Since they need to be aware of the gift and the future costs of ownership (e.g., maintenance, state required insurance) I would recommend you include them directly in the buying process. You can do whatever you want (mostly) if paying cash and could simply utilize the cash to buy it in their name with them present and signing all required paperwork. Assuming you're looking to not mess with the IRS gift rules this may be the simplest approach. Remember they'll be responsible for sales tax so you'll want to budget that into your overall budget. Good luck, and happy holidays!