Las Vegas Delivery Questions (Help !!!!!!!)

[Ragnar]

Hello Forum. Help and advice is needed......I am taking delivery of my new SMB in Las Vegas on 2/7/18. Three weeks ago SMB told me the van would come with an interstate travel permit or sticker.....SMB called tonight to tell me that obtaining the necessary travel permits and paperwork necessary to drive the van from Vegas to my home state of Montana was now my responsibility. To be fair to the Fresno folks, their finance and title specialist is out on medical leave, but with the most sincere respect to that situation, I feel up like I'm excrement creek without a paddle.

Although the SMB driver has dealer plates for transport to Vegas, those plates will return to Fresno with the driver so I am told. Hopefully someone out there has gone through the process and can give me some advice. Do I get a trip permit from the Nevada DMV or do just high-tail it for home with no title, registration, or paperwork (not the greatest idea). Surely the Nevada delivery options have been used by many, there must be an obvious solution to avoid scrubbing the delivery trip. Thanks in advance for your help. R

[Twoxentrix]

I had a similar situation: Live on the East Coast & picked my van up from a Ford dealer near Napa Valley CA. where i had a new Engine installed. Flew into SF, and when i arrived at the shop I noticed both plates were missing. Didnt have the time to research, and Dealer didnt offer any real assistance...so I left. Figured I had the Bill-of-Sale and Insurance card, so at worst I may end out with a warning or ticket. Took 4 days to get back to the East Coast, and came upon many Police during the trip (one even paced me for about 6 long miles in NC...turned out he was taking pictures of all sides of the Van from his cruiser). Also had officers approach me with interest at a Gas Station & a Rest stop inquiring about the van.
Never pulled over & no one ever said anything - believe they were too interested in the Van to notice.
I say "go for it".

[Bbasso]

I've bought plenty of vehicles out of state, if you have someone back home that's willing to go to DMV and the insurance broker you could FedEx all your paperwork to and from. Then drive legally.

[BrianW]

That's pretty cheesy of SMB-W to pull that on you so soon before pickup :-(

Can you register it and get plates from MT beforehand and take them with you? When I bought my (used) SMB from North Carolina, I paid the guy before pickup and he overnighted me the title. I got plates and took them with me on the plane to go pick the van up.

Many states offer transit tags, not sure about California. Or maybe you could get one in Nevada?

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd be pretty wary of driving that far without any sort of paperwork and temp transit plates. But on the other hand, maybe you'll be fine: https://dougdemuro.kinja.com/califor...s-n-1579711846

[dig255]

California has a one trip one way pass. I transported a van for someone here from Florida to Calif. With no plates on van I got pulled over about 5 times but never more than check the paper work. If you need a driver I have transferred several vans for people here.

[Ragnar]

Thanks for the input everyone. NV-DMV is open tomorrow, so I will try and call. It seems logical that I would get something from NV as a next step. I do not like driving that far with no "papers". I paid in full for the chassis a couple months ago and could have taken care of it, but it's water under the van now. I really feel that with 50 years of experience, the company should know exactly how this process works. Thanks again, R

[rallypanam]

Nevada’s got nothing to do with it. You should be able to at least get temp tags from MT.

[86Scotty]

I would just go. I've done it about 50 times. With my recently purchased Transit I waited over a month for the seller's bank to get their shit together and send me a title. I had to use the van for work so I put a 'tag applied for' sign on the back and went to work for a month, about 10,000 miles, all over the eastern U.S. I got followed a couple times but never pulled over. My only issue was when I pulled over on the shoulder to run to the back and make a quick sandwich and came back to my seat only to find a biker cop standing there at my window. He just wanted to know what was up. I told him the story and he said I was illegal. I said OK, what should I do? He had no answer. He just insisted I was illegal. I told him neither the selling or buying state issued temp tags for private sales (they really don't) and he just kept insisting I was illegal but had no idea what to do with me. After a minute of me repeating my story he just said go. I'd do it again tomorrow. It's a wonderful gray area. Make sure you have some confusing looking paperwork and proof of insurance. Cops aren't bankers or lawyers. If you don't look like a thief you aren't usually assumed to be one.

[Ragnar]

All: Thanks again all for the input and information. Based on a visit this morning with the Fresno Benz dealership who supplied the van, the forum, and previously with SMB, here is a general outline of my current understanding for a new chassis, new build, with zero financing or liens.

1. Paperwork Required: Nothing can be done without first getting the Bill of Sale (BOS) and MRO (Manufacturers Certificate of Origin. The MRO is the official document of ownership the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) sends to the vehicle dealer that will ultimately become the owners vehicle title. It contains legal jargon and specifications of the vehicle along with the VIN. Benz told us these documents were dropped off at SMB yesterday. However, because we paid cash for the chassis a few months ago, Benz says we could have requested the chassis BOS and MRO weeks ago and had our registration and plates by now.

2. Transport To Vegas:For 500 bucks, SMB's driver will drive the vehicle to Vegas where we take official delivery. When delivery is out of state, Benz issues a one day, one way trip permit that is technically good to the NV border. This will get the vehicle out of California. The SMB driver will have dealer plates to cover travel his travel in Nevada. At this point, the plates go back to Fresno with the driver.

3. Getting out of Nevada (Boring Method): If a person wants to spend their Vegas time at the DMV instead of pushing all-in at a high limit poker table or some 3 card poker, then Non-residents of Nevada can get a one way, 15 day Nevada trip permit by going to any DMV office with the BOS and MRO in hand plus a notarized form attesting that the vehicle is not staying in state. The form is on the NV-DMV website. An appointment can be made ahead of time online.

4. Getting out of Nevada (Thelma and Louise Method): Tape the BOS and MRO in the back window and just go. With valid insurance and proof of legitimate ownership, the lack of official registration is simply a formality. In this case, an ignorance of the law defense is likely to work if pulled over. No guarantees here tho.

Lastly, Benz politely informed me that the document fee for the aforementioned paperwork was $80.00, not bad considering the costs involved. To complete the project, I will be bringing a check to SMB for the build, plus $500 for transport, and the $80 for papers. A happy day. Again, thanks to all for the input on this thread. R

[86Scotty]

4. Thelma and Louise all the way. I stand in enough lines already.

Glad you got it worked out!


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