Classic Car Dealers in Virginia

In Virginia the DMV issues the title, collects the sales tax when you title the car, and sets the rules for antique plates. Two things decide most classic purchases here: whether you want the restricted antique plates or standard plates you can drive every day, and which county the car will be garaged in, because that sets the emissions rules.

Titling the car

You must send the signed title and your application to DMV within 30 days of taking delivery. The title fee is $15, and the sales and use tax is due at the same time. In a private sale every owner named on the title signs the assignment, and the seller enters the buyer's name, the actual odometer reading, the date and the price. You complete the buyer sections, including the Personal Property Tax Relief section, and take the title and proof of address to a DMV customer service center or DMV Select office, or mail it in. If the car already has a Virginia title and both parties are individuals with myDMV accounts, the transfer can be done online. The seller keeps the plates, so you register the car and buy plates or transfer your own.

A car from another state is titled with the application, proof of address, and either the other state's title or registration card in your name or the previous owner's title signed over to you. If you bought it within the last 12 months, bring proof of the purchase price. A foreign-market import made 25 or more years ago is not subject to the federal safety compliance proof that newer imports need, but customs paperwork still applies. For the drive home, a prospective purchaser's trip permit costs $5 and covers three days.

Settle the title before you pay. Selling a vehicle without a title is a Class 3 misdemeanor, and Virginia law forbids buying one when you know or have reason to believe the seller has none. DMV can issue a title when the certificate is lost or otherwise unavailable, but only after it investigates and may ask for affidavits. DMV also warns that a mileage that conflicts with the car's records can leave the new title branded "Not Actual" permanently, which hurts the car's value.

Antique plates

• Eligibility: a car with a model year more than 25 years old, owned solely as a collector's item. You must also own or regularly use another passenger vehicle, and you certify on form VSA 10B that the car can be driven safely on Virginia roads.
• Cost and term: a one-time $50 fee, and the plates stay valid for as long as you hold the title. The plates do not move to another vehicle.
• Use: club activities, exhibits, tours, parades and similar events, plus testing, repairs, selling, and occasional pleasure driving up to 250 miles from home. Daily driving and commuting are not allowed, and a conviction costs you the antique plates for five years.
• Inspection: a car licensed with antique plates is exempt from the annual safety inspection.
• Vintage plates: original Virginia plates from before 1976 can be used if the year matches the car's model year and DMV approves their condition. They are not available for cars and trailers built in 1973 or later.
• Everyday use: register the car on standard plates, or use vintage plates registered for general transportation. Then the car needs a yearly safety inspection and renewal like any other vehicle.
• Replicas: a replica takes the model year it copies, may be driven no more than 5,000 miles a year, and is not automatically eligible for antique plates.

Inspections and emissions

Virginia requires an annual safety inspection for registered vehicles, with an exemption for cars on antique plates. Emissions testing applies only to vehicles garaged in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William or Stafford counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park. Gasoline-powered cars with a model year more than 25 years old are exempt from the test, with or without antique plates, though the $2 emissions fee is still charged at renewal.

Sales and use tax

• The tax is 4.15% of the gross sales price or $75, whichever is greater, paid to DMV when you title the car.
• A trade-in does not reduce the tax. The gross sales price includes a dealer's processing fee but not unpaid liens or other credits.
• In a private sale the price the seller writes on the title serves as the bill of sale. If it is missing or wrong on a car more than five years old, a signed bill of sale or a Vehicle Price Certification can replace it.
• If you bought the car in another state and are titling it in Virginia for the first time, you pay no Virginia tax when you hold a valid title or registration from that state, but a purchase made in the last 12 months needs proof that tax was paid there.
• Local personal property tax and local registration fees are separate and set by the city or county where you live.

Salvage and rebuilt titles

A vehicle under a salvage certificate cannot be driven or registered. To title a rebuilt salvage car DMV examines it, charges a $125 examination fee, and permanently brands the title "REBUILT." A seller of a rebuilt vehicle must give the buyer a written Rebuilt Vehicle Disclosure Statement. A nonrepairable certificate means the vehicle can never be titled, registered or driven in Virginia again.

Dealers, private sellers and insurance

Selling cars as a business requires a dealer license, and anyone who offers or sells five or more vehicles in 12 months is presumed to be a dealer. A dealer can sell a used car "as is" only after giving you a separate written disclosure on the buyer's order, signed by you, along with the federal Buyers Guide. If the disclosure is missing you can cancel the sale within 30 days for a refund, and the dealer faces a civil penalty of up to $1,000. Dealers set their own processing fees, which Virginia law does not cap, and the fee counts toward the sales tax. A dealer that has not yet received the title must deliver it within 30 days of the purchase. The lemon law covers new vehicles only, so it does not help with a used classic. In a private sale there is no dealer warranty or return right, which makes a pre-purchase inspection and a title check worth doing. You need liability insurance before you drive the car, or you pay a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee.

Sources: Virginia DMV (titling, buying and selling, antique plates, sales and use tax, emissions, salvage and rebuilt vehicles, trip permits), the Virginia Motor Vehicle Dealer Board, and the Code of Virginia (Title 46.2, chapters 6, 10 and 15). Rules and fees change; confirm with Virginia DMV before you buy.