Register a vehicle

Did you register the vehicle in the States before shipping it to STX?  I bought my Jeep used from a dealer in MO before shipping it to STX but registered it in MA for about 5 months before shipping it to the island.  The result was we had a clean MA title.  When we received the Jeep, it was shipped from MO, it had a Title signed first over to the dealer by the original owner and then again to me, which we then took to the MA DMV and registered it without difficulty.  Turns out I bought the Jeep the day they listed it on their internet site.

They told me the same thing.  If the title is not already in your name, they want it notarized.  But I think they told me they would take a notarized bill of sale in your name.   They also said if I bought a new vehicle with no title they would also accept a notarized  bill of sale plus the manufacturer's certificate of origin.

Having the title notarized in the dealer's name will do no good, they want something notarized in your name.

@Scubadoo

Thanks, I'm gonna notarize both just to be safe.  If I try to get a title here, I would have to pay 8.75% sales tax, that is why i'm not going to get a clean title.  

I'm in the same boat.  I don't need to drive the vehicle locally and don't want to pay sales/road tax and turn around and ship it out of state.  Just need the dealer to let me try and buy to do a quick test drive and get an independent inspection before sale.

It has been my experience that the bill of sale needs to be notarized and be in the 'sellers' name (the one on the title) and your name.  That can get tricky with a dealer trade in.  Especially if the dealer doesn't have an export license or an idea of how to deal with an export.