I just want to double check, but when buying my new MINI out of state, I pay sales tax when I get it back home and license it, right?

Or am I missing something...?

 

That's the way it is for me - buying in Utah, bringing it home to Washington.

 

Cool.

I'm buying in Chicago and driving home to Seattle.

Did you get a good deal in Utah?

 

We bought two cars out of state(IN and TN), and paid the sales tax in the state we live in(MO).

Each state is a little different in how they do this, but in MO, you pay sales tax when you title/register/license the car. You cannot license the car until the sales tax is paid.

We have had some minor inconveniences with the paperwork (one state's version of the forms vs. our state's forms), but nothing to be too concerned about. (Actually the problems were all due to our local license bureau, and that is all I am going to say about that.)

 

I ordered from MINI of the Hamptons and will be shipping it to Washington. I recently checked into this, and the sales tax would be paid in WA State at the 9.1% rate (plus all the other registration and licensing fees).

 

9.1%?!?!? Holy crap!!! That's insanely high!

 

Yea, I ordered from MOTH too, I paid sales tax in my state (CA) when I registered the car. I've heard that some people even pay the sales tax in the state they bought from, and then pay the difference in state tax rates when they register. The CA form for registration has parts for how much tax you've paid so I think it depends on your dealer and how they want to go about it.

 

It is insanely high, but it is what it is. 9.1% isn't the state's tax rate; that is 6.5%. But with other and local tax rates figured in...it's another 2.6%.

Again, though, it seems to be a pretty straight forward process in how to pay for the tax from an out-of-state purchase.

 

Since I'll be driving the car 2000 miles home, it won't be licensed/registered for those first 2k miles. I presume the temp license / dealer plates my MA gives me will suffice.

I wonder, though, how this applies to insurance. I would be leary about driving all that way in my brand new car without insurance. Can I insure an unlicensed car?

 

I thought all they ask for is the VIN number when you try and insure a car? I could be wrong about that though....

 

I bought my brand new Ford Escape from Gilboy Ford (good $$$ deal!) in Allentown PA and they collected the sales tax and NJ-registered the car for me. I got a sticker for the rear window until the plates arrived at the dealer and they mailed them to me.

 

It depends on the state you need to check locally.

 

Yes, you can insure it by supplying the VIN.

I believe you'll pay your sales tax when you get home and register it. I am buying it from a Chicago dealer and I live in neighboring Michigan. Illinois and Michigan has a tax collection agreement for out of state auto purchases for my dealer will collect the taxes on behalf of the State of Michigan.

My MA stated that the temporary plate is good for 40 days and not based on mileage.

Regards-
Randy

 

You may be able to avoid paying the use tax if the car is registered in another state for over 90 days: http://dor.wa.gov/content/taxes/use/default.aspx

Check with your local tax attorney.

 

We bought our mini in TN and registered it in AL, we paid the tax and registration fees in AL. we had 30 days to do this in. We also just recently bought a sportbike in TN, and we had the same deal as with the car.
As for your insurance company, you should be covered, as long as you let them know that you will be making this purchase, ours did anyway, and I just called them when we got home and gave them the VIN#.

 

The trick is that I'm currently on my parents' insurance (Safeco) for my old Cavalier. I'll be purchasing the MINI and will (at least eventually) purchasing my own seperate insurance probably through Geico.

It seems like I'd have to arrange insurance through Geico first.. before driving my car home... ?

 

For me, I can buy a new car and automatically be insured. I have a week to report it to my insurance company....

It was this way on my folks insurance as well (when I was much, much younger). So check the details. Even if you have to specifically get it covered on your folks policy for a bit, if it's only a few days it won't be much total $s.

Matt

 

is that better than just setting up a new policy on my own first?

 

To decide that, you have to know what the coverage is on the folks policy, deductables and costs etc. What they'd be charged to add the car.... AND all the same costs and coverages for the policy that you would buy for yourself.

If you know the delivery day and VIN of the car your buying, start finding out what you insurance would cost and if you can set it up so that your coverage starts on the day of your delivery. I'd guess that logistically, it's easiest to set up your own insurance, and not involve the parents at all.

Also, if the car is covered by the folks policy, it's their assests that are exposed, so there is no simple answer.

Matt