I’m negotiating to buy a car and one of the dealers is adding on a complete bullshit charge on his offer. However, sales tax is lower at his location by so much that his out the door price is less than my other options.
So if I want the best price I need to pay this complete bullshit fee. I feel dirty, but I think I’m gonna do it. It’s also closer and more conveniently located than my next best options.
Are you sure that’s how it works? I’m not aware of any states that charges sales taxes based on where the vehicle is sold, it’s charged and paid where it’s titled. If the dealership is handling the title work they’ll collect tax and pay to your home state.
Don’t give in, take the small financial hit
That’s been my experience. If you title it in another state and then bring it in, you’ll get socked with more taxes. We moved once with a newer vehicle and got caught with that. It might have just been the difference??? Long time ago. Remember being pissed.
If it makes you feel better, I bought a used Subaru for my kid yesterday and got everything I wanted at every turn. So one car dealer did not get their BS yesterday. Buying a car when I don’t immediately need the car was an A+ experience, would recommend.
It’s still an in state purchase. It’s just 50 miles away in a municipality with a lower sales tax.
100% agree. That’s how I have bought all of my cars.
This most recent purchase has been a multiyear process because I just haven’t found the perfect car and deal, so I am slowly approaching the point where I do need a car. I’ve probably got one year left on my current ride.
I usually buy this way but I absolutely had to buy a car about this time last year at the absolute worst point in time in the history of humanity and hoo boy I absolutely got fucked every way you can imagine
In same states local towns, counties, and/or cities have their own sales tax on top the the state’s sales tax.
You probably are supposed to pay the sales tax to your municipality.
Yeah I would still be skeptical of this. Even more so than out of state purchases. Allowing neighboring municipalities to compete on sales tax rates for such major purchases seems like it would create a race to the bottom or otherwise leave the higher charging municipality at such a disadvantage it wouldn’t be a viable business to sell cars there. This is the kind of thing the state would regulate.
I’ve titled cars in states where it’s all run at the county level, not for any sales tax differences, but if there were sales tax differences it seems like the model is already there to ensure you’re paying the rate where you title to the titling authority. If you’re sure this is an exploitable loophole in your state then for sure take advantage of it, but I wouldn’t rely on the dealership for that information. I’d fully expect them to quote you an out the door price at their lower tax rate then surprise you at closing and be like “oops sorry, we didn’t realize you lived in the other county, we’ve gotta charge you more. It’s not us it’s them.”
This is how it worked in Chicago.
Techbros are going to continue jamming AI crap you didn’t ask for into absolutely everything until we hit them with clubs.
In Washington state, sales tax is collected based on the location of the sale, so shopping between counties/cities to pay the lowest tax is a legit strategy.
Sales tax collection is based on the location where the customer receives the merchandise or service (destination-based sales tax).
The base state sales tax is 6.5%, and local rates vary from 4.1% down to 1.0%. Now, most of those super-low areas are remote rural counties, so you probably couldn’t buy a car there, but if you could, you could save up to $310 per $10,000 total car cost.
There’s a pool chemical called “Alkalinity Up” which “stabilizes pH fluctuation” and, um, raises alkalinity. It comes as a white powder and can be obtained for about $3/pound.
I guess you gotta respect the hustle, but it’s 100% Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda), which can be obtained in bulk for about $1/pound.
I was skeptical myself, but my last car purchase 3-4 yrs ago was from a dealership in the same county. In that case it was a double bonus because lowest tax and they had by far the lowest price on the car.
I paid the lower rate. Did everything by the book to license/register the vehicle. Provided my home address in multiple spots. No one came after me for tax fraud or to collect more tax.
laws and enforcement probably vary place to place.
No one gives a crap about your clothes, etc. but large items like cars are easy to trace and you have to register, so if they can and want to, they can collect. Only experience is state to state.
I don’t care for foreign workers to shorten “cumulative” to “cum,” it makes me uncomfortable…
Guess I just need to find $400k for a down payment so my mortgage payment is only $12k a month fml.