My in-laws have made me an offer I can’t refuse…they’ve offered to sell me their 1999 Lincoln Town Car for what the dealer offered them in trade for it (which is literally half the Blue Book value). It’s a great car…relatively low mileage and lovingly maintained, and it will be perfect for the road trips we love to take (for which my good old Sable wagon is no longer really suitable). Only trouble is, they live in Oregon and I live in California. Aside from the logistics involved in getting the car down here (we’re working on that), is there anything I ought to know that might be a bit flaky as far as transfer of the title goes? The price of the car isn’t sufficiently high for me to worry much about the taxes…I’m just wondering if the state of California will give me any hassle about buying a car out of state. Anybody have any experience with this?
As a Washington resident living in Utah I was able to sell a Washington-titled car to a Utahn. The car had been bought in NY and I had transferred the title to WA when I moved there. Very little hassle in the transfer to WA and absolutely none on the sale.
If a resident of California aquires a vehicle from another state or country, fees become due the date the vehicle enters California and must be paid within 20 days to avoid late penalties.
You may obtain information, which explains California’s registration requirements by calling DMV at 1-800-777-0133, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (operators are available between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday) or go to your your local DMV office.
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California residents are prohibited from importing, purchasing, or leasing a new vehicle from another state, unless the vehicle was manufactured for sale in California and the Environmental Protection Agency label certifies the vehicle has California smog equipment. California considers a new vehicle to be any vehicle with less than 7,500 miles on the odometer at the time it is purchased or acquired. Click here for more information on buying a vehicle from out-of-state, from the California Air Resources Board.
Looks like I’m in good shape then. This car has around 92,000 miles on it, so shouldn’t fall under the smog restrictions, and it will be no problem licensing it within 20 days of bringing it in state.
One thing they caught me on: I’d bought a car within 6 months of moving to CA, before I had a clue this is where I’d end up. California assumed that I must have bought it out-of-state to avoid paying CA sales tax on it. When I registered it, they assessed the value of the car and tried to hit me with the full sales tax on its value.
I finally got them to at least credit me for the sales tax I’d already paid in the state where I bought it, but that was as far as they’d go.
Since this is a private sale, I won’t be paying sales tax on it in Oregon, and I will have a bill of sale that I can show to the authorities in California if they give me any hassle. I mean, we’re talking $4,500 here…it really is an excellent deal, given the condition of the car.