Looking for advice/info from anyone who has done this.

Specifically:
- Costs/logisitics - registration, smog impact fees, etc.
- Sales tax implications
- Good dealers (and deals!) in adjacent states (OR, NV, UT, CO, AZ, TX)

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

hello
Doing that right now....with a group of Californians...we have 7 cars coming from Mentor Classic in Cleveland OH
Contact Julie Saxo Advsior for help if you like. There may be an opening still in our deal but cars will be delivered Nov 8. you have to act fast.

You will need to pay smog on the new vehicle that and an 85.00 registration fee.(We have an CHP officer coming to our unloading party that is going to be handling this process.)
Thre are definite tax benifits for purchasing out of state.
Licensing fees tax on the purchase

proof of insurance at DMV.

it has been done many times over by fellow CA tired of paying the big mark up.
Recommend doing a search here and you will see the many post with tons of information to help you along.

good luck and check out NORCAL mini or SOCAL mini for community support in the times of the "wait"

 

Thanks Scoutd! What exactly are the tax benefits for purchasing out of state? Did you pay OH rather than CA sales tax?

 

Check your PM

 

I'm getting my MINI from Tx. and thinking about flying out there and driving it back to So Cal. I thought I would have to pay for taxes and reg here in Cali? Maybe I need a PM

I am using Moritz and they seem to be ok so far, at least He returns my calls and there was zero markup or add ons.
Becareful some dealers throw on added stuff at the end like interior &/or exerior protection packages or floormats and processing fees. My advice is to be very up front with a lot of direct questions about price and extras.

 

I'm doing the same thing....buying from Schomp in Denver and driving back to L.A.

I also thought that I would have to pay California tax and registration, so what am I missing here?

 

It's pretty simple. I did this last month. I bought my MINI from Memphis, TN and drove it back to Los Angeles. There are NO tax advantages to doing this. You will get hit for the full TAX amount when you register with the DMV, atleast in CA.

You must get a smog check before registering. You have 20 days I believe to register the car once it enters CA.

Make an appointment with the DMV to register a new vehicle. When you get to the DMV, make sure you go to the Inspections on the back side of the DMV. Just go there and get in line with your MINI. There they will check your VIN and under the hood to make sure the car is certified for your state. You take the inspection papers back inside the DMV and you will get your plates on the spot.

The DMV will require a few pieces of information from you that your dealer will provide. You will not pay sales tax at the out of state dealership.

Consider yourself lucky that if you're in CA, we have a new governor that's pledged to repeal the tripled car tax. I quickly registered my MINI before Oct.1 (that was the deadline) to avoid the tripled car tax.

I paid about $2,000 in taxes at the DMV, and bring a checkbook. They don't take credit card.

_________________
Octane Guy

 

In case you're planning to fly out and drive back in your new MINI, this might interest you:

Some states force you to pay their sales tax if you take delivery within that state, even though you will be promptly driving the car out of that state. If the sales tax you paid to the other state is less than what CA would have charged, you will owe the difference to CA. If you paid more to the other state than CA would have charged, you're out of luck because CA won't pay you the difference. The other state may also charge you a nominal registration fee for the privelege of driving out of their state.

Sure, you'll end up paying a couple hundred bucks more in some of these misc costs but it will still be MUCH cheaper than what the CA dealers are charging.

Plus you'll have an interesting adventure to talk about for a while...

 

i also brought mine in from out of state. picked a car carrier company at movecars.com and was good to go. shop around because the price for car shipping varies and some of the companys are just agents and don't have their own trucks or drivers. got here from WI in 4 days! ask for a top load with the vehicle backed in! you don't want to be on the bottom with crap from cars on top falling on your mini and there are incredible amounts of stones and bugs that hit the car on top so backing it in can save your windshield and hood some potential misery.

what most of the others have said is true - except not having to pay sales tax! don't we wish! you need to smog the vehicle when it arrives and pay the sales tax based on what you paid for it, which you show with your bill of sale. if you are forced to pay sales tax in the state where you purchased it, you need proof that you did to get a credit against the cali sales tax. you will still have to pay registration and plate fees though, regardless. thankfully all minis are smog legal in california. that's another thing you do when you register it, the DMV needs to inspect it to make sure it has the magic "california" word on the smog sticker under the hood.

happy hunting.
miniGato

 

Bought mine at Mini of Murray in Salt Lake City. The drive back was not a problem because it gave me a chance to really get familiar with the car, and was actually fun. No problems at all with registration. You'll need to get a certificate of origination from the dealer you buy from. You'll also need to get it smogged in CA. Didn't have to pay any sales tax in UT, but did when I registered in CA. The whole process is pretty simple.

 

I also am a S. CA buyer who ordered my MCS from Florida to avoid dealer markup. Car arrives at dealer next week. Placed my order beginning of August. Here are some facts that might help;


-I will be paying MSRP + Doc fee of $299 (dealer profit!)
-Will pay 6% FL sales tax. FL has reciprical sales tax with CA
-Will get temp. tag, no lic. fees at all
-After I arrive home from my 2400 mile trip, I have 20 days to register the car in CA
-I need to get a smog check (certificate needed to register)
-Will pay CA registration fee (currently 2%, but Arnold to terminate it soon! It was .67% until Nov. 1st) based on purchase price of Mini
-I will then be responsible for the difference of 6% (FL sales tax) and 7.75% (CA my county), or 1.75% when registering at the CA DMV

Hope this helps. It's getting closer !!!!!!!!!!

 

>>
>>Plus you'll have an interesting adventure to talk about for a while...
>>
>>
>>

I can't agree more with this statement. If you enjoy getting attention from strangers. If you are able to take a week off from work. If you want to come back home with a fully broken in car, and have memories that will last a lifetime, then drive the car back instead of having it shipped.

There an interesting phenomenon at work. Outside of CA, the MINI is a huge attention getter. Nearly every state I drove through, from TN to MS to SD and IA and even ID, people waved, smiled, and struck up conversations with me.

Once you get back to CA, all of that ends, and your "celebrity stardom" is over!

Feel free to read about my 2 week journey last month HERE

I made a lot of new friends on that trip, and really made owning a MINI so much more pleasurable!!

 

>>I also am a S. CA buyer who ordered my MCS from Florida to avoid dealer markup. Car arrives at dealer next week. Placed my order beginning of August. Here are some facts that might help;
>>
>>
>>-I will be paying MSRP + Doc fee of $299 (dealer profit!)
>>-Will pay 6% FL sales tax. FL has reciprical sales tax with CA
>>-Will get temp. tag, no lic. fees at all
>>-After I arrive home from my 2400 mile trip, I have 20 days to register the car in CA
>>-I need to get a smog check (certificate needed to register)
>>-Will pay CA registration fee (currently 2%, but Arnold to terminate it soon! It was .67% until Nov. 1st) based on purchase price of Mini
>>-I will then be responsible for the difference of 6% (FL sales tax) and 7.75% (CA my county), or 1.75% when registering at the CA DMV
>>
>>Hope this helps. It's getting closer !!!!!!!!!!

It sounds like you bought from Lauderdale MINI in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Great dealer!

 

Bought mine from Mini of Southampton, trucked in to Irvine, CA. Just call up Mike Dito for assistance.

Paid MSRP, CA tax, and found a transportation co on my own. Make sure to mention that the dealership is on the tip of the island though, there are regulations that prevent the large 18 wheeler transport vehicles up there.

 

>>Looking for advice/info from anyone who has done this.
>>
>>Specifically:
>>- Costs/logisitics - registration, smog impact fees, etc.
>>- Sales tax implications
>>- Good dealers (and deals!) in adjacent states (OR, NV, UT, CO, AZ, TX)
>>
>>Thanks in advance for any help!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You will still have to pay Cali Tax, unless you keep the car out of state for 90 days registered elsewhere.

 

>>-Will pay CA registration fee (currently 2%, but Arnold to terminate it soon! It was .67% until Nov. 1st) based on purchase price of Mini

So when does this happen, supposedly?

 

Thanks everyone for all the great advice! I thought avoiding CA sales tax was too good to be true.

Now the hard part - convincing the old lady that I NEED to upgrade my one-year-old MC for an S and spend many thousands of $ doing so... hmmm.

 

>>>>I also am a S. CA buyer who ordered my MCS from Florida to avoid dealer markup. Car arrives at dealer next week. Placed my order beginning of August. Here are some facts that might help;
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>-I will be paying MSRP + Doc fee of $299 (dealer profit!)
>>>>-Will pay 6% FL sales tax. FL has reciprical sales tax with CA
>>>>-Will get temp. tag, no lic. fees at all
>>>>-After I arrive home from my 2400 mile trip, I have 20 days to register the car in CA
>>>>-I need to get a smog check (certificate needed to register)
>>>>-Will pay CA registration fee (currently 2%, but Arnold to terminate it soon! It was .67% until Nov. 1st) based on purchase price of Mini
>>>>-I will then be responsible for the difference of 6% (FL sales tax) and 7.75% (CA my county), or 1.75% when registering at the CA DMV


TOM BUSH MINI IN JACKSONVILLE FL. DEALING WITH AMY. SO FAR, SO GOOD
>>>>
>>>>Hope this helps. It's getting closer !!!!!!!!!!
>>
>>It sounds like you bought from Lauderdale MINI in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Great dealer!
>>