Classic Car Dealers in Missouri

In Missouri the Department of Revenue issues the title, and you apply for it, pay sales tax and register the car at a Missouri license office. Two things shape a classic purchase more than anything else: a safety inspection is part of getting plates unless the car carries historic plates, and historic plates come with strict use limits.

Titling the car

You have 30 days from the date of purchase to apply for the title and pay sales tax. On day 31 a $25 penalty applies, and it grows by another $25 for every 30 days you are late, up to $200. The title fee is $8.50 plus a $9 processing fee. A private seller must assign the title to you, with your name and address, the sale price, the sale date and the signature and printed name of every seller named on the face of the title. A bill of sale alone is not enough; Missouri law presumes a sale of a Missouri-registered vehicle without an assigned title to be fraudulent and void. Cars with a 2010 or older model year that are at least ten years old do not need an odometer reading on the title. Buying from a licensed Missouri dealer, the dealer normally hands you the assigned title or a completed title application at sale.

A car that was last titled in another state needs an identification number and odometer inspection, which an authorized Missouri inspection station performs, and a Missouri safety inspection satisfies it. If the other state does not issue titles for that car, Missouri asks for a bill of sale showing both names and addresses, signatures, the date, the price, and the car's year, make and VIN. New residents have 30 days from becoming a Missouri resident to title and register their vehicles.

If a car comes with no usable title, Missouri has a bonded title route for vehicles seven years old or older and worth $3,000 or less. It requires a vehicle examination certificate from the Highway Patrol (a $25 fee), an affidavit on how you got the car, and a surety bond of twice the vehicle's value (minimum $100), and the title is issued no sooner than 30 days after the application. A car worth more than $3,000 does not qualify for it, so do not buy a valuable car without a title.

Safety inspection

Missouri requires a safety inspection to title or register a car, no more than 60 days old (90 days if the seller is a Missouri dealer and its inspection was done within 60 days of the sale). Only cars in their first ten model years with under 150,000 miles are exempt, so a classic needs one. Historic vehicles registered under section 301.131 are exempt from safety inspection. After that, inspections repeat every two years.

Historic plates

• Who qualifies: a car more than 25 years old, owned solely as a collector's item and used for exhibition and educational purposes. The fee is $25.25, one time, plus a $9 processing fee, and the registration does not expire.
• Use limits: unlimited driving to and from exhibitions and educational events, driving to repair facilities within 100 miles, and up to 1,000 miles a year of personal use. You keep a log of personal miles in the car. Miles to and from antique auto tours and events do not count toward the 1,000.
• How to apply: Form 570, the prior-year personal property tax receipt or a statement of non-assessment, proof of insurance and a copy of the title or registration, sent or taken to the Department of Revenue central office in Jefferson City.
• Plates do not pass to the buyer. When a historic car is sold, the plates come off. Personalized historic plates cost an extra $15 and renew with an annual $15 plus $9 fee.
• Year of Manufacture plates: an original Missouri plate more than 25 years old, issued in the car's model year, can be registered for it as a historic plate if the number is not already in use. A later owner can reuse it with a notarized relinquishment letter from the previous owner.

Emissions

Emissions testing applies in St. Louis City and St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties, to gas-powered 1996 and newer vehicles and diesel 1997 and newer vehicles of 8,500 pounds or less. A classic from 1995 or earlier is not tested, historic vehicles are exempt, and the test is not required anywhere else in Missouri. Even exempt cars still need the safety inspection.

Sales tax

• The state rate is 4.225% plus local sales tax, charged on the purchase price less any trade-in allowance. It is collected when you apply for the title, and the local part depends on where you live.
• Private sales are taxed the same way, because tax is collected at titling rather than by the seller.
• If you buy from an out-of-state dealer with a trade-in, bring a copy of the assigned title for the trade-in to get the credit.
• For a car you already owned and operated in another state for at least 90 days before titling it in Missouri, no additional sales tax is due. Under 90 days, you show the tax paid to the other state and pay any difference.

Dealers, private sellers and condition

A person who sells vehicles for profit must be a licensed Missouri motor vehicle dealer, and selling eight or more vehicles in a calendar year is the statutory evidence of being in the business. The Department of Revenue warns about curbstoning, where an unlicensed dealer poses as a private seller, and takes complaints on Form 4683. Missouri law lets a seller exclude implied warranties with wording such as "as is", and the state lemon law covers new vehicles only, so a used classic generally has no legal recourse for condition after the sale. A qualifying dealer may deliver a car before the title is ready under a written agreement to hand over the title within 30 days; if it does not, the sale is voidable at your option.

Salvage branding is weaker on old cars. A salvage title is mandatory when the vehicle is bought during the six model years after its model year and optional after that, so an older car that was wrecked may carry no brand. A car with a salvage title must pass a law enforcement examination after rebuilding before it is titled as "Prior Salvage". Ask for the VIN history and have a mechanic check the car before you pay.

Sources: Missouri Department of Revenue (Buying a Vehicle, Motor Vehicle Titling and Registration, title assignment instructions, historic license plates), Gateway Vehicle Inspection Program, and the Revised Statutes of Missouri (sections 301.131, 301.192, 301.210, 301.227, 301.550, 307.350, 400.2-316 and 407.560). Rules and fees change; confirm with a Missouri license office before you buy.