Out of state buyer, Taxes & tag confusion

[JungleJeep]

I ordered a JLUR in Maryland and am flying out to pick it up next week, but I'm confused about the tax and title fees. In my state, Iowa we pay the sales tax, registration, and title fees at the local county treasures office. Last time i bought a car from a dealer out of state, I explained this, they verified it, and then they waived all of those fees, and then I went and paid them like i mentioned above. I called my local office with the new Jeep VIN to find out exactly what those fees are, and they don't match up to what the dealer is telling me. Dealer won't listen to me when it comes to the amount which i know is 100% accurate. They keep referring to some database where they get their info, and on on top of that they are telling me two things. One is they collect those fees there, and then cut me a check two weeks later (can't tell me for how much exactly), but they are also talking about paying the fees. It's all very confusing and all i know is I should only be paying for purchase price and doc/processing fee. Not sure what to do. Any suggestions?

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[Dkretden]

OP,

I can’t help you, unfortunately. But, I will be watching the thread for those who will be able to since, I too would like to understand this.

 

[NavyChief]

Depends on the state your buying from. I just bought a rubicon and renegade from a dealer in Cali and because I had them shipped they didn’t charge me but sent the MSO to my local DMV and I paid my taxes and tags then. If I had went to pick them up I would have had to pay the sales tax for Cali and I would have gotten a tax credit from my state but that would have cost me 3% more in taxes.
Just tell them not to charge you anything and send the MSO to the local DMV and pay your taxes locally would be my suggestion.

 

[JungleJeep]

(potentially) Buying the Jeep in Maryland, and will be titled in Iowa. I don't want to be overcharged (or under) on these fees, and definitely don't want to have to chase my money for weeks just to get my new vehicle titled and registered. I'm going to contact MMV to get some state law info, as well as get a statement from Iowa dmv, showing the factual fees. I will walk away from the whole thing and start over elsewhere. This deal started out great, and ever since the order was placed, it's been very difficult to say the least. Too many mistakes, excuses, etc.

 

[rfm8os]

I just bought my Jeep in Connecticut and I live in Massachusetts. I did not pay CT sales tax and only paid the sales price and doc fee at the dealer. I have to go to the Mass RMV to pay my taxes and registration fees within seven days. States may vary though.

 

[TrailTorque]

I used to live in NC and flew myself and my wife up to her uncles dealership in PA and purchased a VW she wanted.

As I remember (this was back in 2010) we paid the purchase price and I had 30 days to get it registered in my state at the time (NC). It was really hassle free. It had a PA inspection sticker already on the lot and a PA dealership temp tag. We drove it back to NC and I went to the dealership with my purchase paperwork and had no issues registering it in my state.

Hassle free, no chasing money, no hidden fees and no tickets (because I had a temp tag).

There is absolutely no reason to pay to have it registered in a state you do not live in to only re-register it in another state the next day lol. It sounds like they’ve just never dealt with this before.

Just make sure you elect to have gap insurance for your travels home.

Things may have changed since then but I wouldn’t imagine so.

Good luck and I hope I helped a little..

 

[JungleJeep]

I used to live in NC and flew myself and my wife up to her uncles dealership in PA and purchased a VW she wanted.

As I remember (this was back in 2010) we paid the purchase price and I had 30 days to get it registered in my state at the time (NC). It was really hassle free. It had a PA inspection sticker already on the lot and a PA dealership temp tag. We drove it back to NC and I went to the dealership with my purchase paperwork and had no issues registering it in my state.

Hassle free, no chasing money, no hidden fees and no tickets (because I had a temp tag).

There is absolutely no reason to pay to have it registered in a state you do not live in to only re-register it in another state the next day lol. It sounds like they’ve just never dealt with this before.

Just make sure you elect to have gap insurance for your travels home.

Things may have changed since then but I wouldn’t imagine so.

Good luck and I hope I helped a little..

Thanks. It's not that they want me to pay their state taxes or register it there. They are giving me an arbitrary number, which is higher, and are saying they will cut me a check in a couple weeks, which I'm supposed to use to pay my tax title tags back home. If I did that, it would mean i drive back home and have to wait for/chase the check or pony up those fees a second time. I added up the fees total and asked the dealer if that's the amount i would be getting from them and the sales guy didn't know. I was told by my local dmv that if it shows i paid these fees on the bill of sale, they would credit the sales tax part of it, but even then I'm still over paying what the fees actually are. If it's not state law that they have to collect sales tax and tag fees, it's not happening.

 

[captainstabbins]

Bought my Jeep in NJ and they collected my pa taxes from me. I had 30 days to get it inspected. Easy.

 

[robaw]

I know plenty of people that have done this, but I find it a little crazy to fly halfway across the country to by a vehicle and then drive it back when you can buy one locally. I know of a few Jeep dealers in Iowa that'll do 5% under invoice no questions asked (I did a little better than that), they must give a crazy deal on them in Maryland to make it worth the trip and hassle.

 

[ads75]

I know plenty of people that have done this, but I find it a little crazy to fly halfway across the country to by a vehicle and then drive it back when you can buy one locally.

I couldn't agree more. I think sometimes people get so wrapped up in getting the absolute, best deal, they forget to research things like this. Dealers in nearby states may know the neighboring states rules for taxes and registering, but may not know the rules for states 800 miles away. Dealer in their state gives them an out the door price that includes taxes, meanwhile out of state dealer doesn't have to include sales tax, customer forgets or doesn't realize they may have to pay it when registering in their state. And then add in air fare and time. I hate flying, that is, being at the mercy of an airline that overbooks, or the weather. Sometimes they can work it out as a road trip, or included in a work trip, but I would also hate to feel pressured if I showed up to a dealer hundreds of miles away and something was wrong, no matter how good that dealers reputation is.

 

[EnjoyLife]

I assume you are talking about Criswell. They told me they would take the taxes for Missouri and dmv fees for Missouri and send them in. They haven’t given me an amount for that part of it yet, but am not concerned. Maybe it is a Maryland thing?

 

[JungleJeep]

Bought my Jeep in NJ and they collected my pa taxes from me. I had 30 days to get it inspected. Easy.

Did they charge the accurate fee amounts? Because that is not what's happening for me, at the moment.

 

[EnjoyLife]

It’s not crazy to fly halfway across the country and turn it into a road trip. We are going to see DC and some Smithsonians and other things. We will then drive through Kentucky and stop at some bourbon distilleries. The leaves may even be changing on our drive home. We are excited

 

[robaw]

Did they charge the accurate fee amounts? Because that is not what's happening for me, at the moment.

So outta curiosity, how much are they off by? I bought mine locally and they still somehow overcharged me by $170. They mailed me a check for that much like 4 months later.

 

[robaw]

It’s not crazy to fly halfway across the country and turn it into a road trip. We are going to see DC and some Smithsonians and other things. We will then drive through Kentucky and stop at some bourbon distilleries. The leaves may even be changing on our drive home. We are excited

All I'm saying is that it diminishes what you're actually saving, not to mention the other drawbacks... Like @ads75 said, what if something goes wrong? Are you prepared to not be able to drive it off the lot? What about engine break-in? That does sound like a nice trip but I'm not sure that's how I'd want to go about it.

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