How does someone trade-in an out-of-state vehicle?

Question

So, a college friend is attending a school far out of the state where his home residence is. He's looking to trade-in at a dealership the out-of state vehicle he's driven. The vehicle is owned, registered & insured by his parents (out-of-state), although they've filled out the seller part of the title in order to transfer ownership to him. What does he need to do now? If he completes the purchaser part of the title, will he need to register & insure the vehicle, even if he plans to immediately trade-in? Or, can he just present the title to the dealer, with his parent's signatures, & let them fill out the purchaser portion, without the parents present (they'd have to fly out to do this in person)? Is there a smooth/easy way to do this, without re-registering/insuring, or without the parents flying out?

Answer 1

He'll need to title it to himself before he can sell or trade it in. Only licensed dealers can transfer an open title.

Alternatively the owner listed on the title could complete the transaction in person but they'd probably wind up on the title for the new vehicle as well.