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Should I Buy an Out-of-State Car? | Edmunds.com

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited March 2015 in General
imageShould I Buy an Out-of-State Car? | Edmunds.com

Check emissions and other requirements before you bring a car across state lines or you could have registration nightmares.

Read the full story here


Comments

  • meteor10meteor10 Member Posts: 59
    you will face too much trouble to my mind. better buy some new car, but cheaper. reliability is the key factor
  • empiredjempiredj Member Posts: 21
    This is what happen to me...

    I needed a car, I didn't have much cash and I wanted new anyway. I however couldn't find a manual transmission 2015 Hyundai Accent Sport in California or anywhere else within 500 miles. I found Kirkland Ford/Hyundai had plenty of '15 Accent Sport manual transmission cars.

    I e-mailed about a Black one, I sort of didn't want Black but that's okay fourth Black car I have owned. They did the deal, without sales tax (I wasn't charged) I paid $15,5xx for the car.

    I flew up to Washington, took the tram and the bus to the dealership, quick test drive, filled with gas and I was handed the keys after signing the paper work in about 45 mins.

    Drove home 1,600 miles the next day.

    Now a few things I wasn't informed of until I tried to get the car registered in California.

    I had 20 days to inform DMV, I didn't do this, this is a grey area there's no penalty. I bought the car in Jan '2015 and tried to find out how much the fees and sales tax where in April (last month). I found all total it would cost me $1, 848 plus I had to smog the car.

    I find it interesting the edmunds says I don't have to get the car smogged since Washington is a CARB state. Well California DMV has told me otherwise, the car at that time had just under 4,000 miles on it. It's still consider new by many, so I don't understand why I have to shell out $60-$70 at a test only station when I know the car will past with ease and is CARB legal anyway.

    As it was possible I could have saved up the majority of the money to pay the sales tax and registration fees by now. That isn't the case and about $800 shy of the goal. I depend on my car to go back and forth to work, so I have to continue driving it.

    I really only have two options -

    1) Pay the DMV fees and State sales tax

    I can borrow some of this from my parents but I need to come up with the rest of it sooner or later. My best guess would be maybe June now.

    2) Trade-In

    I've just started to explore this option. Because I got a serious discount on the car and didn't pay taxes on it, I am only about $2400 upside down according to Edmunds but most dealers use KBB so its worth about $12,400 wholesale dealer trade. The Accent was a reaction to a dealer trying to sell me a '15 Fiesta S sedan when I wanted an ST.

    I want an ST, either the Focus or the Fiesta. I can pay slightly more a month and get an ST, but I have to needle the price down as low as I can get it and get an interest rate around 5%.

    My scores are about to update as I've paid my card balances down. I will still be in Tier 3/Tier C and I will get a better rate than I currently have on my Accent.

    If I can't shoulder a higher payment on a trade, then the next thing was to refi the Accent, pay the fees and possibly trade-in at the start of 2016 with a balloon payment on the car to get it closer to break even.

    Right now, it looks like to get a base Fiesta ST ('15) I will pay $100 extra per month. While I can afford it, I don't know if I want to pay more when I should be paying less on the Accent now. That said, I can refi it later as my scores continue to improve and get back $20-30 per month.

    Like I said I wanted an ST, so if it will cost me $450 or so to get one, I guess that's just the case and it will get me out of registration purgatory.
  • Adi2103Adi2103 Member Posts: 1
    Hello Guys,

    Can some one help me , I purchased a new vehicle in CO, I am moving to CA, I still have a valid Temp plate, can I register in California without registering first in Colorado. while buying vehicle I gave my present address in Colorado.

    Thanks
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    This might help you out
    Adi2103 said:

    Hello Guys,

    Can some one help me , I purchased a new vehicle in CO, I am moving to CA, I still have a valid Temp plate, can I register in California without registering first in Colorado. while buying vehicle I gave my present address in Colorado.

    Thanks

    This might help you out:

    https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/checklists/outofstate
  • Ibisboy1Ibisboy1 Member Posts: 2
    I purchased a car out of state so I could not see it personally. So, I decided to use Lemon Squad. The car looked great but there was a note in the CARFAX about vibration being checked. I had driven a few of the cars before and all had some level of vibration during acceleration. So, I was not overly concerned but asked specifically that the technician check this out. I also asked that any cosmetic defects be photographed.

    The tech drove the car and did not find any vibration according to his report. He also noted that there were some scratches consistent with age specifically that there were some scratches under the front bumper that you needed to bend down to see.

    Based on the report I drove down to see the car (7 hours). When I got there the car looked good, but, there were a number of visible scratches on the front bumper and you didn't need to bend down to see them. I was ok with that but it would have been nice to have the pictures of this so that I could have made the decision before driving down.

    Driving the car I found that there was vibration during acceleration. It was a bit worse than what I had seen but given the clean bill of health I got from Lemon Squad I decided to take the car.

    When I brought it home I had a nagging feeling that something was not quite right. So, I brought the car into a local mechanic. He found the following:

    1. The top engine mount was leaking hydraulic fluid and needed to be replaced.
    2. A control arm bushing was torn and a ball joint needed to be replaced (you replace them in pairs - right and left typically).
    3. The CV joints had been replaced with aftermarket units and they were out of balance causing the vibration - this is a manufacturing issue.
    4. The timing belt needed to be replaced along with the serpentine belt. The timing belt on the purchased needs to be replaced at 105K or after 10 years (car is 13 years old).

    The response from Lemon Squad was less than helpful. You have 2 weeks to refute the report and it did take some time to get the car over to the local mechanic (about 3 weeks for me - didn't do it right away because I had just paid 200 dollars to Lemon Squad so I was hesitant to spend more money.

    The summary of their response was:

    1. They can only report what they find at the time of the report (all of these things were issues at that time).
    2. I waited too long to contact them - again, I spent 200 dollars so I was hesitant to spend more money on an additional inspection.
    3. They can't lift the car so they can't find some things - but, they are supposed to get around the fact that they can't lift the car by using mirrors to inspect the underside of the car. Control arm bushing was torn and visible, engine mount was on top of the engine and visible - should have found these things.
    4. Said no vibration when driven - not possible. The issue is a manufacturing defect (CVs were out of balance - too long or short). It is not something that comes and goes. A skilled mechanic would be able to identify/diagnose the issue. The local mechanic called this out immediately.
    5. It would have been nice to know that the timing belt replacement was due. This is a common replacement item on many cars but the schedule differs (so at 90k, some at 100K+ some have a time component as well).

    In any event, they give themselves plenty of wiggle room to take absolutely no responsibility. If you need assistance with a car I couldn't recommend them any less...

    Responses from Lemon Squad - this is what you can expect

    We do our best to catch all the scratches, but we can't get them all.

    Lemon Squad

    I checked with the inspector about your concerns and if you refer to the sample report, we didn't have access to a lift with this seller. Some items aren't able to be assessed unless you have a compete look underneath the vehicle. The inspector did report on the condition of the vehicle when he was there, and gave you his report, on items that we are able to check on the pre-purchase inspection.

    The inspector reported that during the road test the driver (wife), drove slow, and up to 80 mph, and the vehicle didn't have any issues with vibrations, noises, clunking, shaking to indicate that there were any issues with this vehicle. Tire wear was even, ride was smooth, nothing to show an issue.

    We have also talked with the inspector, he states the issues you are having did not present themselves for him on the day of the inspection. We can only report on things that are acting up while we are there with the vehicle. Remember, we are not a warranty company. We do not fix, work or disassemble cars. Things can fail after we leave the vehicle. Some issues can even be intermittent.

    All in all I had a 2800 dollar repair bill on a car that had been given a clean bill of health.
  • Benzboy87Benzboy87 Member Posts: 1
    I’m purchasing a used car in California from a used car dealer and driving it to the state of Ohio I’m being told I will owe 8% CA sales Tax and possibly Ohio will reimburse me the difference when I register it their ? Is this true
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 240,180
    Benzboy87 said:

    I’m purchasing a used car in California from a used car dealer and driving it to the state of Ohio I’m being told I will owe 8% CA sales Tax and possibly Ohio will reimburse me the difference when I register it their ? Is this true

    You can look at the department of revenue sites for both states to determine your tax obligations upon purchase in CA and registration in OH.

    You couldn't find a car closer to where you live?

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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,268
    Benzboy87 said:

    I’m purchasing a used car in California from a used car dealer and driving it to the state of Ohio I’m being told I will owe 8% CA sales Tax and possibly Ohio will reimburse me the difference when I register it their ? Is this true

    I’d definitely talk to someone at the Ohio BMV. It’s true that you can’t take delivery in CA without paying CA sales tax. Any chance the dealer could deliver across the state line in NV or AZ?

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  • CnjoachimCnjoachim Member Posts: 1

    Need help.

    I'm in Philadelphia for work. 1st month of 6 month contract at which point I return to Texas.
    My car died dead dead. I need transportation.

    I need to purchase a vehicle and have no time in the next six months to return to Texas.
    I'm not planning on becoming a resident of PA.

    How do I legally transport myself for the next six months. Registration here requires residence, registration there requires inspection.

    Please help.

  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,565
    If your travel is all local you could try Uber or Lyft. Otherwise I would contact my local motor vehicles department for advice. It would seem if you’re living in PA you have residence. When you return home reregister it in your home state.

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • mattyeowmattyeow Member Posts: 1
    This article has one inaccuracy. Arizona is not a carb compliant state. They repealed CARB compliance in 2012.
  • Laker21Laker21 Member Posts: 9

    This might help you out

    Adi2103 said:

    Hello Guys,

    Can some one help me , I purchased a new vehicle in CO, I am moving to CA, I still have a valid Temp plate, can I register in California without registering first in Colorado. while buying vehicle I gave my present address in Colorado.

    Thanks

    This might help you out:

    https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/checklists/outofstatepage
    I was very fortunate to see your reply as I was about to register my new car in California. I didn't know where to go or where to look for information (because there is so much information). Now I know there will be fees when I get to California.
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