Classic Car Dealers in Kansas

In Kansas you apply for the title at the county treasurer's motor vehicle office, and the state mails it afterward. Sales tax and property tax are both settled there, and the state runs no safety or emissions inspection. What decides how easy a classic is to register is its age, its paperwork, and whether it comes from out of state.

Titling the car

You have 60 days from the purchase date to apply, at the treasurer's office in the county where the car is garaged. After that a $2 penalty is added, and it is unlawful to drive the car on public roads until it is registered. The title fee is $10. Buying from a private seller, the seller completes the back of the title with the price, date, odometer reading and signatures, and in-state assignments generally do not need a notary. Bring the assigned title, proof of insurance and the sales tax; property tax is also due at registration. A dealer is deemed to hold the title once it has applied for it, and the seller must deliver an assigned title at delivery or within an agreed period of no more than 60 days.

A car from another state, or one bought out of state on a bill of sale, needs a Motor Vehicle Examination (MVE-1) from the Kansas Highway Patrol or a designee before you apply. The regular inspection is $20 and checks the VIN and paperwork; it is not a safety inspection. Kansas does not have a safety or emissions inspection program. Once a car has been in Kansas about 90 days, it should be titled and registered here.

Antique plates and titles

• Antique plates are for vehicles more than 35 years old. The registration fee is $40, paid once, with no annual renewal for as long as the original owner keeps the car. Property tax is still due every year. The applicant must be a Kansas resident and the car must be titled in Kansas as an antique. Personalized antique plates cost extra.
• Model year plates: instead of the antique plate you can display an original Kansas plate from the car's model year, on an affidavit that it is legible and serviceable. A model year plate can also go on the front alongside the antique plate.
• No-title and bill of sale cars: for a model year 1949 or earlier antique, an application with a bill of sale or an assigned title is accepted as evidence of ownership. For 1950 or later on a bill of sale, including one bought inside Kansas, the Highway Patrol inspection is required first. A car that is not roadworthy can be titled as an antique now and registered once it runs.

Salvage and rebuilt titles

Once a Kansas title carries a salvage brand, every later Kansas title keeps it. To put such a car on the road, it must be repaired and pass a Highway Patrol rebuilt salvage inspection ($25) before a Rebuilt Salvage title is issued. The Division of Vehicles warns that cars bought online from other states can arrive with paperwork that does not allow a rebuilt title in Kansas, so check the history before you pay.

Sales tax

• The state rate is 6.5% plus a city and county rate. For a private sale you pay the county treasurer when you register the car, on the price shown on the title. If the price looks unrelated to the car's value, the Department of Revenue can tax the fair market value instead.
• For a sale inside Kansas, the treasurer collects the higher of the rate where the sale took place and the rate at your registration address.
• In a private sale, the fair market value of a motor vehicle or trailer you trade to the seller comes off the taxable price.
• Buy out of state and register in Kansas, and you owe Kansas use tax at your home rate, with credit for tax paid to the other state up to the Kansas amount. Bring proof of what you paid.
• A Kansas dealer collects the tax and gives you a receipt (form DST-8) for the treasurer.

Dealers, private sellers and insurance

Doing business as a vehicle dealer without a Kansas license is a misdemeanor, but a person may sell their own car in an isolated or occasional sale. Kansas law does not allow a dealer to sell a vehicle "as is" or to disclaim the implied warranty, and a violating disclaimer is void, so a dealer sale carries more protection than the same sale in many states. The exception is a defect the buyer knew about that formed part of the bargain. Kansas's lemon law covers new vehicles only. Insurance proof is required when you register the car.

Sources: Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Vehicles (titling a used vehicle, titling FAQ, antique plates), Kansas Department of Revenue Pub. KS-1526 and the Dealer and Salesperson Handbook, the Kansas Highway Patrol (VIN inspection FAQ) and the Kansas statutes (K.S.A. 8-135, 8-166, 8-172, 50-639). Rules and fees change; confirm with your county treasurer's motor vehicle office before you buy.