In other news.... NC DMV is a total batE36 M3 nightmare.
After 45 minutes on hold, (without music, just dead silence) I was told (incorrectly, of course) that there was no legal way to purchase a NC vehicle unless I had a NC license and NC insurance. I asked to speak to someone else and she hung up on me
After another 35 minutes on hold I was told that she was indeed incorrect. I didn't need a NC license, but I DID need NC insurance.
Confused, I called my State Farm agent in PA and he said (paraphrasing) "hold my beer." He called a NC State Farm agent and said that the NC DMV was full of E36 M3, and that it simply must be insurance from a company that underwrites in NC. So a podunk local insurance agency wouldn't cut it, but State Farm, Progressive, Geico, etc would be fine.
So I wanted to call one of the NC independent licensing centers to ask what I needed to bring to get temp tags. I tried six of them. None of them had a human. One just hung up automatically without ringing, one of them a computer voice told me the mailbox was full and not taking messages. The rest were just recorded messages about office hours and directions.
I called the seller and he informed me that I shouldn't even try getting a temp tag. Those independent offices are currently taking appointments for March/April, and he said he waited four hours in the rain outside one of those.
In the end, he volunteered to pay the taxes, fees, and registration on his expired tag ($200-ish) to spare me from the headache
The last time I walked into my PennDOT notary/tag office, it was like "ooh..a customer." They brought me a coffee and it was like I was their first warm-blooded human that had walked through the door all day. Last time I went to the actual DOT building, I think they called my number before I sat down after pulling the tag out of the machine.
Worth finding out the whole story though, I would think.
