I’m deeply curious about the thoughts of commenters like this because I’m curious the background a person would have to think that two easily-changeable attributes of a car would have a bearing on the purchase of a vehicle that’s already WELL below the price that these normally command. I like to keep an eye on the…

All fair points, and I have agreed on them since the inception of the autonomous usability debate. The point that’s more alarming than the example of that photo above (which I picked because the car is filthy, not because that offshoot is a major thoroughfare), is the fact that “[my] part of the world” includes being…

I agree, but my area of the world includes (within the same road-salt-filled environment) New York City. It’s a problem that’s going to have to be addressed.

Why are the wheels garbage? Did they hurt your feelings somehow? It’s just a set of wheels, and it doesn’t make the car ride any different than a set of same-spec BBS LMs.

Finding a solution to the modern automated car wash is all well and good, but what about the days when I can drive 2.5 hours and consume two gallons of washer fluid, as shown above? That’s just for windshield and back window while following cars driving on a wet paved road. Would the onboard containment and delivery…

Step 1. Read the article.

Hadn’t thought of it that way, but yeah, kind of. As in, you can transfer a previous registration within six months, and you only pay tax on the difference (say you sell a previously-registered car for $5000 and buy a new one for $7500, you only pay 6% on the $2500 difference in registration tax, plus reg fee,…

It doesn’t launder anything, because the status of the title stays the same, and searching any VIN on the DMV system or CarFax will indicate the history of the car. It changes nothing about the status of the title, only the way the state distributes documentation. The point is that a physical title is ambiguous—the…

You do realize coilovers can be adjusted, right? 30 minutes and you an have this car at a completely normal ride height. While you’re at it, throw on another set of wheels and sell the current ones. That’s like saying a pizza is crap because you don’t like the color of the box.

They’re also expensive. There’s no way he’d sell it to you on those wheels for $10k.

There’s nothing quirky or weird about a Crosstrek. They’re good cars, yeah, but in Vermont, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado, they’re literally everywhere. Plus the driving experience doesn’t particularly stand out unless you’re exploring a forest road in a rainstorm.

Oh, I also keep my old out-of-state titles. But the challenge is in driving them back with only the seller’s signature (in case of stops, etc), and I personally don’t like having an “open” title lying around. So I usually sign them over into my name, which closes up the option of the next buyer signing them. It does…

Prove ownership: Registration (your name, VIN, and some state verbiage)

We don’t have any recurring annual taxes on vehicles in VT (although they do in NH), so payments are fairly simple (flat rate of $76 each year, plus 6% of book value due at registration). If someone doesn’t register a car, I suppose it stays in the previous owner’s name unless they alert the DMV. I’ve bought parts…

They will, unfortunately. But you can run a CarFax on the VIN and prove its history, which often will help. It’s a long explanation to the buyer, but give it once or twice and it gets easier to explain. At least VT and NH residents are used to it.

That’s not the seller’s fault when they have no control over whether they have a title. It’s the fault of the person too lazy to call their own DMV and determine the process to register said car. And fortunately, it’s possible to register a vehicle in Vermont without an address there (the challenge is insurance); if…

Because in Vermont, there is a thing called “seasons.” And because of seasons like “Salt Season” and “Mud Season” a lot of cars cease to exist by the time 15 years rolls around.

Registration appears in your name with the vehicle VIN. Easy peasy.

Get used to being surprised:

It matters to Subaru’s factory rally team, headquartered here. It matters to the buyers and sellers at RPMVT, who do Ferrari factory restorations and to whom people ship Lancia Stratos and Lamborghini Countach concours cars. The title issue matters when you need to sell a dozen Ferrari 330 coupes with no title. Plus…