Buying out of state: Title Registration?

So for others who have done this, I am going to be travelling to Denver from Texas this weekend to pickup a 4runner and was wondering how the titling process works. Can they title it directly in Texas? Or am I going to have to get it titled in Colorado and then take that in to the tax assessor here in Texas to get a Texas title?

 

I usually purchase vehicles in Idaho and I live in WA. When I buy it I get the temp paper for the window and then I register it in WA, just beware of what you will owe when you go to register it, it can be a bit of a shock if it wasn't already handled by the dealer you're buying from.

 

I am doing it next week and have done so many time. Most dealers subscribe to a system that calculates tax and registration based on the county you live.

In my experience the dealers collect all the taxes and registration fees and cut a check to the local county clerk. Once received I can go get the plates if I am not transfering. If I am the county clerk just sends the new registration.

 

@txags92 nine times out of ten the DMVs have an agreement. Honestly, I bought mine in Idaho and registered in CA, I reached out to their billing dept beforehand so I knew what to expect. Don't rely on anecdotal data and just put it on your list of questions to ask while you're there. I got a step by step from the dealer's team.

 

Did you buy the 4R new from a dealership or second hand. Some years (2005) ago, I purchased a second hand Hummer H1 from Lynch Hummer (Missouri) for around $90K. They shipped it to me in Texas; talking about a surprise, tax assessor around 16K on taxes, if I recall well.

 

Each state has their own rules. In Massachusetts for example, the vehicle needs to be registered before it leaves the dealership but they don't give out temp plates. A bit of a nuisance when you live in Maine. If the dealership/state can issue temporary tags it makes buying out of state much easier, as you just register it after you get home. Just make sure you've paid all taxes and fees so there aren't any last minute surprises.

YMMV

 

I live in ca and helped my friend buy hers in Phoenix and here's how it went.

They charged her Phoenix sales tax even though she was supposed to be charged the county tax where she lives in California so she will get a refund from California for the difference which will take a while but it was like $100 difference.

The dealer did give her paper plates but couldn't give her the registration because she didn't live in Arizona so it wouldn't be legal for them to do so. When she went to California dmv they asked for an mso (manufacturer statement of origin) (she was financing so no title). Here's where the headache began, the dealer in Phoenix, Camelback toyota, basically told her to go pound sand and call toyota financial.

Basically toyota financial acted like it was the first time in history dealing with it and sent her a duplicate copy of the title which obviously the dmv wouldn't accept so they actually ended up mailing the title to the dmv.

All in all it took about 6 months and 3 or 4 trips to the dmv to finally get her registration.

Also when she went to ca dmv she paid the registration fee

 

Thanks for the replies. It is a new vehicle, buying through a dealer. I will be talking to them tomorrow to get everything squared away before we fly up there, but just wondered how it typically was handled when buying through a dealership. I was hopeful that they could title it in Texas and charge the taxes accordingly, but wasn't sure.

 

I've purchased all my vehicles out of state. The biggest thing as others have mentioned is to ensure their finance/titling department is aware of the process, and is willing to execute. Check the titling fees on the docs you sign to ensure they have the correct state.

Any competent dealership can sell you a vehicle from a different state, and register it in your home state.

 

One piece of advice, from someone who just went through this (and got a ticket to prove it), the state of Texas doesn’t like to reciprocate with other states. As soon as you get the truck here, you can get a temporary Texas tag (didn’t know until the LEO told me) here: http://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/register-your-vehicle/temporary-permits

I was able to settle in court (with little hassle), but if it takes longer than expected to get your plates (in these COVID times), you might consider a temp tag.

 

That cop sounds like a super rad guy haha

 

I just got doing something similar...
My son is AD Army stationed in upstate NY. Im stationed in OK. We all went back to AZ for a family reunion and he bought a car there...
We didnt want to pay the NY Taxes or registration and we also dont want to drive back to AZ every year for emissions testing ( AD military can get a waiver for every 2 years) so we decided to get it registered here in OK, as its his home of record and he has his DL from here. The dealer didnt charge us state sales tax, just city and county, since we were going to have to pay the taxes during registration any way. So they hooked us up with a 90 temp tag ( expiring Oct 8th), sent the sales info to the DMV with our OK address and we were out the door. About 3 weeks later, we get all the papers from the bank and from the DMV and go to register the car. Here is where things got tricky...
1st trip to OK's Tag Agency- We need a bill of sale, current registration and proof of insurance. Done.
2nd trip- You also need an Affidavit saying your are AD Military signed and notarized by your Command's Legal Officer and the car is owned by you ( you would think a bill of sale with your name on it would be proof enough of ownership???).
3rd trip- OK is a "2 party" state which means to register a vehicle that has never been in the state, they have to have the title. Well with a lien on it from the bank, the bank keeps the title until it is payed off ( I knew that part at least) and would not release it to me. So I had to fill out 3 pages of information for the OK Tax Commissioner to request the title be transferred to the state so we could proceed. Mind you, the 90 day temp stated July 8th, this was now the 1st week in August and lead time for the forms to be reviewed and accepted was 4-6 weeks putting us mid September. Luckily, everything was approved and they sent off for the title transfer. So a week before the temp tag was due, I get a call from OK Tag Agency saying they have all my papers and they are ready to process. This was an hour before I had to go to work, so it had to wait till Monday.
4th trip-I get to the tag agent. she calculates everything up and bam... $412 out the door. Tag, OK title with a certified copy sent back to the bank, new plates and all the fees.

So long story short...

Call both DMV's multiple times to make sure you get the same answers each time. Make sure you ask for names and extensions so you can call back if something is wonkey.
Have documentation of what is said to you.
Make sure where you are registering the vehicle does require extra paperwork that you dont normally have since its being bought out of state.
Proof you paid the taxes if you do at time of purchase. This is a big one. Oklahoma didnt charge me tax because Arizona does not tax AD military on property. I guess we got lucky there!

Good luck...