Originally Posted by AndyJ

When I buy a car out of state, I usually rent a car from Avis or Hertz etc on a one way rental. That way, if I buy the car I'm going to look at, I can leave the rental at the nearest rental car agency in the new car's city or town, provided there is one, which I always check out first. And, if the car is not what it was represented to be, then I can still drive the rental home and turn it in, without paying the one way fee, which is usually a couple hundred dollars. It usually turns out to be less expensive than shipping, which can be undependable and has other logistic problems (I say this based on experience), and it eliminates the need to make a trip to see the car and then go back to get it.
Your local DMV can tell you if you can get a temporary tag to drive it home. If not, then you can go to the DMV in the town where the car you're buying is, show them your bill of sale and title, and they may sell you a temporary tag for the drive back. You can ask the seller to check this with his local DMV.


hope that helps.