Registrg Used Bike frm WV Dealer in Maryland

I am confused about this process, and was hoping someone could explain before I go to the DMV and find out I don't have all the paperwork I need...

Today I bought a used (590 miles) 2013 DR650 at Romney's Cycles in WV (Scwiiingg!.. ahem). Anyway, they gave me a WV temp tag and I paid a title fee and sales tax.

If I had bought new, the dealership could have gotten me a MD hard tag and this would be a non-issue. Since the bike is used I'll need an inspection slip, and Romney is not MD State Inspection licensed, so I have to get it inspected in MD.

But what about the sales tax? Will I have to pay that to WV and to MD? Do I have to wait until I get the WV title in the mail before I go to the DMV or will the Bill of Sale and WV registration be enough? Another thing is the Bill of Sale isn't notarized. Will they be sticklers about that? I have all the loan paperwork- it's obviously a dealer sale with a clear price..

Has anyone here gone through a similar situation?

Thanks for any illumination on this......

Not a MVA expert but you will need the Title and MD inspection.

If you want to plate it in MD it will have to have a MD title. When you transfer the title you will pay MD sales tax.

You will need the WV title to transfer the title , plus MD inspection paper, and ins to get plates.

Bill of sale, WV temp registration, & loan papers will get you nowhere.

That's what I was afraid of. So basically the dealer screwed me. He told me before I went down there it would be tagged and ready. When I got there he told me about the State inspection thing. I should have bought the bike without the WV temp tag and just gotten the tag in MD once the WV title came through. Now I'm paying tax twice. Looks like I have some phone calls to make....

Please let us know what Romney says. I was thinking they sell a fair amount of bikes to out of staters and should know the drill.

Yeah. I should say I don't think they did this on purpose- the kid who I was dealing with had not handled an out of state used buy before. I'm sure they will straighten it out fairly. Besides this I was really happy with the service and the price.

The dealer didn't screw you, they sold the bike in WV and gave you a WV temp tag.
To give you this tag they have to show that they collected tax on it.

When you get your WV title you'll need to transfer it to MD and get the MD state inspection.
Then MD can screw you out of the tax again.

I don't know if you trailered or rode it home, but if you trailered it then you would not have needed a temp tag.
They still have to do the paperwork for the WV title tho.

Not sure if you showing that you paid WV tax would help you in MD or not, as they just want their money.

Best option is to move to WV, since your bike is already titled there

I bought my Suzuki TU250x from Romney back in 2010 ,Paid cash,They delivered the bike to my house in Glen Burnie Md. The title showed up in the mail a few days later. Went to the DMV Paid the MD sales tax and tag and title fees,showed proof of insurance,Done deal.

I suspect if you have proof of inspection added to that pile of info you should be good to go.

Quite a few Folks in states that surround Romney have bought bikes this way.

They will get the money.

This.

The OP getting a WV title sounds a little strange to me, what with him being a MD resident. Don't you have to be a WV resident, with a WV address to title a vehicle in WV?

So.. lesson here is, if buying from an out of state dealer, do not tag and have them deliver, and you will not have to pay taxes in the dealer's state?

MD will get their sales tax.... on USED vehicles... A friggin crime imo.

Out of all the vehicles I have owned I never bought one from and out of state dealer, so this is interesting.

Being a WV dealer they are unable to title it in any other state.
If MD would allow them to register as a MD titling agency they could give you a MD title. But I really don't see that happening.

They sell a lot of bikes to folks in other states.

Well, he might not have screwed me on purpose, but I would have done things differently if I'd known about this rigamarole. Like I said, I was told before I arrived the bike would be hard-tagged and ready to go. Only when I got there did he spring the State Inspection stuff on me.
I brought the bike home in my truck, so I didn't need a temp tag from WV. I could have skipped that part.
I'll investigate this Monday. I can't believe I'll have to pay tax twice. If intrastate internet commerce isn't taxed twice, why would an out of state vehicle sale be taxed twice?

Yeah, been here too. I had to cajole a State Trooper into verifying the VIN on a bike in the MVA parking lot and then tell the counter help. Maybe one of her super-long fingernails was blocking a numeral on the slip.


I would move to WV in a heartbeat if I thought I could find a job. There's not much in my line of work down there that pays. MD sucks out loud in a lot of ways.

Save yourself the headache of dealing with the MVA and use a tag and title service.

I have been rejected on technicalities at the MVA and gone across the street to Terry's Tag and Title and walked out with tags in less time than I waited at the MVA.:ddog

Agreed, Maryland sucks and its getting worse.

I think since you hauled it home and it didn't need the inspection and temp tag they made a mistake there.
They can't tag it without inspecting it.
When I went there and got my bike it seemed like there was a bit of one hand not know what the other was doing going on there.

I'd call them, they may be able to refund you the tax.
On the finding a job in WV thing, good luck.
I've worked about 3 weeks in WV in the last 10 years, leaving for NJ early this afternoon.

Not sure but.......

I was talking to a guy at the Romney campout. In a nutshell, The state figured out how much out of state sales Romney does. Prior to, taxes were not collected for out of state use.

I don't think you are screwed at all . . .

I haven't registered a vehicle in MD, but have registered several in VA and CA.

Tax: I don't think you will get taxed twice. But if MD tax would have been higher, they may charge you the difference between what you paid in WV and what you would have paid in MD. That is typically how a sales/use tax works with an out of state purchase.

Inspection: Although you don't need a WV inspection, I imagine Romney inspects ALL of their bikes. Seems like most dealers do. That said, MD may be different, but in VA there is no connection between Inspection and Registration. In other words, although legally required to get an inspection, there is no requirement at registration that the bike be currently inspected. That is for you to take care of. MD may be different than VA, but that is how it works here. Which is probably why so many bikes have overdue inspections.

Title: You can register the bike without getting a MD title. A WV title is just as valid as a MD one. If you don't have the WV title when you go to MVA, they will likely just put a not that says it has a WV title - you can swap it for a MD title later if you wish. Remember, if it has a loan - you may not have the title. Or if you do, it will say there is a lienholder on it. But you will need to show proof of ownership - likely the bill of sale that shows it is paid for.

That is how it has worked for me in the past - albeit not in MD. The People's Republic of MD may be a bit different, but I bet not much (other than higher tax rates!)

MD requires any vehicle getting newly registered in MD to be inspected by a licensed State Inspection Station, unless it is new and has never been titled or registered anywhere. Once a vehicle is inspected, it doesn't have to be inspected again until it changes hands. This doesn't apply to emissions inspections, which are periodical.

According to the MD MVA website I will have to have either the WV title or a letter from my bank saying they are holding the title, since it was financed. Also a Bill of Sale. Because this is a used bike and has been previously titled, the Bill of Sale by itself is not sufficient- if it were a new bike that would be enough to apply for a MD title and registration.

The question of tax remains unanswered- I haven't spoken to Romney yet and I was on hold with the DMV but had to hang up.

Tax: MD will charge sales tax on the price he paid for the bike. They will charge the total tax and they will collect it at the time of title transfer. MD wont care what he's paid to WV.

Inspection: It will have to be inspected at an authorized MD Inspection Station before he can get MD tags for it.

Title: You can not register a motor vehicle in MD without a MD title. And he will need the WV title to be able to get a MD title.

This is how it works for used vehicles in MD.

I still don't know why the OP would be getting a WV title in his name when he is a resident of MD. Do you have a WV address?

Are you sure you're getting a WV title? If you are, who is it going to be titled to?

Having a lien on it is going to make it fun dealing with the MD MVA.