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Buying out of state? Challenges?

5K views 36 replies 13 participants last post by  MJBrown62 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all -

I'm getting close to replacing my 2012 535i - I bought it new, best car I've ever owned. 75K now, still in decent shape, but life changes are suggesting an SUV is a better choice these days and so I'm considering an X5.

My problem is that I haven't had the best of luck with my local dealerships. Some may remember that I first ordered a 2011 BMW 535...only the dealer ordered the wrong car....Given that, I explored the other dealerships options locally (Washington State) and suffice to say the experience there was such that I went back to the Dealer that ordered the wrong car, to then order the right one...THAT'S how bad it was at the other two options....lol.

SO...for my X5, I've been reading about people getting better deals and frankly better CA service elsewhere - Los Angeles, Portland, Salem, Camarillo - to name a few areas that have popped up. I am wondering what the challenges are in buying out of state - I wont be trading my 535i..no sir...like that car too much, so trade isn't a problem, but how about.....

1) Shipping - If I buy out of state, does my car just get shipped and I pay some shipping company? What does this sort of thing cost (I assume it varies)

2) How do I deal with taxes? I know I'll need to pay Washington sales tax when I register and license the car, but do I also pay local tax where I purchase the vehicle?

3) How does this impact incentives? Do I qualify or fail to qualify for local incentives if I'm out of state, or vice-versa, do I fail to qualify for incentives for my home area, if I buy from out of state?

Seems like it would be less complicated to buy locally, but my experience (and that of many others it seems) has been very poor and I'd gladly take on a little complexity if I get a better deal and more responsive / supportive CA.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
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#2 ·
When I purchased a new car out of state (non BMW) from a dealership.

After working the deal and the final price (someone can answer your questions about the incentives) in person (I traveled to the out of state dealer),
they asked what state I would be registering the in. They collected the taxes (and maybe the registration fees) for the state
it would be registered in. Put a temp tag from the state I bought the car in, and I drove the car home. Several weeks later (2 or 3 weeks), I received a package from the dealership that included a check for the taxes made out to the State DMV, and other paperwork. I took that package to the DMV and registered the car, got my perm tag,
and gave the DMV the check and I may have had to pay for registration that the dealer did charge upfront when I bought the car.

For shipping, there are a number of companies to get quotes from, you can search the forums on that.
 
#4 ·
OP- buy it from Greg in CA and have it shipped. This will avoid CA pulling taxes at 9%.

HOWEVER, not all states have a clean tax process. In general if the selling state pulls more tax than your home state, you lose. Also, there are some worst case scenarios where your home state doesn't have a reciprocity agreement- the selling state pulls their tax and keeps it, then your home state also wants their tax- from you. (In CA, by shipping out of state, you avoid getting taxed in CA. It has to be shipped with a common carrier, and since it is not being USED in CA, there is no CA use tax applicable.)



I don't like buying sight unseen, even new. Paint issues, dealer or VPC repairs- I want to see it. For a lease, less so.

In terms of incentives, dunno. Ask Greg. ;)
 
#23 ·
OP- buy it from Greg in CA and have it shipped. This will avoid CA pulling taxes at 9%.

HOWEVER, not all states have a clean tax process. In general if the selling state pulls more tax than your home state, you lose. Also, there are some worst case scenarios where your home state doesn't have a reciprocity agreement- the selling state pulls their tax and keeps it, then your home state also wants their tax- from you. (In CA, by shipping out of state, you avoid getting taxed in CA. It has to be shipped with a common carrier, and since it is not being USED in CA, there is no CA use tax applicable.)

I don't like buying sight unseen, even new. Paint issues, dealer or VPC repairs- I want to see it. For a lease, less so.

In terms of incentives, dunno. Ask Greg. ;)
In the past some people have picked the car up in Las Vegas (I think the California dealership drove it there.) so that might be an option.
 
#5 ·
Ok thanks all for the replies.

@ard - good to know about the potential tax concerns

I hate to bother Greg until I'm 100% ready. I looked him up and seems like he is a Sales Manager now, so even more busy I'm sure.
 
#6 ·
I hate to bother Greg until I'm 100% ready. I looked him up and seems like he is a Sales Manager now, so even more busy I'm sure.
Just an FYI on shipping costs...the last few cars I have had shipped from SoCal to the Bay Area have cost $450 or so. So to Washington you are at least $1000, I imagine. You will be able to get a firm quote on that when you are doing your deal so you can decide if you are still $'s ahead buying out of state.

Factory incentives are based on the dealer's location, IIRC. You can determine those on the BMW website entering the dealer's zip code. Someone can correct me if I have that wrong, but that's how I remember it.

I agree with your decision to hold off reaching out to Greg or other dealers until you are "ready".
 
#7 ·
Excuse my ignorance but if you are buying this vehicle new why would the dealer matter?

Isn’t an X5 with ABC options the same vehicle no matter where you buy it?

I can see if you are purchasing a used vehicle and you find the unicorn out of state.

Won’t you have to deal with your local dealer for service anyways?

Personally I’d suck up the bad service to avoid the frustration of out if state taxes and shipping.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#8 · (Edited)
Excuse my ignorance but if you are buying this vehicle new why would the dealer matter?

Isn't an X5 with ABC options the same vehicle no matter where you buy it?

I can see if you are purchasing a used vehicle and you find the unicorn out of state.

Won't you have to deal with your local dealer for service anyways?

Personally I'd suck up the bad service to avoid the frustration of out if state taxes and shipping.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Lol

Some people don't just walk into their local dealer drop trow and pay MSRP.....

(And there is no 'out of state taxes' unless you F up)
 
#10 ·
OP, last time I checked, MJB works at a dealership in WA. He's been a stalwart on this forum and will tell you what he can or can't do up front, I'm pretty sure. I'd call him before you make a move. I'm betting he can help you put together a compelling deal without your having to deal with any potential out-of-state issues. If no pay dirt there, sunny SoCal is a good place to shop for aggressive deals.
 
#16 ·
It looks like OP has exhausted his options within WA state. Do note Auburn is in the vicinity of Seattle/Tacoma.

My problem is that I haven't had the best of luck with my local dealerships. Some may remember that I first ordered a 2011 BMW 535...only the dealer ordered the wrong car....Given that, I explored the other dealerships options locally (Washington State) and suffice to say the experience there was such that I went back to the Dealer that ordered the wrong car, to then order the right one...THAT'S how bad it was at the other two options....lol.

SO...for my X5, I've been reading about people getting better deals and frankly better CA service elsewhere - Los Angeles, Portland, Salem, Camarillo - to name a few areas that have popped up.
 
#12 ·
Contact Michael (MJBrown). Good guy, know him personally. He won't waste your time- maybe he can, maybe he can't.

(Good call 1968' ....)
 
#14 ·
I can give that a shot. Similar to contacting Greg Poland though, will probably wait until I'm 100% ready to pull the trigger - hate wasting people's time or getting folks spun up too early.
 
#18 ·
Ive reached out to MJB with a "when Im ready to buy next, lets talk". Not kicking tires, just a personal connection. An iron in the fire, so to speak. Might be months. Might be years. \

Just saying.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I live in Montana, but there aren't any BMW dealers in the entire state - every new BMW, Jag, Porsche and Audi sends us out of State. I always start with PNW dealers, but the last 3 have been bought in SoCal.

After the fiasco in grounding a BMW lease at the nearest dealer in WA last week, I'm crossing the most proximate dealer (228 miles) off my shopping list.

We're looking at a pair of M850ix and X3 M40i now, as we're down to 1 BMW and need to replenish the fleet :D
 
#25 ·
We're looking at a pair of M850ix and X3 M40i now, as we're down to 1 BMW and need to replenish the fleet :D
*Thread Highjack*

Is the M850 a possible future ED? :roundel:
 
#24 ·
I have never paid Cali sales tax on my Montana cars; the last 3 were driven off the dealers lot back to Montana. You need to find a dealer who knows the ins & outs of out-of-State sales, and will go the extra mile to jump through the hoops to avoid both Cali tax and commercial transport to a bordering State.
If you do your homework, you can get a great deal out of State...or in State. I don't have a choice; but I've learned know how to get what I want/need.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Bought in NJ was registered in Florida

The BMW dealer in NJ sold us the car and we they registered it in Florida. They handled all the paperwork including getting the Florida license plates. The right dealer will handle all the details including State taxes. We had that done in 2016 and will do it again as we travel back & forth three times a year
 
#31 ·
The BMW dealer in NJ sold us the car and we they registered it in Florida. They handled all the paperwork including getting the Florida license plates. The right dealer will handle all the details including State taxes. We had that done in 2016 and will do it again as we travel back & forth three times a year
That's good to know! I 'll need to find the right dealer it seems, after I find the right vehicle....looking like an X5 at this point.
 
#32 ·
Well, it's been about 6 weeks since I've hopped on the ole 'Fest, and good to see some friends still out there ... JJ, Ard, 1968, Nameless, DKReidel, and yes even Ibiza ( ;) )

Saw this thread, and was surprised to see me pop up a few times. Thanks for the recommendations.

I don't know if the OP reached out to me or not, as a TrueCar inquiry goes into our "round robin" of internet advisers. Wish the OP sent me a PM or direct email. Anyhoo.

There is so much to unpack in this discussion.

First, most every dealer will want you to arrange your own trucking, due to liability. The trucker inspects it when it leaves, you inspect it when it arrives. No difficulty determining who is liable.

Taxes. It's a state by state thing. Most dealers will want to take care of taxes directly to your state, so that the dealer isn't on the hook for any issues of non-payment. Our systems are loaded with state and local tax data, so inaccuracy is not an issue. We had an example of one person who said they were registering the car in Oregon (no state tax), then took it to Arizona and didn't pay tax. Guess who did?

Pricing: Geez, we in the PNW get a bad rep for not being willing to haggle. One of reasons why is volume. We don't have it. I get "competitive quotes" all of the time from Cali dealers that sell into holdback on a regular basis as they have the volumes and inventory to do so. We don't. Do I do a deal into the red? Sure, if the customer is local, cooperative, can share an actual quote and it's from a PNW dealer. But the coy, "I'm not comfortable sharing that with you, other than it's from a California dealer," will not garner any special attention from me and many others. And as a salesperson, I can't sell 20+ units a month at $300 a car. The market doesn't support that volume, and my goals can't support that income level. So I have to pick and choose the "battles," so to speak.

Quality of contact: Well yes, the OP is right that the door for CAs is a revolving one, one that leads to all levels of experience, abilities, and goals. But the way to reach out to good people is to go on forums and review sites like Google and DealerRater, and see who has good reviews. You are doing a lot of work getting the right deal, but willing to toss all of that work into the wind to see who's desk it falls on? That's crazy. Well, passive-aggressive at best.

Out of state deals can be complicated, but worth it for the right car AND the right deal.

Cheers all!

Michael (MJB)
 
#33 ·
Well, it's been about 6 weeks since I've hopped on the ole 'Fest, and good to see some friends still out there ... JJ, Ard, 1968, Nameless, DKReidel, and yes even Ibiza ( ;) )

Saw this thread, and was surprised to see me pop up a few times. Thanks for the recommendations.

Michael (MJB)
You can lead a horse to water....

If someone from the 'Fest who lives in your 'hood gets it together enough to find you and contact you, personally and directly, and is ready to do a deal, and can't make that deal, then I'm sayin' there wasn't any deal there to be made.

But then, I'm an MJB fanboy, because you've always been a straight shooter with us, even when we behave badly, which is often. :angel:
 
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