Classic Car Dealers in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) handles the title, the registration and the plates, and it collects the sales tax at the same counter. The rules that surprise classic buyers are the 10 day title deadline, the sales tax floor set by book value, and the narrow use rules on antique plates.

Titling the car

The title application is due within 10 days of purchase. The title fee is $75, and the title is mailed about 6 to 8 weeks later (to the lender if there is a loan). Buying from a private seller, you need the Registration and Title Application stamped by a Massachusetts insurance agent, the seller's signed title, and the fees; both sides sign and print their names on the transfer document and the seller states the mileage. Buying from a dealer, the dealer completes the application and you add the bill of sale and the title.

Older cars follow a different paper trail. The RMV says passenger vehicles of model year 1980 and older, purchased before November 26, 1990, are exempt from titling, and for those cars the previous registration and a bill of sale replace the title. The RMV page does not say how a pre-1981 car sold after 1990 is handled, so ask the RMV before you pay. If the seller has no usable paperwork, the RMV can register and title an undocumented vehicle at its discretion, and it may require a bond of one and a half times the NADA clean trade-in value, a notarized history affidavit and a VIN inspection.

A car from another state must be registered in Massachusetts as soon as you become a resident, with no grace period. Bring the out-of-state title (or the old registration if the car was title-exempt there), the sales tax form MVU-29 and a Massachusetts insurance stamp. Cars from New York, Kentucky, Minnesota, Maryland, Missouri and Montana need the physical title even when a lender is listed.

Antique plates

• Antique plates are for a vehicle over 25 years old maintained solely for exhibitions, club activities, parades and other functions of public interest. Test drives to prepare for those and trips to and from repair shops are allowed. It cannot be used primarily to carry people or goods. The fee is $50 a year and the application must be notarized.
• Year of manufacture plates are an alternative at the registrar's discretion: a Massachusetts plate you already own that was issued in the car's model year, no more than 6 characters, in original condition, and only for cars older than model year 1979. They are processed only at an RMV service center.
• Ordinary plates also work for an old car, with no use limit: passenger registration is $60 for two years.
• Plates do not come with the sale. The buyer is issued new plates at registration, and the seller can keep a plate and move it to another vehicle.

Inspection and emissions

Every registered vehicle needs the annual Massachusetts safety inspection ($35), and a newly bought car must be inspected within 7 days of registration. Emissions testing applies only to vehicles with onboard diagnostics that are less than 15 years old, so a classic is exempt from the emissions test statewide. The safety inspection has no age exemption.

Sales tax and excise

• Sales tax is 6.25%, paid to the RMV when you register. On a private sale it is charged on the purchase price or the NADA clean trade-in value, whichever is higher, so a low price on the bill of sale does not lower the tax.
• Buying out of state does not escape the tax unless you owned and registered the car in your previous state for more than 6 months before moving; otherwise Massachusetts collects 6.25% of the price or book value, with interest and penalties from the purchase date.
• Your city or town bills an annual excise of $25 per $1,000 of assessed value, based on a percentage of the original list price, with a minimum of $5. Antique plates are not listed as an exemption.

Rebuilt titles, dealers and private sellers

A salvage car must pass a State Police salvage inspection before it can be registered, and after that it takes a reconstructed title. Salvage status is permanent, and a car branded parts-only can never be registered. A salvage car from another state must pass the Massachusetts salvage inspection too, whatever its age.

A Massachusetts dealer cannot sell a car "as is." On a used car sold for $700 or more with fewer than 125,000 miles, the dealer must give a written warranty of 90 days or 3,750 miles under 40,000 miles, 60 days or 2,500 miles from 40,000 to 79,999, and 30 days or 1,250 miles from 80,000 to 124,999. The state guide for dealers says antique and classic cars are not exempt. A private seller must disclose known defects that impair safety or use, and a buyer who can prove the seller knew can cancel within 30 days, less 15 cents a mile.

Sources: Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (title and registration pages, schedule of fees, antique plate application, vehicle inspections, salvage pages), Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (310 CMR 60.00), Department of Revenue (motor vehicle excise guide, TIR 92-1), the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation and the Massachusetts General Laws (chapters 90, 90D, 60A, 64I). Rules and fees change; confirm with the RMV before you buy.