Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you live

I would think the dealer should give you temp. plates and also all the paperwork, including the certificate of origin necessary for you to register the car in Az.

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

[font=Comic Sans MS:90691ea066]I believe someone named Michelle on the Yahoo groups lives in Arizona and bought her Prius at a dealer in California. She had some trouble with the transfer, but it all worked out. Here is what I could find about her dealings with bringing a car from out of state. You may want to write to her at her email which is on this message:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Prius-...G/message/14144

Mary Lou[/font:90691ea066]

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

Bought my car in WY and drove it back to IL. No problem what so ever. the dealer gave me temp WY plates and when the title came through from the WY Sec of State's office, I just took all the paperwork to IL DMV to get IL plates. Paid the sales tax in IL, got my real plates and was done. Piece of cake.

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

I did the same thing. I bought the care in Iowa, was given temp plates along with vehicle title. I went strait to DMV here in Omaha paid Nebraska Sales Tax only and vehicle regristration fee.

Short, sweet and simple.

Ben

 

Same here, bought in NH, live in VT. Dealer gave me 20 day temp plates, certificate of origin and even filled out the VT DMV reg form.

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

I bought my Prius in CA and drove it all the way back to Michigan :mrgreen:

Even though the car was purchased from an OUTSTANDING CA dealer, I had to take delivery in Reno, NV to avoid paying 7.5% CA sales tax. The dealer puts a "one way" pass on the inside of the windshield.

I left my teenage kids safely enthralled with the TV and pool at our hotel, while my salesperson picked me up and drove me to the dealership.

After I put a couple miles on the car on a "test ride" a dealership porter took over the driving and at 9:30pm, we made are way to Reno while I fiddled with the GPS NAV and other toys. I thought I was going to be really annoyed not getting to drive the car myself, but it was the total opposite.

We met a Notary in a Safeway parking lot outside Reno at midnight and she certified to the CA Board of Tax that the car was delivered out of state. I took the key fob and the car.

We were followed by a second car. A dealership "chase vehicle" who is responsible for returning my porter back home. The reason being... the one-way pass means just that! You can drive the car OUT of CA but cannot LEGALLY return for 90 days!

So... Unfortunately, I had to leave my kids in Sacramento. Gosh I miss 'em.

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

OH... the problem with CA purchases is that for some totally idiotic reason, Toyota does not deliver a critical piece of paper called a Statement of Origin (that almost every OTHER state requires to title a car) to any car bought in CA.

It takes a week for Toyota to get a SoO to your home so you can legally title and license (i.e. pay the sales tax) on the car.

 

7.5% sales tax... gee... wish our sales tax was that low...

but i just heard that we can now deduct sales tax on our federal income tax return!! about time!!

 

Hey if you live in Ct. there's NO sales tax!

 

hmmm... well make it no snow and ill think about it~!!

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

Here's a twist on "out of state" purchases ..... bought my new 2005 with BC package from a dealership in Alaska. Only had to wait two weeks from order to delivery. In California they still have a 500+ person waiting list at my local dealer (Longo Toyota), and they say it will be about 30 weeks to get one. Everyone on this list has paid a $ 500 deposit with them. These are very had to get in California unless you don't mind waiting.

Alaska has no sales tax, and registration is only $ 236 for two years. I told the dealer I wanted to register it in Alaska to get the sales tax advantage ..... they agreed and "handled" this on my behalf. I also told the dealer I wanted to pick the car up near the Port of Portland, Oregon, where all the cars arrive on the west coast. They drop shipped the car to a dealer in the Seattle area. I drove the car to California .... at which time it was a used car, and since it was already registered from another state, and in my name ... no sales tax when I transfered registration to here. Paid MSRP, no sales tax, and got it in two weeks. Saved about $ 2,300 ..... plus I made the delivery deadline to receive this years federal tax credit ... which I've heard decreases next year.

 

WOW and I bet the Alaska dealer was happy as hell! i wonder how many Prius's get sold in Alaska?

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

My case was I bought my one other car in Pennsylvania and register in NJ.
It took 4 weeks. Because missing paper work like state of origin and tax documentation.. Mean while dealer provided temp plate...
Also, one time I was looking for Acura TSX and dealer in Houston willing to pay one way airline ticket from Pittsburgh to Houston... and 2grand off MSRP I thought that was great deal I ever got... other hand I have to drive home

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

Good luck The Attorney General and or Department of Licensing in Washington has a deparment to deal with this sort of "purchase" Washington wants your tax dollar. I believe that California has a state income tax so maybe they might not be so vigilant. I don't know how this program has changed since the yearly excise tax on cars has been removed. In any case good luck on sliding around the tax.

 

top that off with one of the highest state sales tax in the country.

a lot of people in Wa try to get away with not paying sales tax by registering their car in Oregon. that is why there are so many Oregon plates around here. but they are caught on a daily basis.

all they have to do is get pulled over one time.

 

I would not be surprised if speedball's Prius registration is audited by the California Franchise Tax Board. It may take a few months, but he may end up getting a bill for the Use Tax he owes.

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

I recently bought my new prius off Ebay from a dealer in Massachusetts and I live in Texas. The dealer is overnighting the certificate of origin and all necessarry paperwork for me to register my car in Texas. He also sent me an overnight return package to return the papers I need to sign in order to finalize the deal. This was done at no cost to me.
Hope this helps.

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

In response to a few of your comments above .... This is a legal transaction. Yes .... it's creative ... but completely legal. There's no minimum residency requirement in any state (even if it's only for a day) .... I bought the car legally in Alaska, paid all their registration fees and completed the process through the dealership in Alaska, and have proof this transaction was done and paid for in Alaska. I received Alaska title and plates. Whenever a car is re-registered in another state ... as long as you are the legal owner with title and registration from another state .... no sales tax is ever due. Basically the same thing as buying something from an out of state catalog company ... when it arrives at your mailbox, does California come after you for the sales tax? NO ..... Now, there is a slight difference with vehicles .... but this only applies to vehicles that were never registered in another state first. If I had bought this car in a state that has sales tax ... and then decided to register it there ... I would've been subject to their state sales tax and fees. Likewise, had I decided to register it in California for the first time ... I would've been subject to their sales tax.

I choose to buy my Prius in Alaska for several reasons ..... first and foremost .... No waiting lists, they also have motivated dealers offering cars at MSRP and interested in your business, NO Sales Tax and very low two year registration fees. California does require that vehicles brought into the state be registered in California within 30 days of arrival..... so I'll do this and have to eat the Alaska registration fees I paid .... but this is only 10% of my net savings.

Now for those that feel I'm working the system ..... I would've loved to of bought this car at my local dealership and handled this like everyone else did ... but this wasn't an option because no cars are available. I'm still on the waiting list at my local Toyota dealership ... and will continue to be for probably another 6 months or more.

Here's a thought on taxes ...... take Property taxes as an example ..... which is a major revenue source ..... property values in California have gone ballistic ..... increasing two to three fold in just the past few years ..... yet services have continued to decrease ... The state and county constantly claim proverty and will until the end of time. Property taxes on every home sold during this period have increased 4 or 5 times the previous tax rate due to Prop. 13 ... this has been a giant windfall for the state and counties and property sales are at an all time high .... yet they never have enough money. I'm certain that if someone gave them 1Trillion dollars extra this year as a gift ... the very next year they'd return saying they'll have to cut services, close hospitals, lay off police .... unless they got 1.2 Trillion dollars in unexpected revenue the following year ... this would go on forever. It's truly a bottomless pit .... I didn't make the rules .... they did.

Here's another thought .... why does it cost $ 236 to register any car in Alaska, any value car, even a $ 250k Ferrari, for two years ..... when it costs 3 times this for a typical mid-priced car in California for just one year. If you buy an expensive car like a $ 100k plus Mercedes .... it's about $ 2k a year in registration. I ask you ..... Who's working the system? Who's screwing who?

 

Re: Interstate purchase - Buy in a different state than you

Bill... Mary Lou told of Michelle... here is her story.. I have copied it from the Prius_05 yahoo group...

Sat July 17..
I got a call from the dealer in Fresno; someone passed on a silver
package #9, so I'll be picking it up on Tuesday or Wednesday. I just
sold my Acura and arranged for the financing; I'll get the check on
Tuesday, so the time of day it's delivered will determine when I go to
Frenso.

-- Michelle

Fri July 23..
Wednesday, Mary and I drove from Chandler, AZ to Fresno, CA to pick up
my new Silver Pkg #9 2004 Prius on Thursday morning.

I'll tell you all about the process later on; it's almost 1 am now, and
I need to get some sleep. However, I did want to give you my first
impression.

My first Impression: WOW! It's everything I had imagined about it.

The salesman took me on a short drive (me driving), and filled me in on
some of the features; he could have (and would have) done more, but
Mary and I wanted to get on the road and get home. After that short
drive, I reset the five-minute bars and average MPG indicator; since we
drove only a mile or two on the test, I doubt that I threw off the
figures by anything significant.

We headed South on California 99 to I-5, and then East on I-210 to
I-15, and then South to I-10. I-10 took us to within seven miles of
our home. Except for about 80% of I-210, it was all high-speed freeway
driving until we exited to go home. That time on 210, though, was
stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper rush-hour traffic.

We made it to just over the AZ state line--a total of 457 miles--before
I had to gas up. The screen said I averaged 44.5 MPG. The second leg
was 167 miles, at an average of 41.3 MPG. Arizona's speed limit is
five MPH faster than California's, and we were driving for best time,
not best mileage. But when we reached Phoenix, and the speed limit
dropped to 65 MPH from 75 MPH, my mileage went up to the high 40s and
low 50s. Without that portion of the drive, the second leg would
probably have been about 40-42 MPG.

On the first leg, I drove until the last bar started blinking, and then
exited the freeway at the first gas station we came too. I put in 11.6
gallons.

Oh, two things before I sign off:

1. The salesman told me that there will be no differences between the
2004 and 2005 models. However, in mid year, they will delete one color
and replace it with another. He thinks that Salsa Red will be the one
eliminated, but has no idea what will replace it.

2. It turns out that I wasn't really first on the list; I was about
number 12--but those ahead of me either were waiting for a 2005 model,
didn't want silver, and/or didn't want package 9. I was the first
person who didn't pass up a 2004 silver model with pkg 9.

More later...

-- Michelle

Sat July 23..

Buying a car should not be an ordeal, but sometimes "stuff" happens.
Quite a bit of "stuff" happened for me on this purchase.

Fortunately, Evan Schroeder, the Automotive Sales Manager for Michael
Automotive Group, was very helpful and worked hard to shovel the
"stuff."

Apparently, Michael Automotive had never sold a car to someone out of
state and wasn't aware of all the details involved; I related some of
this story before, but I'll cover it all now, for those who may have
missed it.

The first hurdle is that they believed that they were required to get a
California title for the car because the loan company required the car
be titled, with them as the lien holder, when delivered. Fortunately,
my loan comapny (USAA Bank) deals primarily with members of the
military and has a process in hand to handle this kind of situation. I
FAXed the form from USAA to the dealership, and that solved that
problem.

Next problem that came up is that Arizona requires a Manufacturer's
Certificate of Origin (MSO) to register and title a new car, but
California does not, so Toyota routinely does not send an MSO to
California dealers. Without an MSO, the car can't be registered in
Arizona, and the dealer can't sell me the car unless they know it's
going to be registered.

Solution #1: Give me the MSO and I'll register the car.

The general sales manager vetoed this idea; he said there was no way
for them to be certain that I would register it, and there would be too
much exposure to the possibility of a law suit.

Solution #2: I give them a California address and we register the car
there. I arranged with Mary's mom to use her address. This happened
on Tuesday, the day before we were to leave.

Solution #3: Michael Toyota send all the papers (including MSO) to a
Phoenix car dealership (along with the necessary powers of attorney),
and they register the car in Phoenix for me. Evan told me of this
option late on Tuesday, but wouldn't know whether they could do it
until sometime on Wed morning.

We left about 8 am Wednesday, right after my doctor's appointment.
About 11 am, Evan called and told me that everything is worked out for
a Phoenix dealership to handle the papers.

We arrived at the dealership about 6 PM, and started the paperwork for
me to pick up the car the next morning. Then Evan told me that their
DMV clerk overruled the general sales manager, and we would revert to
option 1. This clerk had been working there for some seventeen years,
and her only job is to make sure that every sale meets the legal
requirements for DMV and the Franchise Tax Board.

Evan told me that, although the car will be registered in Arizona, I
would still have to pay California sales tax; I had assumed that I'd
pay AZ sales tax when the vehicle was registered, and didn't have
enough in my checking account to cover the tax as well. So, I
transferred enough funds to the checking account, but it was from
another bank; I used an ATM that evening.

I had asked whether I could use my AMEX card to make the down payment
(that would avoid transferring funds and writing any checks), but they
said that the finance company would balk at my doing that because it
would mean that I'd be getting a loan to make a down payment on a
financed purchase. I'm not sure that argument is valid, though. He
also said that because my check is from out of state (even though the
bank is headquartered in California), I'd have to pay with a cashier's
check.

Anyway, after signing all the papers, I drove the Prius (with Evan
showing me stuff about it) to the bank to buy a cashier's check, where
I found that I was about $500 short in my checking account. The funds
that I had transferred the previous evening were not available for
withdrawal until the next day. The dealership still wouldn't take a
credit card or a personal check for $650 (I wanted to keep a small
reserve in the checking account); I wound up using a credit card for a
$650 cash transfer, and was then able to buy the cashier's check.

We drove back to the dealership, said our farewells, and Mary and I
convoyed back home.

-- Michelle

Wed July 28... wheels coming loose

I just used Toyota's feedback form on its web site to send the
following email to them.

-- Michelle

I purchased a 2004 Prius (VIN <deleted>) from Michael Toyota in Fresco,
California on July 22, 2004. Because I live in Arizona and wanted to
register the car in Arizona, I received a one-day drive-out California
registration.

In order to register the car in California, I had to have a
Manufacturers Certificate of Origin (or Manufacturers Statement of
Origin), but the dealership didn't have one for the car because, they
said, California doesn't require an MSO/MCO. They said they would
order one from Toyota for me. The salesperson said he would FAX the
request the day of sale (last Thursday), and that it would be shipped
overnight to me the next day. It turns out that he did't FAX it until
Friday, and it wasn't sent until Monday.

However, he said it was Japan via regular mail. Regular mail
from Japan to the US can take a week or more; my three-day temporary
registration in Arizona expires on July 29th (tomorrow). This means
that I will not be able to drive the car legally for some three or four
days to maybe a week, and then even to drive it to the Motor Vehicle
Department to register it, I'd be driving it illegally.

As the subject of this message indicates, I am very upset. I feel that
I'm being treated very shabby, and that the attitude is that once the
sale is completed, no one is interested any more.

What can you do to correct this situation?

Thur July 29.. can it get worse

Not having received a reply from Toyota to my email by 3 PM today, I
called corporate customer relations. I started off by saying, "I', an
irate customer," and then explained the problem. (BTW, they had me in
their data base already, but that might be from when I got put on the
list.)

The first-cut response was that if the MCO had been sent, there's
nothing more than they can do. I explained that with the conflicting
stories I've heard, I don't know whether it had been sent or not. I
also passed on what Dianne wrote here--that the MCO is
regional HQ, not from Japan. The CR person told me that she would
forward the problem to regional, but their policies are that they do
not have to reply to me for three business days (which would be next
Tuesday). She also suggested that I call the customer service manager
at Michael Toyota. When I tried to tell her that they can't send the
MCO because they don't have it; only Toyota can send it, I got the "We
didn't sell you the car; the dealer sold it to you. We sold it to the
dealer," line of baloney.

I told her that the building, the business cards, the signage, etc, all
had the Toyota logo on it, and that the dealer was representing Toyota,
so it is Toyota who is getting a black eye from this matter. She told
me that if I didn't hear from regional by Tuesday to call CR again.

After hanging up, I called the dealer's customer service manager and
explained the situation to him. He called back a few minutes later,
and told me that the MCO had been mailed to the dealership (thus
contradicting what the salesman told me a number of times), and when
they get it in, they will fedex it to me immediately, and call to let
me know that it's on its way.

The only saving grace in this entire matter is the car itself.

Fri July 30...the end of the story

I received a call from the Toyota regional office in San Francisco
today; the nice lady told me that the MSO was mailed to Michael Toyota
on Tuesday. She said that they had to send it to Michael Toyota
instead of me because the dealer had to fill in and sign parts of the
document.

I then called Michael Toyota, and found out that they had received it
and had sent it to me via FEDEX overnight delivery.

I asked for the tracking number, and checked it on the FEDEX web site,
and it is scheduled for delivery no later than 1:30 PM tomorrow. I
then checked the AZ MVD web site and found a nearby MVD office that's
open on Saturdays.

So, to recap; here are things I had been told that were not accurate:

1. a. Toyota would send it directly to me.
b. It would be sent via overnight delivery.

2. At various points in the process, I was told (with regard to when
it was sent)
a. (last Thursday) it would be sent to me Friday or Monday,
b. (last Saturday) that it will be sent to me on Monday,
c. (last Tuesday) that it was sent on Monday.

3. At various points in the process, I was told (with regard to where
it was )
a. that they didn't know whether it would be Japan or
from regional headquarters (well, that's true; they didn't know, but
should have known)
b. that it had been Japan

In reality, Toyota sent it to the dealer, via regular mail (which lost
two days compared to overnight) on Tuesday, and the dealer sent it
overnight to me on Friday.

However, they didn't tell me anything without my having to ask them,
and then didn't give me correct information until after I had contacted
Toyota corporate.

My temporary registration expired yesterday, so when I drive to the MVD
offices tomorrow to register the car, I'll be driving it illegally.

Sat July 31

FEDEX showed up about 9:50 this morning, with the MCO, all signed
properly. Contrary to what my salesperson thought, it really did have
to be sent to the dealership because the MCO from Toyota showed that
they sold the car to the dealer, and the dealer had to show on the MCO
that they sold it to me.

I assembled the necessary papers and the old license plate from the
Acura, and headed to the MVD, arriving there at 10:40 AM. I got on
line, and an hour later, I was inside, getting my number.

Waiting for the number, and then getting the car registered, with the
old license plate transfered to the Prius, too 50 minutes--less time
than the wait for the number.

A quick trip to the car with a borrowed screwdriver had the plate on
the car. After returning the screwdriver, I was headed back home.

Once home, I called the dealer to let him know that I received the MCO
and finally had the car registered. He told me that he will never sell
a car to an out of state customer who doesn't want to register it in
California.

Oh, one last thing: If had been able to pay AZ sales tax instead of CA
sales tax, I would have saved about $640 on the entire deal. So, by
buying it in California, it cost me almost a thousand bucks more than
buying it here, when I take into consideration transportation expenses
and the difference in sales tax. Of course, it means that I got the
car about six months sooner than I would have if I had waited to get it
here.


I really am not sure that I wouldn't wait for my car at a local dealership... maybe Michelle didn't dot all the i's or cross the t's before leaving the dealership.. or maybe the dealer was not aware of the out of state sales.. but it really makes for a story to tell at parties.. after a few toddies..

Bob Andersen