Registering an Out of State Car

They should, just make sure they do the math right. That’s why I prefer the dealer sending the taxes over to the California DMV.

Depending on where you are though, they may not be aware of California taxes.

I bought a CPO 991 in Las Vegas, so they were used to dealing with California customers. All I had to do was a smog check.

 

My friend purchased a new trd from camelback toyota in Phoenix and she lives in California. They weren't super helpful which surprised me since I figured they had a lot of experience with that but they charged her Phoenix sales tax which just slightly more than the county she lives in California believe it or not. She had to pay the registration at California dmv which was around 700 if I recall but her biggest issue was since she didn't live in az it couldn't be registered at time of purchase at the dealer so they didn't give her a registration card just the paper plates. She actually had to get a hold of toyota financial to send the original pink slip (even though it was being financed) to the ca dmv which she was trying to register it at

 

I mean it's not an easy process. It is very long and drawn out. On top of that I spoke with multiple DMV people each of which gave me a different answer.
Car will definitely need to be smogged.

I believe this will vary. The first car I bought out of state went a little smoother since I didn't pay any sales tax in that state. When I came to register it in CA I paid the full amount. For my 4runner the dealer in AZ collected tax, but then the CA DMV tried collecting the full amount from me again.

Similar situation for me although it was a different dealership. @T4Rrunning you might run into this. You have the option to have Toyota send the title to a specific DMV office, or the DMV headquarters. I opted for a local branch and then the DMV sent me a letter once they had the title.

 

Okay so sounds like I will have to do this on my own. So from what I have gathered, I have to make an appointment to get the vehicle smog checked. How soon can I make this? Do they just need the vehicle vin or temporary license plate numbers?


If I am financing through my credit union.. do I contact them or toyota to send the title to the local dmv office?

 

You should be able to make an appointment without actually having the car. I personally just drove up to a shop when I was ready.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/...le-from-out-of-state-nonresident-vehicle-pdf/

Make sure you have everything that the above link is requesting. My other suggestion is to get the ball rolling ASAP. I believe you technically only have 20 days to get the process going/get all fees paid.
It took Toyota/DMV about 8 weeks to process my title and then the DMV wanted to charge me late fees. However I had at least taken my car to the DMV to get the process started and I had the signed vin verification form and used that as defense that I had started the process.

 

If the out-of-state dealer sends the taxes directly to the California DMV, then the local DMV will not collect taxes from you, just a registration cost, because it will show as paid in their database, assuming they sent the right amount.

What confuses people is if you purchase a car and register it outside of California then come to California within one year of purchasing the car, California will try to collect California taxes on that car.

I don’t know if there is any way of getting around this, but my understanding is there is no honest way of doing it without having to pay the additional taxes.

Also, there is no way of getting around the smog issue.

As for the DMV employees, they have a ridiculous amount of autonomy, especially now with Covid, so they can make shit up on the fly.

My experience has been that if you do overpay at the local DMV, they will issue a refund check when it gets to the central database, but they may take a few weeks doing it.

 

I have brought cars into California from other states when I moved here and I have purchased cars in other states after I moved here and I have not run into significant problems.

I think the biggest problem you can run into is if the out-of-state dealer starts to register it in the state that you purchased it, then California thinks it’s a vehicle purchased and registered out of state that you are bringing into California within the one year window.

If you don’t trust the dealer, you could argue that you just refuse to pay taxes and will take care of it yourself, but some dealers may not issue you a bill of sale if you refuse to pay taxes. Also, the taxes don’t wind up being financed, so you wind up with a pretty hefty bill when you do visit the DMV.

 

This thread is so much longer than it needs to be hahaha. It's not CA, it's the dealer. They sell tons of OOS cars (unless they're super podunk). Not to mention they transfer vehicles to and from dealerships all the time. They should know what to do. If they collect tax, it should go to the state you're registering it in. Your address is on the title, they ask so many questions during the buying process, and they should be explaining how it works when you leave the lot. There's a lot of anecdotal flying around, but the truth is, find your tax money, make sure it matches what you should pay (on the DMV website it tells you what you're going to pay). If the dealer collected it, they damn well better send it to CA DMV. If they didn't, you owe when you register.