registration charge upon purchase

[Jjrho]

is it true that Lotus Corp is making all dealers register and collect the sales tax on cars sold ? a florida dealer is saying that I have to pay for the calif sales tax , before they will release the car to me, even though I paid cash for the whole car.... i always register my new out of state bought cars myself, once i'm in possession of it...
is this some thing new or is the dealership pulling my leg ?

new emira buyer in Calif

 

[Go Kart]

When the dealer is registering the car for you as part of the sale, you would pay them the tax for the state in which the car will be registered even if it’s a different state. They pay that tax to your home state for registration. This has been true of any dealer purchased vehicle I’ve ever owned whether in my state or purchased out of state. This is not the case when purchasing from a private owner though…

However, I have never refused the dealer registering the car for me since it’s convenient for them to do so. Saves me the hassle

 

[Aero]

I've bought a used car from a dealer in FL (live in AL) before. They had me sign a form saying that I did not pay sales tax and would pay it in home state when registering.
When I got the Emira in TN they charged me the "state" tax rate where I lived. They send a check for that amount to the state along with the title paperwork. Dumb really.
Usually the way it works. Call your DMV and make sure of the process so you dont get charged sales tax twice.
I doubt a FL dealer can actually register the car for you in CA unless they have a special arrangement. Ive never experienced that before from any state. My dealer had me sign paperwork related to that but I still had go officially go to the DMV to register it and transfer the title over to my home state.

 

[Go Kart]

I've bought a used car from a dealer in FL (live in AL) before. They had me sign a form saying that I did not pay sales tax and would pay it in home state when registering.
When I got the Emira in TN they charged me the "state" tax rate where I lived. They send a check for that amount to the state along with the title paperwork. Dumb really.
Usually the way it works. Call your DMV and make sure of the process so you dont get charged sales tax twice.
I doubt a FL dealer can actually register the car for you in CA unless they have a special arrangement. Ive never experienced that before from any state. My dealer had me sign paperwork related to that but I still had go officially go to the DMV to register it and transfer the title over to my home state.

An Oklahoma dealer collected and payed the sales tax, then registered my vehicle for me in Utah… and I don’t think the process has changed (at least for Utah).

I purchased the car online, never saw it in person, they registered everything for me as part of the sale, then shipped the car to my door… I just waited for my Utah plates and did not have to visit the DMV at any point.

It was a very seamless process.

 

[iVTECdailyy]

is it true that Lotus Corp is making all dealers register and collect the sales tax on cars sold ? a florida dealer is saying that I have to pay for the calif sales tax , before they will release the car to me, even though I paid cash for the whole car.... i always register my new out of state bought cars myself, once i'm in possession of it...
is this some thing new or is the dealership pulling my leg ?

new emira buyer in Calif

Yes, same thing happened to me. I told the dealer I will register and pay tax after possession, but the dealer informed me that lotus Corp is not allowing this.

They are all using third party companies to tax and title out of state purchases. Direct order from lotus.

 

[cdn_alien]

Boy, am I ever glad I found this thread. I'm going through it at this very moment. I'm buying the Emira from Florida and they're charging me sales tax, and said they would forward the taxes to AZ, without me having to go to ADOT DMV myself. I hope it's as seamless as some of you have said.

When I bought my Evora from California, they sold the car to me without any sales tax. I drove it back home with my AZ temporary plate, and had it registered and paid the taxes then. This process seems so much more comforting knowing that I won't double pay, and then pay exactly what is owed without some middleman.

 

[Eagle7]

My dealer (Park Place) told me I needed to send a copy of a utility bill to show my address to avoid having to pay Washington's 10.5% sales tax.

 

[Jjrho]

wow.... yeah, naples lotus... supposedly he got a letter from lotus america saying that they have to regisgter the cars for buyer.... they are not too transparent.... they were trying to charge me $900 pre delivery inspection fee, as well as E regisgtration, etc....
not too happy with the process....

james
redlands , CA

 

[Vampyre]

when I have bought out of state, I get temp tags and then pay the tax when I register the car in state.

 

[Jjrho]

well, what they are doing is using an outside service that registers the cars for the dealership but with all kinds of added charges that they pass on to me, and then highly likely, at the back end, they split the profits ...its a classic stuff the finance manager of the dealership does to make additional money.... good thing they didn't try to stick me with pFF and bullshit paint protection non-sense.... which I would of refused and tell em to take off anyway, as I never asked them for it; ...but other guys are getting stuck with these things so....

btw, a typical extended car warranty they offer at finance office of a dealership is marked up by 5x... so...if the warranty is $4000, divide by 5, ..that' what the dealership pays for it.... its a major scam.... offer 2x of their cost, NO MORE...if they dont' bite, just say, oh well, your loss and stay put....

my 2c worth of ranting for the day....

james
'24 emira; waiting on dealership bull shit...

 

[RoryBellows]

is it true that Lotus Corp is making all dealers register and collect the sales tax on cars sold ? a florida dealer is saying that I have to pay for the calif sales tax , before they will release the car to me, even though I paid cash for the whole car.... i always register my new out of state bought cars myself, once i'm in possession of it...
is this some thing new or is the dealership pulling my leg ?

new emira buyer in Calif

When you get the car to CA they will make you VIN check it and smog it even with a CA emissions sticker since it was bought out of state. At the VIN check they are supposed to ensure you paid the correct amount of tax. Be careful though they aren't smart and have tried to get me to pay more in the past than I needed too.

 

[mattemira]

I can confirm the need to smog/go to dmv in CA if bought out of state. One other possible issue to note is it may NOT pass smog as a new car. I had a new C8 I bought new from MD in 2021 and getting it smogged was a major issue. Apparently(at least with the C8) a sensor is not turned on until some point after you get the car. has to do with needing miles, starts/stops, hard braking, etc, etc. The problem is I could never find anyone who actually knew what specifically it needed. A million or so forum members THOUGHT they knew, but nothing I did would make it pass. I finally had to go through a special smog "referee" who passed it despite the sensor not yet working. It was very frustrating. Hopefully, this won't be an issue for these cars.

 

[MPD]

Yes, same thing happened to me. I told the dealer I will register and pay tax after possession, but the dealer informed me that lotus Corp is not allowing this.

They are all using third party companies to tax and title out of state purchases. Direct order from lotus.

Not sure why Lotus would force this and can they force it? I've bought three vehicles while waiting on the Emira ... two of them shipped to me and I registered and paid sales tax locally. The other the dealer tried to force the registration and I was like ok this is easier for me but this 3rd party service was vastly off on the tax (thousands). Their software applied a certain tax to any zipcode that was around a special tax zone but my physical address was 2miles outside so I don't pay that. Fought them on it as I didn't want to pay and then wait for some refund in the future. In the end they relented but wasn't easy.

 

[FrancisXavier]

Dealerships can sometimes have confusing policies. I remember when I bought a car out of state once, and the dealership insisted on handling the sales tax upfront. It turned out to be a state-specific requirement rather than a dealership choice. Maybe it's similar in your case with Lotus Corp. It might be worth checking your state's regulations or reaching out directly to Lotus for clarity. Also, I've found helpful info on registration processes at sites like https://dmvlist.com/—they often have tips for handling out-of-state purchases.

 

[Jjrho]

Well...I just want to make sure they are paying my state s tax....cause they were splitting it on the paper work....partial to calif n Florida.....

 

[DerTheDer]

is it true that Lotus Corp is making all dealers register and collect the sales tax on cars sold ? a florida dealer is saying that I have to pay for the calif sales tax , before they will release the car to me, even though I paid cash for the whole car.... i always register my new out of state bought cars myself, once i'm in possession of it...
is this some thing new or is the dealership pulling my leg ?

new emira buyer in Calif

Thats not true. I didnt have to pay sales tax or register the Emira I bought in Indiana.

Edit- California should have paperwork stating you will register/pay taxes for it in Cali. The dealer does not want to be on the hook for the taxes if you dont pay them.

 

[Jjrho]

That's what I thought.... Lotus Naples.... smh.... he couldn't produce the proof to me from lotus america... have had the car for 2mo n still no calif plate for me.... smh. ... o woulda already had it if I did it here n save $1500. Or more ....

 

[Nymare]

is it true that Lotus Corp is making all dealers register and collect the sales tax on cars sold ? a florida dealer is saying that I have to pay for the calif sales tax , before they will release the car to me, even though I paid cash for the whole car.... i always register my new out of state bought cars myself, once i'm in possession of it...
is this some thing new or is the dealership pulling my leg ?

new emira buyer in

That's what I thought.... Lotus Naples.... smh.... he couldn't produce the proof to me from lotus america... have had the car for 2mo n still no calif plate for

is it true that Lotus Corp is making all dealers register and collect the sales tax on cars sold ? a florida dealer is saying that I have to pay for the calif sales tax , before they will release the car to me, even though I paid cash for the whole car.... i always register

Still confused after reading this thread.

My Emira just came in at Boardwalk (California). I live 4 hours away in Reno, NV.

The dealer seemed even to be not sure how to handle my out of state purchase.
Basically said I had two options:
1. Pick up in person, pay California sales tax. Can’t guarantee not to double pay tax when registering in Nevada.
2. Have car shipped to Reno from dealer, thus avoid California tax, then register and pay sales tax in Nevada.

I even quickly asked a person at the Nevada DMV, and could not get a straight answer.

I bought my current Corvette for McMulkin in NH, they had the car courtesy delivered to a California dealer a hour from home. With that transaction, I did not have to pay California sales tax. Thinking since original purchase dealer was in NH and not California, I can not apple to apple compare the situation.

Any thoughts/information ?

 

[Jjrho]

Still confused after reading this thread.

My Emira just came in at Boardwalk (California). I live 4 hours away in Reno, NV.

The dealer seemed even to be not sure how to handle my out of state purchase.
Basically said I had two options:
1. Pick up in person, pay California sales tax. Can’t guarantee not to double pay tax when registering in Nevada.
2. Have car shipped to Reno from dealer, thus avoid California tax, then register and pay sales tax in Nevada.

I even quickly asked a person at the Nevada DMV, and could not get a straight answer.

I bought my current Corvette for McMulkin in NH, they had the car courtesy delivered to a California dealer a hour from home. With that transaction, I did not have to pay California sales tax. Thinking since original purchase dealer was in NH and not California, I can not apple to apple compare the situation.

Any thoughts/information ?

well, you are supposed to pay in the state that you will register the car in...
i ve bought cars from E coast, had em ship em over; then pay the registration fee in calif... which is basically 8.5% sales tax ...alot of money on a 100K car....

the dealer in FL where i got the emira from said that they use a service by co called "all state" that does the fregistration for you....but you pay some $1500 for this...which the dealer gets a cut of , i am sure... ; so , i just finally got my plates that was sent to the dealership from calif then to me in calif... i have more issues with this , as below....

i have yet to get the title btw....

 

[cdn_alien]

the dealer in FL where i got the emira from said that they use a service by co called "all state" that does the fregistration for you....but you pay some $1500 for this...which the dealer gets a cut of , i am sure... ; so , i just finally got my plates that was sent to the dealership from calif then to me in calif... i have more issues with this , as below....

i have yet to get the title btw....

I'm in the same boat. I've had the car now for more than 2 months and still no AZ plate. I checked with AZ DMV and my car is registered, but no plate yet. Again, no title either. I really regret dealing with Naples, and should have bought local or at least someone that would let me buy without sales tax and register it myself.