[Tommy]

OK, this has nothing to do with Texas, but it may offer some insight. ... When I built my Cheetah tribute, the State of Alabama was most interested in me showing that none of the major components came from stolen cars. Their inspection was only about confirming the numbers on the engine and transmission. Based on that they issued a title with a state issued VIN and the only fee was that for the title issue. ... When I took the car to be registered, I had to pay the initial sales tax on it and the local officials had no idea what to use as value. I spoke with the expert at the Alabama Department of Revenue over the phone and described my out of pocket costs for components. He accepted that as a reasonable valuation on a car for which there are virtually no comparisons. My total cost for the initial tag, registration and sales tax was less than $300. .... If NY and Texas operate similarly and you have never registered the car before, you may not have paid sales taxes anywhere yet. So I would expect Texas to accept the title transfer without question and then charge you sales tax based on whatever value you and they can agree on. . . . All this is just my best guess.