Buying a car out of state

B

boywonder

New member
As you all have read in the Lesson Learned from Taxes thread, I am planning to buy a 2003 Maxima SE Titanium Edition in Polished Titanium from a private party in CT. What I will be doing in this thread is sharing my experiences and lessons learned as I go through this process.



Lesson #1: Keep in constant communication with the person.



The original owner and I have been talking back and forth since he posted the vehicle on Maxima.org. The main thing we are in communications about is transportation from CT to IL.



Lesson #2: Car Transport = $$



The cheapest price I have gotten is $600 for an open carrier and $1000 for an enclosed carrier. I would like to get an enclosed carrier because of the fragile nature of Nissan paint.



Lesson #3: Research your tax laws when bringing a vehicle in from another state.



This one I can't stress enough since I am going to be facing 2 taxes ( :rolleyes: ). Some places can charge 3 taxes or more.
 
As for #2, why don't you get a cheap ticket to CT (get a round trip just in case) for $250 or less and go pick the car up in person. You'll have to do the title and money transfer prior so you can register it at home and drive it legally. Actually, I'd be leary of buying a car sight unseen (unless it's brand new), so you may want to make two trips. Once to inspect, tranfer papers go home and register, then go back to pick it up. Unless you have a friend in CT that can handle the first trip for you.



Check into CT's laws, they may be able to issue a temporary plate so you can drive it home to IL.



As for #3, why would you be paying more than 1 tax? I'm not at all familiar with tax laws in CT or IL, but in NJ, you only pay a 6% sales tax when you register the car. No taxes are payed to the seller. If buying from an out of state dealer, you may need to fill out a form stating that you will be registering in another state and will pay taxes in your home state.



Good luck....buying new cars is fun.



Michael
 
mpauly said:
As for #2, why don't you get a cheap ticket to CT (get a round trip just in case) for $250 or less and go pick the car up in person. You'll have to do the title and money transfer prior so you can register it at home and drive it legally. Actually, I'd be leary of buying a car sight unseen (unless it's brand new), so you may want to make two trips. Once to inspect, tranfer papers go home and register, then go back to pick it up. Unless you have a friend in CT that can handle the first trip for you.



Check into CT's laws, they may be able to issue a temporary plate so you can drive it home to IL.



As for #3, why would you be paying more than 1 tax? I'm not at all familiar with tax laws in CT or IL, but in NJ, you only pay a 6% sales tax when you register the car. No taxes are payed to the seller. If buying from an out of state dealer, you may need to fill out a form stating that you will be registering in another state and will pay taxes in your home state.



Good luck....buying new cars is fun.



Michael
Click to expand...



a) I have to pay taxes to the following entities in IL:

1) State of IL (Use Tax)

2) City of Chicago (6% Tax)



In addition, I have to transfer my plates from the '02 and get a City Sticker for $75. When I go pick up the car, I am going to bring my plates with me since they are not expired.



b) Ali, The price for the '03 Max is actually pretty decent. :D
 
Sorry, should have read your tax thread first. Man, city and state tax....that sucks. Makes sucking up the rediculously high NJ insurance rates almost tolerable.



Good luck with the new car.



Michael
 
Update: I am in talks with a friend of his in CT with an enclosed trailer. They are going to see if they can do better than $1,000.



In addition, I am still researching the exact figures for the IL tax. The 6% Chicago tax came out to $1296.
 
Got a new addition to the mix. This car's in Memphis and has all the "toys" I want as well. I am still going to have to check into what the taxes are since I am aware that TN has no sales tax.



Ktu, I will look the link over. Thanks. :D
 
mpauly said:
As for #2, why don't you get a cheap ticket to CT (get a round trip just in case) for $250 or less and go pick the car up in person. You'll have to do the title and money transfer prior so you can register it at home and drive it legally. Actually, I'd be leary of buying a car sight unseen (unless it's brand new), so you may want to make two trips. Once to inspect, tranfer papers go home and register, then go back to pick it up. Unless you have a friend in CT that can handle the first trip for you.
Click to expand...



The main problem is that this particular Maxima is a fairly rare color and I don't really want to chance getting the paint chipped on the journey back here to IL. When I get it back to IL, it's getting a clear bra ASAP.
 
PrinzII, so far we've bought 4 cars from out of state -- one from Chicago, 1 from FL, 1 from PA, and 1 from CA. We've never paid sales tax in the state from which we bought the cars, and never had any problem when we brought them home and registered them in MO. It's always been my understanding that you only have to pay taxes in one state or the other, not both.



Also, we never bothered with getting a temporary tag from the seller's state. Three of the sellers left the tags on the car, so it got us home; I believe that's legal, for it's the car that gets the tags, not the owner ... if that makes any sense. The Chicago seller said he had to keep the license plate, but we had a way around that too. (PM me if you're interested.)



For the 2 longer trips, we've done as mpauly suggested: bought cheap airplane tickets and drove the car home. For the PA and IL cars, we drove together to pick up the car, then caravaned home. The other reason we chose the 2-car approach on those two trips was that we wanted the option of driving away if the car was not "as advertised."



HTH. If you want to chat, just PM me.
 
Cool. Thanks Lynn. I will take you up on that. However, the thing that is making me a tad nervous is the taxes I am going to get hit with when registering the car in IL. I already know that the Chicago City Tax is going to be $1296 if i buy the car from CT.
 
Well, things are still on hold, but that hasn't stopped me from investigating.



Thus far, the one in TN is in the lead. Right behind that is a Super Black with Black Cloth Interior in PA.
 
As it sits, I still have my feelers out for an '03 SE TE. However, I am taking a different tactic in addition. I am working with the dealer I bought my '02 SE from to execute a trade from an out of state dealer if they can locate what I want.



Therein lies the challenge. :D
 
I'm in TX and buying an 03 Acura CL-S in OK. My state told me if OK makes me pay any tax (3% rate) then I just bring that to TX for a credit against TX tax (6%! rate).

I am flying up to get the car Fri and drive back the same day (450 miles), I had the seller get a buyer inspection at the local Acura dealer.



My only concern is there is a lien (loan) and I am mailing my cashier's check (certified) to the (out-of-town) loan company when I get the car, to get the lien removed, and will not get full title until later. The cashier's check will have the current owner acct #, name, and that I am paying off the lien.

This is my first time to buy out of state. A little nerve racking but I too have been talking with the seller for 2 months now. Got a good deal, on a rare car, only about 250 were made in this config, (6 speed, Navi, color choice) has 7000 miles.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too, just don't be in too big a rush, and take your time, it'll be worth it.
 
Not to hijack your thread, but what services are available to have an out of state car inspected? Im looking at a Contour SVT in NY, but really dont make the trip out there.



Also what about online escrow services?
 
Lynn said:




for it's the car that gets the tags, not the owner ... if that makes any sense.
Click to expand...



In Georgia, it is the owner that keeps the tags and the car goes without. When you sell a car, you take off the tag and put it on your new car. The new owner applies for a new tag.



The last few years, I have purchased cars before I sold the one they were to replace. Therefore, I have three unused plates in the garage.



The bill of sale is used in case you get stopped on the way home.
 
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