My car is currently unregistered. Can I use it as a trade-in at a dealership in Massachusetts?
The registration doesn’t prove ownership, the TITLE does.
Do you have clear title ?
Any liens on the title ?
Go trade it in if you can prove ownership.
I have the title and the car’s paid off, so no lienholder.
They’ll take it as a trade.
Great! Thank you everyone … 
Since it is unregistered, you will not be able to drive it. It will need to be towed to the dealer.
I know, but that’s OK. Thanks
Problem is getting it there…
To be legal…You’ll have to get a temp plate or have it towed.
Any dealer with a dealer plate and a buy contract will give you the dealer plate to get the car to his location. It would even be legal after you sign the trade agreement; it’s now his car.
That may cover the plate, but I wouldn’t drive it an inch until I was certain it was also covered by insurance one way or the other.
Another prime example why I keep pushing people to lobby their insurance industry to
– insure the DRIVER separate from the vehicle. ----
Insure the DRIVER for liability and collision, then insure the vehicle for comprehensive, collision, and uninsured motorist.
Then what ever and whenever the driver is operating ANYTHING their actions are insured.
You’d carry a card just like you carry your driver’s license that proves you, as a driver, are insured.
That twice a year RV trip, the occasional boat outing, ATVs, motor cycles, AND the long ago parked car you want to trade in, rented and borrowed vehicles, the work place fork lift…
YOUR driving activities would ALL be insured if you the driver could carry individual operator’s insurance.
Wouldn’t help right now today for this case, but it’s a long term change we all need to push for. Especially us car ‘collectors’ who have four in the driveway, only two of which are daily drivers.
You idea works right up to the point where the vehicle has a defect, while parked, starts rolling on its own, and then collides into a pedestrian, or another object.
Then since the vehicle has no liability insurance on it, and there was no driver, dealing with insurance becomes a nightmare.
BC.
Still need the option choice to exist in the industry.
last driver, then maybe?
Ken, call your insurer. You can easily buy a policy that will ensure you when driving another vehicle. They’re commonplace. The caveat is that the vehicle has to be legally registered and compliant with state vehicle regulations.
I agree with this and have asked my agent for this kind of policy but it is simply not offered by any company in my state. We have several vehicles and only one or two are driven at any one time so the liability insurance for the stationary vehicles goes for nothing. My agent says that we get a multiple vehicle discount but it does not go far enough.
One company has what they call “Snapshot Insurance” which might help. Low Mileage Insurance with Google gets a few hits. There is also collector vehicle insurance.
If you want to push this a little harder, you might want to write a letter to your state’s insurance commissioner or equivalent and/or your state government representative or senator. I have not done this.