Can You Drive the Car Home on the Same Day of Purchase?
2 Answers
You cannot drive the car home on the same day of purchase. After purchasing a vehicle, it must be registered with the traffic management department of the public security authority before it can be driven on the road. For vehicles that are not yet registered but need to be driven temporarily on public roads, a temporary license plate must be obtained. Additionally, when driving on the road, the vehicle should display inspection qualification marks, insurance marks, and other required documents. Relevant information about temporary license plates is as follows: 1. Introduction: A temporary license plate is a paper license issued by the vehicle management department of the public security authority, allowing temporary road use before the vehicle is officially registered. It is also known as a temporary driving license plate. 2. Classification: Temporary license plates generally have a validity period of no more than 30 days. There are four types: temporary license plates for administrative districts, cross-administrative district temporary license plates, temporary license plates for testing purposes, and temporary license plates for special-type motor vehicles.
I remember encountering this issue when helping my cousin pick up his car last year. Whether you can drive the car away on the same day mainly depends on a few key points: whether the payment has been settled, if the insurance is active, and whether the 4S shop has prepared the temporary license plate. For a full payment purchase, if you swipe your card to pay in full in the morning, the salesperson usually arranges a PDI inspection (a comprehensive pre-delivery check for new cars) before noon, and you can sign and drive away in the afternoon. However, for a loan purchase, you might have to wait half a day longer until the bank releases the funds. The most important thing is the temporary license plate! Never hit the road without it—getting caught by traffic police means losing 12 points directly. My cousin’s case got stuck on the insurance; he chose 'effective the next day' on the policy, so he had to leave the car at the 4S shop overnight. It’s advisable to ask the salesperson to send a photo of the insurance policy to confirm the effective time before picking up the car to avoid a wasted trip.
