We've landed on a new G550, signed paperwork and getting everything finalized. It is located at a MB dealer in CA and we are residents of St. George, Utah. The sales person states that new vehicles going out of state cannot be driven out by the owner and our options are one of the following (1) a driver from their dealership drives it to the NV state line, where we meet them and a notary and hand over paperwork (2) it's trailered to the house (flatbed or enclosed) - of course both of these options have a cost to them, albeit under $1175 for the enclosed trailer, $975 for flatbed, and $400-ish for the driver to NV.

My question is this ... what the actual hell ?? Can anyone shed light on this? I know quite a few CA dealerships just straight up told me that they wouldn't sell me a vehicle unless I registered it in California. Are these really our only options? We very often buy vehicles and especially like to buy them out of state - then make a road trip back home with the new vehicle. Obviously, this won't be happening but wanted to hear your thoughts. Thanks! - James

 

The biggest issue is Sales tax is due if you drive it off the lot. If it is "delivered" (whether to the state line in NV or to UT) you don't pay California sales tax. Its probably cheaper to have it delivered to you, all things considered.

Some dealerships want to keep the vehicle in their region they will flat out not sell to out of State. I ended a 27 year relationship with a dealership bc they required I register the vehicle in California after I had moved away .

 

Thanks for the info ... definitely clears it up and glad to see they aren't trying to pull a fast one. I didn't expect them to, but this came out of nowhere.

We opted to have it delivered via flatbed - for less than $1k - it would have taken us 12 hours of a driving, plus a hotel, food, fuel, etc. - seemed like a better use of funds.

 

This seems odd, but probably does have to do with sales tax and/or registration. There are some folks who game the system by claiming out of state residency in order to avoid taxes and fees associated with their home state (remember the John Kerry yaght scandal?). For example, you live and work in CA, but own a condo in UT that you use a couple weeks a year and rent the remaining months. You buy the car as a UT resident and pay lower tax and registration, then keep it in CA most of the time. The dealer, by delivering the vehicle to UT is simply avoiding any conspiring with a buyer to avoid CA taxes.

Nevertheless, I live in CO fulltime and bought a BMW last year from a UT dealership. Picked it up in SLC and drove it home. Paid CO sales tax and registration fees after paperwork arrived and I acquired the license plates. There was never any issue about shipping the vehicle to my home.

 

Each state has different rules regarding sales tax. Most states require that the car be shipped to avoid paying state and local taxes. A copy of the bill of lading goes to the state DMV to prove the buyer did not take delivery at the dealership. If you are financing, the bank usually requires the dealer to collect the sales tax for the customers address.

 

I did sign a sales tax and use affidavit acknowledging/certifying that the car would be registered and used outside of Utah. And, of course, I had to present a valid identification (drivers license) to certify my Colorado address. No sales tax was collected at that time, and when registering the vehicle in Colorado, I had to present all the purchase documentation that clearly showed no sales tax had yet been paid. So it was collected at that time along with all the registration fees. I paid cash on delivery, so that might have made a difference.

 

Each state is different. Had you taken delivery in AZ, you would have paid the CO 2.9% state tax plus AZ city and county tax. The amount paid would be credited against any other CO tax.

 

This is legit. I did this when I bought my last Porsche. I was also skeptical at first but the dealer I used had a specific sales person dedicated to doing these transactions. He drove the car from Riverside across the NV border with dealer plates while I road shotgun. He had a car trail us and we signed some of the paperwork at the McDonalds right across the state line with a mobile notary. It was really very seamless and easy. This dealer only charged me for the mobile notary and didn't charge for the service of driving to the border. I spent the night in Vegas and then made the drive back up to Oregon the next day.

 

I would gladly pay a delivery fee to avoid being hijacked while driving out of CA where law and order no longer exists.

 

Cali dealers have been burned too many times from "potential" out of state buyers cancelling deals after going thru a lot of work. That's why many will flat out say no. If you agree to a nonrefundable deposit they might change their tune.

Cars in Cali are like internet goods, if it's delivered in CA then it gets taxed (so you picking it up in Cali, you get taxed) if it gets shipped out of state then you pay the taxes of your respective state when you register the vehicle.

 

Also don't forget on a hot ticket item like the G, dealers are also busted by MB for grey market. They don't want you to put it in a shipping container destined to the Middle East or any other ports where these vehicles are in high demand. Did they ask you to sign a document that says you will not resell the vehicle for a few years?

 

This is common with many dealership brands, even for in-state purchases. I signed such an agreement for my X7. A friend signed a similar agreement for his Porsche. The dealership could demand $100K from me if I did export, but it's not clear if the dealer or BMW got the money.

 

​​​​​​I find it funny they would have anyone sign such a silly document when they are selling 10,000 of these globally and someone keen on exporting will still sign the doc and export it anyway and just have it serviced by a 3rd party mechanic. As if they really have the time to track each VIN. It's not like it's the Ford GT.