Dealer License

[Noel]

I always knew that most states require a “used car dealer license” in order to buy vehicles at wholesale prices at auctions and then sell them to the general public for profit. I also know that with such a license, you can purchase from any auction nationwide.

I always also thought that you could sell in any state the same way. For example, if I had a used car dealer license from Maine, bought a couple dealer only auction cars in Ohio, and then sold them to the public in California, all under the same license issued to me by Maine.

But lately I heard about dealers getting caught doing that, and getting fined. I heard that while it is true you can BUY in any state nationwide, you MUST ONLY sell within the state that issued you said used car dealer license.

I’m curious if any professionals out there can shine a light on this. Could it be a state by state thing?
In that some states don’t care and some do? Thanks in advance for any info.

I’ve never had a license of my own, always had to go through someone, but this has been on my mind lately since I’m thinking of going “legit” so to speak.

Topic

[Aaron Abajian]

I am a licensed dealer in Illinois. You have the facts pretty much correct. I can buy vehicles from anywhere world wide. I can sell vehicles only in my state. That means that the transaction can only happen at me dealership. If someone from out of state sees my ad and wants to drive to come look and buy it, I can sell it to them. They will just have to get it registered and pay taxes when they get home. They just need to purchase a “drive away” permit from the DMV. This happens sometimes because I might sell a car on eBay to out of state buyers. It’s all very confusing… I still don’t understand it all and I’ve been doing this for 10 years. If you want to go “legit”, you need to contact your Secretary Of State’s office and they will walk you through the MANY forms and procedures. Sometimes I wish I was still flipping cars from my driveway! So, did I clear that up or make you more confused??? Good Luck, Aaron

[Noel]

That definitely clears things up for me thank you.

[Author]

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