# Has anyone bought cars out of state? How the hell does that work?



## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

if you yourself drive it home... do you register it in another state first???


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

No, only register it here in California,(must be smog tested here too) and it must be registered quickly, 10 days?


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

LAuberX said:


> No, only register it here in California,(must be smog tested here too) and it must be registered quickly, 10 days?


How's insurance work for drive home, or does having active insurance on another car cover you for such situations?


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## HotUberMess (Feb 25, 2018)

1. Call your insurance and transfer it over before you drive. Yes they can do this before you have a plate.

2. You get the seller to sign the title where he's supposed to.. check to make sure it's signed or initialled everywhere it needs to be.

3. As an additional precaution, I like to get a bill of sale from the owner too.. handwritten by her with her name, the date, saying that she sold it to you.

4. In Florida it is up to the officer's discretion how this is handled. I've bought and sold a bunch of cars, and both been let go with no tag but yes insurance, yes new title and yes bill of sale. I've also gotten a ticket for this, which was thrown out of court by the judge for stupidity.



LAuberX said:


> No, only register it here in California,(must be smog tested here too) and it must be registered quickly, 10 days?


In Florida, last I remember you are ONLY allowed to drive the vehicle to the DMV. You don't even have ten days.. you buy the car and take it straight to the DMV. If you take it home first, do not drive it again until you're going to the DMV.


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

The biggest issue is if you finance, they probably won't let you finance the taxes so when you register, you need to pay all taxes up front in your home state. Insurance companies will insure your car if you have temp plates


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Kodyhead said:


> The biggest issue is if you finance, they probably won't let you finance the taxes so when you register, you need to pay all taxes up front in your home state. Insurance companies will insure your car if you have temp plates


Do you actually have to pay sales tax anywhere on a vehicle purchased outside the state?


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

Adieu said:


> Do you actually have to pay sales tax anywhere on a vehicle purchased outside the state?


I don't know about every state but in Florida if you buy a car in let's say north Carolina you only have to pay in your home state.

You should call or I personally would email so you have written documentation and ask the dealership about it. Since its not the dealer charging the tax and the state's I doubt you have to pay 2 taxes, at least the big one at least. You may still have to pay a bunch of other small fees


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Kodyhead said:


> I don't know about every state but in Florida if you buy a car in let's say north Carolina you only have to pay in your home state.
> 
> You should call or I personally would email so you have written documentation and ask the dealership about it. Since its not the dealer charging the tax and the state's I doubt you have to pay 2 taxes, at least the big one at least. You may still have to pay a bunch of other small fees


I was actually angling for a way to pay 0 taxes not 2.... lol


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

Adieu said:


> I was actually angling for a way to pay 0 taxes not 2.... lol


Ok lol in that case I think the only way is to not register your car or title lol


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## jester121 (Sep 6, 2016)

Lots of states have a transport temp registration, they'll give you a temp tag and you have a few days to get across the state line. It's for just this sort of transaction, so you aren't driving around plate-less.


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## HotUberMess (Feb 25, 2018)

Adieu said:


> Do you actually have to pay sales tax anywhere on a vehicle purchased outside the state?


I believe you pay home state tax in every state.. because you pay when you register the car


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## fennec2009 (Dec 18, 2017)

Since you are in CA I just went through this. Bought in OH, dealer gave me 45 day temp plates. I paid county tax for Maricopa county AZ at purchase rolled into my loan (originally thought I was going back to AZ). Then when I registered in CA, because the tax rate is higher here than in AZ and the car was purchased less than 1 year ago, I had to pay the difference in sales tax in order to register the car in CA. Ended up being a few hundred bucks. I wish I had known I would register it in CA when I purchased so that would have been rolled into my loan. The only way you will get out of paying sales tax is to buy the vehicle in a state without sales tax and keep it registered there for at least a year before registering it in CA.


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## FIdel Cashflow (Feb 23, 2018)

Adieu said:


> How's insurance work for drive home, or does having active insurance on another car cover you for such situations?


Most insurance companies will cover you for up to 10 days of insurance if you get a new or used car. I have State Farm and that's what they do.

I just bought a used Toyota Avalon from a private party and the Bill of Sale acted as the temp tags until I registered the car at the DMV since the previous owners have to take their plates off. The fine print said I had 72hrs to register the car.

The couple who sold it to me had it registered in another state and the process was simple and I only paid tax when registered it at the DMV.


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

California will want tax on the full purchase price. The bill of sale mentioned above is a good idea, with the "price" you want to pay taxes on it....


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