Kieran28

Can anyone tell me how much tax, registration, & other fees will cost me in California (specifically LA county, but the state in general would be a great start)? We're still shopping for that elusive w210 wagon, and just ran into some unexpected personal expenses that shifted our budget down a bit, so I'm trying to figure out as precisely as possible, how much we can afford to offer... with a dealer you can just say "I want this car for $8000 out the door" or whatever & if they agree, they adjust the sale price so that your end cost is what you said. But with a private party, I need to account for how much registration & tax (user fee) and other fees will cost us. I couldn't find any definitive information on the CA dmv site. So I thought I'd ask here.

I'm assuming something like 11% of purchase price as a rough estimate. I know sales tax is 9.75% here... but not sure if that applies to cars, or if there's some other tax instead of standard sales tax. And I don't know the cost of all the "other fees" that the dmv will charge (registration, documents, chp fee, etc., etc.)

EDIT: there's a slim chance we buy a car out of state and bring it in. Are there any additional fees associated with that?

Thanks!

saintz

Generally the sales tax for vehicles is capped or otherwise reduced from the general sales tax. I'm not sure how that works in CA.

Sounds like you're cutting it really close, though. If you're buying a nearly ten year old car, presumably with no warranty, I would make sure you have funds to cover repairs.

ohlord

https://mv.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorWeb/index.jsp

And as above since you have never owned one, are not sure of what to do on one, nor the cost of owning one if you can not perform the work yourself, you really need to figure if you can afford to buy a bargain priced unit and have anything at all happen to it.

Kieran28

Thanks Saintz & Ohlord. Yes, a repair fund is part of the equation, for sure. However, the guy is offering to "guarantee" the power train for one year. Here's the story (kind of convoluted)...

In my search for the right car, I have also been looking for a good local indep mbz shop. I found one very close to me that was recommended on the benzworld forums. I emailed the shop owner just to ask about what he charges for a pre-purchase inspection... not that I had a car to be inspected just then, but that I expected to have one soon.

He emailed back saying yes, he does PPI's, free of charge (!!!) but that he also knew of a car I might be interested in. He had just finished servicing a 2000 e320 wagon for a guy who buys and sells dealer trades. The owner of the car (Jon) had just picked it up that day to bring to a used car lot for sale. It hadn't even been listed yet.

So, Jon brought the car back to the shop that evening for us to look at. It's black on gray, has 111,000 miles. The mechanic (Vinu) had just finished rebuilding the transmission, did an A Service, including the 100,000 mile spark plugs, valve cover gasket, and replaced some of the suspension bushings (don't recall if he said some or all, actually). I drove the car for a while, it drives great. Trans is shifting very nicely, no excess engine vibrations, great smooth pickup/acceleration... Cosmetically though, it's less than perfect... it has a few minor small scratches in the paint, and two small but deep scratches that go down to the metal. Hasn't been detailed yet so the interior was kinda dirty. Missing the star emblem from the shifter. Visor vanity mirrors are missing their covers, so vanity lights don't work. Rooftop antenna is broken off (pretty common in the cars I've seen). These are all pretty minor cosmetic things that don't bother me too much. Tires have about 70% left. Dash pixels are perfect. Radio & CD changer work and sound great. Power features (seats, doors, windows, etc.) all fully functional.

Jon says, "Vinu is a great mbz mechanic, I buy & sell bmw and mbz dealer trades and have been taking my cars to him for years. If he says the car is in top shape, it is. In fact, I'll guarantee the powertrain on this car for a year. Anything goes wrong with it, take it here to be fixed and I'll cover it."

Obviously he has a relationship with the guy & will come out ahead, but still, it's an interesting offer. Plus Vinu guarantees his own work for a year, so much of Jon's offer is probably already covered by Vinu. Still, this shop is right around the corner from us so would be very convenient.

So, we're going to have this car inspected by a different mechanic today... just to get a fully disinterested take on it.

We can afford $10,000 *all in* i.e. including tax, registration, and "other fees". Jon is making this a private party transaction. We pay cash, he signs over the title. Since he hasn't listed the car with a lot yet, he can save some of that overhead. I originally offered him $8300, and he said he's in it for more than that. So I'm thinking of offering him $9000, but need to make sure we're still within our max budget after all is said and done.

One other question - is the little rooftop antenna used for anything other than the silly cellular phone based "SOS" system? If not, I have no interest in having it fixed/replaced.

ohlord

in it for more than that he would never be able to sell it to a used car lot.
All those issues make it be a no go unless you are a gambler. Wait and keep looking and save up for a better Wagon.

Kieran28

I don't know how he does his business... but I don't think he's selling it to a lot. He has some sort of a biz relationship with a few lots, and finances many of the cars he finds. So he makes money there, too.

We'll see what the inspection shows...

ohlord

relations with lots he is selling to a lot or turning it on a lot and no matter what he says the lot is going to be paid. Please don't fall into the trap of finance on a W210 you will be so far upside down you will never crawl out.

Kieran28

Of course! Absolutely no financing for me! Cash, pure and simple is what we will pay.

I only mentioned that this guy finances cars he sells as a point of interest. He obviously would prefer to put it on the lot & finance it, because that's extra profit for him. He may even own the lot, I don't know.

saintz

Will they put the guarantee in writing? Sounds expensive for a 320 with over 100k miles and issues. The broken sun visor, antenna, and tranny, while perhaps common, indicate the car was likely neither gently used nor well maintained.

On the antenna, if the painted cover is there but just the rubber piece is broken, you can fix it for 10 bucks. If the cover is gone, it's $100+. I would replace it just to make sure nothing leaks in there, but it's probably fine as is. It's for Teleaid, so it's functionally useless.

fosmith

Your estimate of 11% is probably about right. I'm not advocating that you break the law but buyers often try to reduce their tax liability by asking the seller to put a lower amount on the bill of sale than they actually paid for the car. DMV figures the tax from the bill of sale form that you have to submit. When I sold my Honda for $3000 the buyer asked me to put $1000 on the bill of sale but I refused.
Fred

Kieran28

Yes, he said he'd put it in writing. My thinking on that is that he just paid Vinu a lot to do a lot of mechanical work on the car, and Vinu's work carries a year warranty, so he's banking on that if anything else was wrong Vinu would have found it so he's thinking he's safe for a year (barring misuse on the new owner's part).

Point is moot though. I'm going to pass. Just got the car back from inspection. Both mechanics there felt that mechanically (power train, suspension, exhaust) the car was in excellent condition. Only two mechanical issues came up: one code indicating the MAF is likely about to die, and visual evidence that the drive shaft disc is just barely starting to crack. Everything else on the car is in excellent shape.

However, the car was in at least one fairly bad accident. Neither Experian AutoCheck nor CarFax show any accidents, but this car was hit on the driver's side, and rear-ended (possibly same accident). The body work done was less than what most would want for an MBZ. Not terrible, but not top-notch work, either. Very slight orange-peel texture to the paint, for example, plus some visible sanding marks in one small area from bondo under the paint. Also the driver's rear wheel well shows that the wheel was pushed up into the well and scraped the inside. Interestingly (not surprisingly though), the upper control arms on the driver's rear wheel had been replaced (still shiny clean & had the OEM paper sticker on them)... gee, I wonder why? Knowing this, I now detect a VERY slight pull to the right when driving. I didn't notice it before.

We're walking away. It's too bad, too, because in some ways it's a great car... mechanically that is. New trans. Lots of new suspension parts. ZERO leaks. Leather is in good shape, etc.

ohlord

pick up cars cheap can always pass up carfax by doing the work themselves or farming it out cash.My bet is that is what this Vinu guy did. Glad you discovered it and decided to pass

Kieran28

The body work is pretty old. I think this guy (Jon) didn't even realize it'd been in an accident. Vinu does not have a body shop, just a mechanical repair shop, and his work shows up on the carfax (as the most recent entry.)

If people have the means, they will often choose to get accidents repaired "off the record" even if they plan to keep the car (or especially if so), because a totalled/salvage car means lots of registration and insurance problems. Plus if you can get it fixed for less than the total insurance reimbursement, it becomes a good car for the teenager or something, with money leftover to buy Mommy & Daddy a shiny new one.

socalsounds

I'm not sure if anyone gave you and answer to your original question, but the rule of thumb in California will be close to 10%- that's if you report the full sale price for taxes, if you catch my drift. Otherwise, you'll just pay the licensing fees, or about 2.5% of DMV's estimated value... about $170

Kieran28

Thanks socalsounds
I think it is probably a bit more than 10%, since the tax alone here is 9.75%. Add the 2.5% you just mentioned, and we're talking over 12%, right?

DunninLA

I'm glad you passed on that wagon.

I call BS that the seller did not know it had been in a severe accident and shoddily repaired. It's HIS BUSINESS. He would have spotted that damage in 30 seconds.

The rules around this site on used cars seems to be that you absolutely

1) need a complete service history
2) prefer one owner, since on a two owner car you cannot speak with the prior owner about the car's history
3) buy from a private party, not a lot or a dealer.
4) no evidence of a major impact collision.

Mess with those rules at your own risk... It's risky enough even when you know what you're getting, simply because stuff happens no matter how well a car was cared for over its life.

ob1kenobi

Here's the truth about sales tax. No matter where you buy the car, in-state or out of state, sales tax is always calculated and based on where your residence is, i.e. LA county 9.75% (not exactly sure if this is true but you would know since you live there)
Therefore if the price is $10,000 add 9.75% for sales tax which you pay.
License fee? I would personally budget for around $200 but this also depends when the license expires, If you bought the car and registration was just renewed previously (like last month) then you're most likely only going to pay the transfer fee which is very minimal (I'm guessing between $15-$25)
But with the California budget in a mess as it is, I have no clue as to how much increase there is in the Vehicle license fee so I wouldn't be surprised if the license fee would be around $300.

Oh and for those buyers trying to negotiate the price down in the bill of sale as opposed to what you really paid. Just hope that you're not buying from an undercover "taxman" - If you catch my drift.. It may be a small amount to you but bottomline, it is still "tax evasion" and it's a federal offense.

Good luck.

Kieran28

It's a moot point, as I'll never see that car or the guy again. So, believe what you want, but I was with the guy when I told him this information, and he turned green. He was obivously upset & concerned. He flip-flopped from agreeing with me that I shouldn't buy the car given this info, to offering me his cost just to get rid of it. I think he really didn't know & had he known he wouldn't have spent the money he did on it. I think he's also upset (or should be) that the mechanic who worked on it, whom he trusts so much, didn't tell him about it.

Either way, it's too bad, as I would have liked to use that mechanic, but I'm not going to him given this experience. Either (A) he's not good enough to spot this kind of body work, or (B) he's dishonest. Or both!