Classic Car Dealers in Ohio

In Ohio the title comes from the county Clerk of Courts, not the BMV, and sales tax is collected there when you title the car. Plates are the other thing to settle before you buy: Ohio has two kinds for old cars, with very different use rules.

Titling the car

The title application must be filed within 30 days of the sale; after that the clerk adds a $5 late fee to the $18 title fee ($23 in some counties). Buying from a private seller, the seller completes the assignment on the back of the title and signs it in front of a notary, and you take the original title, your ID, the sales tax and the fees to a county Clerk of Courts title office. Buying from a licensed Ohio dealer, the dealer obtains the title in your name.

A car from another state needs its out-of-state title converted to an Ohio title before it can be registered. Bring that title, a bill of sale if it came from a dealer, and a VIN inspection, which checks the make, body type, model, mileage and VIN against the paperwork. It is not a mechanical inspection; a deputy registrar, a participating Ohio dealer or a clerk's office that offers it can do it. New residents have 30 days to move their title and registration to Ohio.

A bill of sale alone does not give you ownership in Ohio. If a classic comes without a title, the BMV describes one route: a petition to the county Court of Common Pleas for a court-ordered title, which is not guaranteed. A memorandum title is not a substitute, because it only lets an owner register a car while a lender holds the original and cannot be used to transfer ownership.

Historical, collector and model year plates

• Historical plates are for cars more than 25 years old owned solely as collector's items. The fee is $10 and the plate stays valid without renewal. The trade-off is use: club activities, exhibitions, tours, parades and similar outings, plus trips to maintenance, not general transportation. Applying takes form BMV 4806 with a notarized affidavit that the car has been inspected and found safe to operate.
• Collector's vehicle plates have no age minimum and no exhibition-only rule, but the car cannot be your principal means of transportation. They cost the regular license fee plus $5, and first-time plates are issued only at the BMV's Columbus headquarters.
• Model year plates: with a valid historical registration you can display an Ohio plate from the car's model year, which you supply yourself, at no extra fee.
• Plates do not pass to the buyer. On a sale the seller surrenders a historical plate or moves it to another historical car, so the new owner applies for their own.

Emissions

E-Check testing applies only in seven northeast counties: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit. Vehicles more than 25 years old by model year are permanently exempt, as are historical and collector's vehicles, so a classic is not tested in any county.

Sales tax

• The state rate is 5.75% plus a county rate, so the combined rate runs from 6.50% to 8.00% (Cuyahoga and Franklin are at 8.00%). You pay the rate for your own county of residence, to the clerk, when you title the car.
• Private sales are taxed too, on the price paid. A trade-in lowers the tax only on a new vehicle, not a used one. The Department of Taxation audits title transfers, and a false price on the title carries up to six months in jail or a fine of up to $1,000.
• Buy out of state and title the car in Ohio, and sales tax legally paid to the other state is credited against the Ohio use tax.
• Out-of-state buyers at an Ohio dealer may owe no Ohio tax if the car leaves the state at once and the buyer signs the dealer's statement; otherwise the tax is the lesser of 6% or what the home state charges.

Dealers, private sellers and insurance

Selling used cars as a business in Ohio requires a dealer license. Under Ohio law an "as is" sale removes the implied warranties, the Attorney General notes that the lemon law generally does not cover used cars, and a car usually cannot be returned once you drive it off the lot. A dealer must still disclose a salvage title it knows about before you sign. If a licensed dealer sold you a car without holding the title and has not put it in your name within 40 days, or the title shows an undisclosed rebuilt salvage brand, you can demand a refund, and the Attorney General's title defect fund can pay you if the dealer does not. Plates require liability insurance of at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage.

Sources: Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (how to title, title processes, special license plates, Form BMV 4806), Ohio Department of Taxation (motor vehicle sales tax, county rate tables), Ohio EPA (E-Check), Ohio Attorney General (consumer tips, Title Defect Recision Fund), the Ohio Revised Code (chapters 4503, 4505, 4517, 5739, 5741) and the Lorain County Clerk of Courts title office. Rules and fees change; confirm with your county Clerk of Courts title office before you buy.