Title and Reg question for Dealers and Sellers...

[BooShine]

Hi everyone - I have an important question regarding a pending sale of my 2010 Prius.

Let me lay down the foundation: The car was purchased in Pennsylvania on June 13th. I drove it across the country to California where I have been working for the summer. My residency may not be permanent, so the car has not been re-registered in San Francisco (it still has PA plates).

Is it possible to sell a PA registered vehicle in the state of California?
If/When I sell the vehicle, what taxes are associated?

And finally (and I've heard a number of different answers for this) If i were to register the car in California, is it required that I pay the tax again? I was told the answer is NO if it is done within 6 months of the purchase date.


Please help me clarify this issue! Thanks!

[prioki]

Originally Posted by BooShine

Is it possible to sell a PA registered vehicle in the state of California?
If/When I sell the vehicle, what taxes are associated?

Hi BooShine! I can't answer all your questions, but I will tell you that I purchased my Prius used here in California. The seller did not charge me tax, but when I went to the DMV to change the registration to my name, they charged me the tax right then and there. So as the seller, you don't really need to worry about the taxes.

I don't think it matters where it is currently registered. The new owner will just have to put their name on it and register it in California.

[paprius4030]

More importantly, do you have the title or does the bank if it's financed? That's the down side of selling a fairly new car privately. Not many people are going to want to fork over a big bundle only to have to wait till you apyoff the car and get the title from the bank. Of course if you already have a clear title for it, it's no problem selling it in another state.

[BooShine]

Thanks for the info guys!

I did a little research and found out that if I want to keep my car and title it in California, I have to pay the tax on the vehicle AGAIN! Crazy, right? They will credit me a percentage of the tax I already paid in PA (6% compared to california's 9.5%)

Selling it with an out of stage registration and title is, as you guys said, no problem. Unfortunately, that is what I must do.

And yes, I have the title (although they misspelled my last name on it!) so it should be fairly simple.


I know this is OT, but what kind of loss (if any) should I face after owning the car for 3 months and putting 6k miles on it?

[PriusLewis]

Originally Posted by BooShine

I know this is OT, but what kind of loss (if any) should I face after owning the car for 3 months and putting 6k miles on it?

It definitely depends on the market. Yesterday someone was advertising on Craigslist here in Denver offering to buy a 2010 for up to $30K. I guess they are all gone from dealer stock after cash for clunkers. So if you act now (as they say on TV) you might be able to tap this demand before Toyota is able to ship new cars.