You should pay OR sales tax. Not CA.

 

Oregon is a NOMAD state and doesn't have sales tax. Having to pay over 7% CA sales tax will def kill the deal.

 

A few years ago I bought a CPO BMW in California and shipped it to Texas. I did not pay California sales tax. When I registered the car in Texas I paid the Texas state sales tax. Technically, I did not drive the car out of the state so I don't know if that helps you or not.
What you probably could do is get the car registered in Oregon, then go to California to pick up the car, taking your license plates, or temporary tag whichever Oregon uses, with you and drive it back. Check with your Department of Motor Vehicles.
Good Luck.

 

Technically, I did not drive the car out of the state so I don't know if that helps you or not.

Yeah, I think that's where the rub is. I was told by the dealer that if the car is trucked out of state no sales tax is required. However it'll cost around $500 to have it trucked to OR which the dealer is willing to pay. But since a trade vehicle is part of the deal I'll have to buy a flight ticket on my own dime. Not a major deal, I was just curious what the rules are in CA.

Thanks

 

California REQUIRES the dealer collect the sales tax regardless of the end-users residency.
The ONLY exemption is if the car is shipped out of state w/ a common carrier.

However... you can apply for a refund w/ California State Board of Equaliztion for the taxes you paid on this transaction as an Oregon Residence. Its a bit of work as you have to fill out the forms and keep on top of it. But you are DEFINITELY entitle to a sales tax refund. Check

http://www.boe.ca.gov/info/contact.htm

 

Thanks for the info. I'm not going to run after my own money and try to get a refund and all that. I'll just have them truck it up to OR to avoid all of that hassle. My original question on weather this is legit or just an attempt by the dealer to back out of the deal was answered. Thats all I wanted to know. Of course the dealer called me back this afternoon telling me they can't hold the car until Saturday even with a deposit because of some CA bait and switch law. Apparently if the car is advertised they can't hold it until they 'un-advertise it'. Whatever that means. So hopefully it'll still be there by Saturday.

 

Put it on a flat bed and a mile down the road take it off and drive it home. Be a REBEL!!!!

 

The truck driver would get into serious trouble. Being a motorcycle dealer, I get this kinda stuff all the time. According to the DMV/BOE, the shipper needs to supply a notarized BOL. If the shipper does something different that what the BOL specifies, he would most assuredly lose his license. The owner of the car would have some serious legal troubles coming his way as well.
Not even close to being worth it.
To the OP: I've had several customers find cheaper direct shipping by checking on ebay. If you look at any vehicle ad, you'll see a shipping options tab. Click on it, and what you end up doing is putting out a request for bid. You'll get guys that will charge a lot less than the big shippers, and all the ones I've dealt with have gone non-stop to the customer. With you being in Oregon, this means you'd see the car the next day. Heck, I had a customer in Texas get his bike the next day from here, and the shipper didn't arrive at my shop until 3pm to pick it up.

 

I've been "surprised" by taxes on out-of-state car sales in the past. As others said, you would get a pro-rated refund of your CA tax once you proved you had registered the car in OR, but you would have to pay the OR tax and fees first, then apply and wait for California to send you a check.

Easiest experience I had was a purchase in New Mexico - no tax collected, 30-day plate issued, and I just paid VA tax when I titled and registered the car in VA.

California has their tax collection regime down pretty good. Does not surprise me that you can't drive out of the state without paying tax there. Also make sure you don't use or provide a California address when you register the car in CA, as the State reports the purchase to local jurisdictions who may then assess local use taxes from you at a later date, even if you can prove you've never used the car there or that you shipped it right out of the state.

 

i believe the dealer is wrong... all you would need to is buy the car and get temp tags to drive back home. this ebayer cleary state's no taxes collected: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-...QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6008QQihZ005QQitemZ150255300442QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

i was also thinking of buy in cali and driving back home to nj... and that dealer told me no taxes, just temp tags. good luck!

 

Trust me, if you intend on driving the car 2 inches in California, you have to pay sales tax.
I deal with this on a weekly basis, and the BOE/DMV don't screw around on this.

 

I'm a FL resident and I bought my BMW in CA. It is true (or at least these 2 dealers are telling the same lie) that you indeed have to pay CA sales tax to drive off the lot OR no tax and ship it. My CA tax paid was credited to me in FL once I registered the car due to a reciprocity agreement between the 2 states. Because Oregon has no sales tax, you're paying for either shipping or tax. Given you're probably paying 30-40k for the car at 8%ish CA tax, I'd say shipping would be much cheaper.

Regarding shipping, I'd recommend a door to door covered/enclosed carrier. From CA to FL was about $1900 if memory serves. CA to OR should be half that I'd guess.

 

I'm a FL resident and I bought my BMW in CA. It is true (or at least these 2 dealers are telling the same lie) that you indeed have to pay CA sales tax to drive off the lot OR no tax and ship it. My CA tax paid was credited to me in FL once I registered the car due to a reciprocity agreement between the 2 states. Because Oregon has no sales tax, you're paying for either shipping or tax. Given you're probably paying 30-40k for the car at 8%ish CA tax, I'd say shipping would be much cheaper.

Regarding shipping, I'd recommend a door to door covered/enclosed carrier. From CA to FL was about $1900 if memory serves. CA to OR should be half that I'd guess.

I paid about $650 Texas to California $1900 sounds a bit much maybe $1000 from CA to FL

 

Just a quick update. The wife and I made a nice trip down to hot hot San Rafael (temps of 103F !) and bought the car Saturday morning. Unfortunately, due to this silly CA law I was not able to drive it home. Instead it is still at the dealer waiting for the shipper to pick it up. I've been reading good reviews about Daniel at Pacific Coast Auto Transport Inc. He gave me a quote of $650 to have it shipped to Portland. The dealer and I split the cost 50/50. Given that San Rafael sales tax is 8.25% paying $325 for shipping seemed like the better choice than sales tax on 38k. The car should be here by next Saturday. I remember waiting 8 weeks for my ED car and the wait was killer. But one week I can do.

Thanks for all the responses,
-Marc

 

Sorry for the late response...
I didn't realize that you were looking for a car shipper. These guys transport cars up and down the West coast and they are DAMN Cheap!!:thumbup: I've used them on a couple occasions and it cost Less than $400 Shipping my cars back and forth from Willamette Valley to Los Angeles.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180067&highlight=Pacific+Transport

 

New signature *grin*

 

Congrats!! Glad everything worked out...

 

Congrats! Post pictures when you get it. Welcome to the wagon club.

 

$650 from NorCal to OR? :yikes: I hope it's an enclosed trailer.

Anyway, I know it's too late... but one trick is if you know a dealer over there that wouldn't mind a little hassle... (may be you just need to pay a little commission), you could ask his dealer to do the "wholesale" transaction w/ the selling dealer and then you personally buy it from him... you could then pick the car up and drive from CA to OR w/ his dealer's license plate and w/o paying CA sales tax.

If you're confused, just imagine that your local dealer just bought a car through dealer's auction in CA and they prefer to drive the car home, instead of using shipping company. They are allowed to do that... w/o paying CA sales tax. And then once the car is in their possession, you buy the car.

But hey... why going through the hassle if it won't make any difference... unless you really want to have a driving vacation

Either way, congrats!!! I hope when I sell my wagon, there will be a bunch of people looking for wagons

 

$650 from NorCal to OR? :yikes: I hope it's an enclosed trailer.

Given diesel is over $5/gallon these days I thought $600ish wasn't too bad of a deal. Some shippers quoted me as high as $1100. And so the wait begins...

 

Pictures...

 

Legally speaking the dealer is right because if the board of equalization audits him he needs to show that the car was shipped out of state. you can't buy a car and use it in the state without paying sales tax. Even if you buy a car from another state and attempt to register it in california you will have to pay california use tax on the purchase price plus a penalty for every day the car was in the state which can get expensive very fast. So be careful what you say or fill in at the DMV. Use that same date as the day for the entry into California even though the car was in your garage.

Why would you want to buy the car in California anyway they are more expensive here than Oregon?
The other thing you may need to look at is how are you going to pass Oregon Smog tests if you are going to use the car in California? Unless you drive back and forth quite often i don't know what you are gaining.
Anyway hope this helps.

 

Buying a car in California is tricky as the rules tend to change and dealers are very clever at twisting them. In the end, though, you won't have to pay sales tax in Oregon, just registration - which is significantly less than California. Have you considered just buying a used car in Oregon and skipping the hassle of moving a car from state to state? Oregon has plenty of great dealerships all throughout the state and even in smaller/denser cities like Salem. And trust me, an Oregon dealer won't give you worries or hassles the way Californians do.

 

I just spoke with the California State Board of Equalization. If an OR resident purchases in CA and has the vehicle shipped to Oregon by either the dealer or a qualified 3rd Party in the business of transport, the OR resident does not pay sales tax.

Here is the link to the official Regulation 1620 about this. Go to the section titled "Shipments Outside the State***8212;When Sales Tax Does Not Apply".

Shipments Outside the State***8212;When Sales Tax Does Not Apply. Sales tax does not apply when the property pursuant to the contract of sale, is required to be shipped and is shipped to a point outside this state by the retailer, by means of:

1. Facilities operated by the retailer, or

2. Delivery by the retailer to a carrier, customs broker or forwarding agent, whether hired by the purchaser or not, for shipment to such out-of-state point. As used herein the term "carrier" means a person or firm regularly engaged in the business of transporting for compensation tangible personal property owned by other persons, and includes both common and contract carriers. The term "forwarding agent" means a person or firm regularly engaged in the business of preparing property for shipment or arranging for its shipment. An individual or firm not otherwise so engaged does not become a "carrier" or "forwarding agent" within the meaning of this regulation simply by being designated by a purchaser to receive and ship goods to a point outside this state. (This subsection is effective on and after September 19, 1970, with respect to deliveries in California to carriers, etc., hired by the purchasers for shipment to points outside this state that are not in another state or foreign country, e.g., to points in the Pacific Ocean.)

_sl_

 

Yes, it's true, you would have to pay sales tax in CA if you purchase a car - or anything, really - there. You won't have to get it registered there, you'll only have to register it once you return to OR. I mean, do you have to buy a car down there? Since you're an OR resident, why not skip the hassle of sales tax and transportation and just buy from a used car dealership in Oregon?