed B.
I think the title will have to be transferred to you in order for you to sell it (possibly not if you are the estate executor). Only the MVC can tell you for sure. If someone wants to take it for a test drive, it will surely need to be registered and someone will have to have insurance on it. The MVC may offer some sort of temporary registration for this purpose – it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
It may be cleanest to assume the title, register, and insure it. You can then drive it once in a while to keep the battery charged and everything in good shape, while trying to sell it. Test drives would then be legal. Who knows – maybe you’ll even come to like the car and keep it! Or, once you have the title in your name, you can call someone to tow it away and deal with it (consider a donation to your public radio station or some other charity).
It’s easier than that to sell the car and the Motor Vehicle people are more than happy to help you out.