My plan to buy my new Prius in CA & drive it home to Arkansas has been foiled! I'm now told by the bay area dealer that I would have to pay double tax & licensing (CA & AR) if I want to drive it off the lot. so, now I'm doing an internet search in hopes of finding a similar price/package in my area (AR, TN, TX...). I'm so bummed because I really wanted to drive to LA and then across the USA home, stopping in Sante Fe along the way! Does anybody out there know I've got the facts right? It would be soooo sweet to buy in SF & drive my new Pirus across the USA!!!
Re: bummed I don't know the answer to your question and would suggest that you try talking to someone in the DMV office in Arkansas and get their take. However, I do believe that there are certain advantages to buying close to home, establishing a relationship with a dealer, supporting the local economy, etc., in addition to tax and licensing issues. Why not buy locally, and then take a nice "break-in" road-trip?
Re: bummed Buying car outside Ca and bringing it to CA is a huge PITA... But buying in CA and bringing to another state should not be a problem. They tyupically will not tax you again. If you paid whatever Ca is, say 5% tax, then registered in AR, which is 6% taxed, you'd pay 1% in tax to AR. At least that's how I've seen it happen in the past. Look up what is required to register a vehicle in AR on the DMV web site for them. You believed a bay area dealer's advice??? :whip:
Re: bummed Sounds a little fishy to me. I bought my Prius in Rhode Island, then drove home to Merlin. (Couldn't get the touring model in the Mid-Atlantic sales region. Huh?)The person at the dealership who was in the know on taxes and such was the finance/closer. So if you heard it from a sales staff, get the other guy/gal's input. Also, check the CA and AR state DMV websites. Maryland has enough info on theirs that before I even bought the car I was sure that I'd be paying taxes in only one of the two states. I paid in MD, and there was something in the paperwork -- it's not available to me right now -- that alerted DMV that I had not paid in RI. Good Luck.
Re: bummed Also check with NM dealers. Not sure if you have to be a resident of NM but there is no tax on hybrids in this state. At least there was no tax on my prius.
Re: bummed II Thanks for the great advise from all! I'm looking at the DMV website for AR & otherwise exploring all options suggested. The DMV website info is less than straight forward so I will also call to clarify.
Re: bummed dont believe what someone who makes commission on your money would tell you about how to spend your money. check with Arkansas and CA dept of licensing. they are who you pay and they are the only ones you should ask. the car salesman is just that... a car salesman. concerning tax laws in any other state other than the one he is in, i wouldnt take anything he had to say with a grain of salt.
Re: bummed We had a similar issue when we considered registering our Montana car, a hybrid Lexus, down in California. We'd had it registered up there about 3 months at the time. The old CA law was, "NO NEW TAX" after ownership in another state greater than 90 days. BOOM ~ new rule as of '06. Gotta keep it owned & registered out of state for 6 months before no new tax applies (my ex law partner worked as a specialist for the CA board of equalization). MT has no sales tax, so it paid for us to just leave it up there.
