Purchasing a new car from different state. Advice?

[Kalispel]

Well, considering how hard it is to get a white 2015 Yaris SE in Arizona, even in automatic (none currently in AZ), I have decided to bite the bullet and try to buy a white manual SE from out of state and have it shipped to my door for about $500-600. Currently, there is one in CA and one in CO. Also, a black or silver one isn't completely out of the question if it means getting a manual shifter - there is a black one in CO that has been sitting on the lot for over 300 days, sadly enough.

Does anyone have any experience on buying out of state? From what I read online, I most likely shouldn't be charged sales tax or tag fees at purchase, since both of those items will be due when I get delivery of the car and go to register it in Arizona at the DMV. Is that correct? Is it that much tougher dealing with a long-distance dealership and navigating the paperwork? Any things that I should watch out for in terms of fraud/deception on the part of the dealership? Also, I plan to get pre-approved through Toyota Financial Services or my bank in the next week or two, before initiating contact with dealer.

If anyone has any experience in this area, please share your wisdom.

[BLKHILLSGUY]

That white Yaris SE in Colorado is sharp. I've been looking at it. Manual too. I don't have much advice other than saying I have purchased cars out of state and it's been a mixed bag. Sometimes they get the paperwork right for the state you reside in and sometimes they don't.

[BLKHILLSGUY]

And our local dealer had a black Yaris in stock. Unfortunately, it was an automatic but the black really wasn't as attractive as I thought it would be. I drive a new gunmetal gray(not silver) Avalon Limited right now and it is pretty sharp. But the white Yaris is just beautiful. Btw, my local dealer sold the black Yaris SE with automatic in less than two weeks. I was rather shocked.

[nortonfb]

Since you are dealing with a dealer you should have no problem.
Ask for pics, inspection report (mechanical, inside, outside).
Find out what your state needs to register the vehicle.
I only have had minor issues buying out of state.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by BLKHILLSGUY

Sometimes they get the paperwork right for the state you reside in and sometimes they don't.

^^^^^ This.

See the link below for details re purchasing my '14 Yaris in Florida (post #71, but the subsequent posts on that thread to the end might be helpful as well):

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/sho...hit+low&page=4

Before leaving for Florida, IIRC, I couldn't find any concrete info on the internet one way or another re what percentage sales tax I should be charged. As you can see from post #71, the dealer charged me based on my residence location. After returning to Texas, I went to the COUNTY office that handles car registration (same office where I pay my property taxes). I had to pay a filing fee of a few dollars. They told me I had actually overpaid on the tax....that on vehicles only, Texas charges the state minimum of 6.25 % sales tax...residence location and dealer location don't matter (local jurisdictions can add up to 2 % on top of the 6.25 % to the sales tax, but vehicles are the one exception where that is not allowed by the state). The county office told me I was entitled to a refund from the dealer. Aided by more info my county gave me, I found info online that backed up what my county staff member had told me. While I was in the process of collating this information before contacting the dealer, I got a refund check from the dealer . That check was deficient by about $20.00 or so (their 'review' figured the tax based on my being a Bradenton, FL (location of the dealer) resident (6 % of the first $5,000, plus 6.5 % of the remainder) rather than the Texas 6.25 % on the whole purchase. I decided to let it be...too small to spend any time addressing that.

When I bought my blue 2007 Yaris in 2006, I was a California resident, but I purchased the car in Rhode Island. The dealer in Rhode Island gave me a temporary registration that covered 2 or 3 weeks. I was under the impression before buying the car that I could register for California without physically being in the state. A bit after the purchase, I called the California DMV 800# and the rep told me no...that I had to physically be in the state and register it in person. I went back to the dealer in Rhode Island to get another temporary registration. The dealer had neglected to tell me that the temporary registration is only supposed to be a one time thing (given that I had mentioned that I might not return to California during that period, they might have thought they would lose the sale if they mentioned that fact ). Their solution...they could 'pretend to have misplaced the paperwork' and give me another temporary registration ...so that is what they did. I got pick pocketed on the way back to California (in Williamsburg, VA) ...that is a whole 'nother story that isn't germane to this post. I made it back to California while the second temporary registration was still valid. The clerk at the DMV told me the DMV 800# rep was wrong, that I could have done the registration from out of state (800 # rep...unionized state employee...accountability to have to do your job properly = foriegn concept ...end of rant ). Rhode Island has a lower sales tax rate than California, so I just paid the difference between the two that I owed to the State of California.

So....In your case, I would go to all applicable government entities in Arizona BEFORE you leave to determine your proper course of action re an out of state purchase. I would print out or obtain government forms or website information that back up what you find out so you can show that info to the dealer in the other state.

[CTScott]

I have had both good and bad experiences buying from other states. I bought my 09 Yaris and my 11 Tacoma from a dealership in MA that did it perfectly, even delivering the vehicles to my front door.

I purchased my daughter's 2006 Scion XB from a dealership in NY and had issues as they dropped the ball on the CT paperwork and the temp plates expired before the CT ones arrived for the car. So, we were not able to drive it for almost a week.

[nookandcrannycar]

When I went back to the dealership in Rhode Island to get the second temporary registration for my blue Yaris, I asked the dealer if I could just do a regular registration for Rhode Island. They said no...that you have to be as resident of Rhode Island and must prove that with a valid Rhode Island driver's license. I asked why that would matter...why anyone would care (I wasn't as cynical then about the growth of government and having to feed the government beast ). Of course it boiled down to money.....too many people (per dealership personnel) faking residency in Rhode Island re lower registration, lower sales tax and fees, and lower insurance than surrounding states.

[2009Toyotoad]

I can't speak for AZ DMV rules, But California's rules as odometer under 7,500 miles. Unless you are also dealing with emissions testing Federal emissions sticker is fine. However, if you are. get a picture of the emission sticker. It should read "and California," At the end of the emissions statement. As I said AZ DMV is likely different from California DMV. California requires a pre-registration emissions test. At a specific "DMV Assessor Site."

A similar process is used for Home built "Kit Cars" using old VW, Mustang II, Ponitac Feiro, etc. I would have thought California would have forced Kit car builders to comply with the original "source" vehicle emissions standards, but abuses forced them to update the policy and testing.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by 2009Toyotoad

I can't speak for AZ DMV rules, But California's rules as odometer under 7,500 miles. Unless you are also dealing with emissions testing Federal emissions sticker is fine. However, if you are. get a picture of the emission sticker. It should read "and California," At the end of the emissions statement. As I said AZ DMV is likely different from California DMV. California requires a pre-registration emissions test. At a specific "DMV Assessor Site."

A similar process is used for Home built "Kit Cars" using old VW, Mustang II, Ponitac Feiro, etc. I would have thought California would have forced Kit car builders to comply with the original "source" vehicle emissions standards, but abuses forced them to update the policy and testing.

Very interesting . The 7,500 mile rule must have been put in place after November of 2006, as I had almost 9,000 miles on my blue Yaris by the time I got back to California in November of 2006 to register it and I didn't have to get an emissions test before completing the registration.

[bronsin]

Motorcyclists "fly and drive" to other locations in the country to get the motorcycle of their choice. Many bikes just don't come in great numbers. I live in NJ but flew to TX to buy my used 04 ST1300. It had 3k on it. A new one at the time was going for ~$16,000 and I got mine for $6995, less than half price. I had the bike for 4 years and put 14k miles on it. No problems.

I would call the dealer who has the car and explain what you want to do. If he seems to have done this before that's a good sign. If he goes "Duh what?" I would probably can the idea.